The sun had set for several hours before the Goblin King found time to rest. In the darkest part of night, Jareth tried to conceive the solution his growing problems. The comfort of his own bed could not begin to ease his troubles. He shifted with frustration further into the overstuffed mattress and puffed pillows.
He berated himself for failing his kingdom. The Labyrinth, a living entity if he ever knew one, would no longer serve him. It bucked against his authority, and against the land. The walls, hedge and brick, wood and stone, twisted upon themselves more unpredictable than ever. No path in his domain was certain anymore; no path was safe. Many of his people were leaving the kingdom entirely. Those that stayed were beginning to mob. The insurrection of the maze was leading his people to the same.
Jareth couldn't fathom how he'd managed to lose so much control. The problems with the Labyrinth were so small at first, he barely paid any mind to it. The maze, after all, was never entirely his to control in the first place. It did as it pleased so long as it pleased him. The small areas that had warped at first had hurt no one, nor had they interfered with any of his own plots. He figured the Labyrinth just needed to stretch a little, as all creatures do at some time.
His figuring couldn't have been any more wrong. Days after the first tremors in the maze, the entire Labyrinth had recoiled violently. The land shook in waves as the massive creation of walls and magic twisted and roiled on itself. This, Jareth felt, as did his entire kingdom. He immediately tried to control the massive structure with his own magic. However, this use only drew the attention of the beast. The Labyrinth targeted the Goblin King with this first chaotic episode.
Jareth awoke in an oubliette, barely able to summon a crystal to ignite a transportation spell. The out of control maze had devastated his lands. After assessing the damage, he consulted his watchers, those of magical station he could rely on to survey his lands and protect from unwanted dangers. They predicted the maze had just built up a store of magic from disuse and the pressure of such buildup triggered the massive release. While it was possible it could happen two or three times more, they believed the magnitude of the release was enough to relieve the stress from the maze.
Jareth wanted to throw them out immediately. He knew from the bindings he'd long ago implemented within the maze that the maze had not built up a magical reserve. He knew he could have sensed it if such were the actual case. He railed at his watchers for their incompetence, ordered them to do their jobs and get to the bottom of the problem at once.
Unable to properly use his own magic for the better of two days, the Goblin King addressed his people, promising reconstruction and an explanation. No explanation had revealed itself, three weeks later, and with maze now constantly in sectional disruption, no reconstruction had occurred either.
Jareth abandoned his bed, preferring to pace his room. Besides the people and the maze itself, he'd found other things to trouble his mind. The connections he had forged with the Labyrinth upon defeating it centuries past were failing him. The powers he gleaned from the maze no longer came when called. His owl form would not be summoned.
Beyond that though, he had noticed familiar faces helping in danger zones. Disturbingly, they seemed almost protected by his Labyrinth. Traitors were fairing better in his maze than he could. He had left them be; they were harming no one, quite the opposite and he saw no reason to approach them about it. They had all been connected to the Labyrinth to begin with anyways. It was an easy explanation for their unexplained success in the wild tangled walls.
With an hour before dawn, the Goblin King had wasted his rest and patience. He appeared in the watch room, where his watchers were working non-stop on the task he had set them. Dressed to inspire fear and subservience, Jareth leveled them with his fiercest glare. "Someone give me an answer now." He was tired of waiting.
The watchers scrambled, shuffling papers on tables, toppling delicate instruments, knocking down chairs and each other, all racing to report their latest findings to their frightening monarch. Jareth surveyed the chaos of their workroom. Books lay open everywhere. Magical devices littered shelves and tables alike. Many, he noticed were scry glasses, designed for all sorts of seeing. Watchers, were first and foremost, seers after all. "What have you seen?" Jareth demanded.
The foreman of his watchers stepped forward. "We have worked very hard, highness, but nothing we see coincides. We cannot make sense of it." The portly man in emerald and gold stitched finery reported with trepidation. Jareth stared disapprovingly at the man.
A younger woman stepped forward with confidence despite the men trying to stop her. Jareth turned his full attention on her and ordered them to let her address her or be named traitors. Those opposing her immediately let her through.
The woman strode forward, her mortal human features spoke of surety, but not of pomp. She bowed to her king before speaking frankly. "I warned your watchers three days before the first quaking of your lands, King. They attempted to prevent it, and I fear may have accelerated the decline of the Labyrinth. My seeing has revealed far more in the weeks past. I have been so wrought with visions, I was unable even to stand, let alone bring my seeings to your attention. The Labyrinth is dying, and your kingdom with it. Our neighbors have heard of your unrest from those who flee and are plotting to aid in your destruction. Furthermore, the Welsh clans are aware of your defeat. They will send one of their own to you who will end the turmoil of the Labyrinth."
Jareth's jaw clenched in anger at the words this woman spoke. How dare she suggest his lands would be so accosted! The idea that she felt to warn him implied that he needed warning to defeat his enemies. He took a deep breath, recognizing the coil of magic tightening around him, drawing on his rage. He released the anger to the magic, easing his anger. The girl spoke of the logical truth, yet she had no answer to his question. "What has arrested my control over the Labyrinth? Why is it behaving with volatility?"
The girl blinked, her eyes widening in surprise. "You are not angry for my tellings of your kingdom's fall?"
Jareth looked harder at the strange girl. A mortal woman, dressed in cream-colored cloth tied about her with smooth cords. Wooden sandals lashed across her feet and up her calves with thin leather bindings. Her thick dark curls were tied off her neck in a mass at the back of her head. He keen eyes were wide with disbelief. He could sense around her a curse, the magic matching that which had coiled in his anger. "Answer my question."
The girl bowed again. "Of course. I have not found cause for the Labyrinth's unrest. I see only one who will help calm it."
"What is your name." Jareth demanded. This girl had given him more in ten minutes than his whole watch had given him three weeks.
"Cassandra, my King."
"Can you identify the one who comes?" Jareth demanded. There was no time to waste.
Cassandra nodded the affirmative. "A maiden, from the Welsh clans. I know only her aura and name. Her aura caries two broken circles. Her name is Sarah Williams."
My apologies for the hiatus. Life and all that junk. At any rate, I'm back to writing again, have some ideas, not many, so I need reviews and inspiration. I'm just being dragged along for the ride here. Between school, two jobs, and maintaining good standing with my parents, it gets challenging. The more I do tho, the more I keep doing, so make this something I don't want to stop again. Love to you all, and oreos to reviewers!