Chapter 4: Magic and Patience

The silence prevailed.

Alex sat on the chair uncomfortably as Sarah simply stared at her. The vase halfway across the room shifted again as gravity acted upon the broken pieces. She stared at the floor. Mark, Sarah's husband, bounced Andrew on his knee while looking bewilderedly between the woman and the adolescent.

"I really don't know what happened." Alex whispered.

"You mean to tell me that the vase simply exploded?" Sarah asked keeping her voice level.

"That's exactly what I mean to tell you."

"That isn't possible."

"Neither is this," the girl retorted as she pulled a crystal sphere out of thin air.

Sarah stared at the simple object held in the youngster's slender hand. It had just been a dream, right? Nobody but Jareth could do that, those crystals were his. Weren't they? It was very confusing; she didn't know how to explain to Alex what the goblin king really was, because she frankly didn't know.

Alex watched Sarah intently. "I think, Sarah, that it is time you told me about the white owl that you named Jareth and who stood before me as a man." she said quietly.

"Jareth is the goblin king. Long ago, when I was a teen, I wished Toby away to the goblin city and Jareth took him I then had thirteen hours to solve the Labyrinth or else he would become a goblin. Along those thirteen hours I met some friends and made a powerful enemy. Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus were great friends and they fought with me against the goblin army. Jareth is my enemy.

"Hoggle told me that even if I got to the center of the Labyrinth, I'd never get out again. In a way, I haven't. The Labyrinth is a part of me, now. I'll automatically correct you if you get Hoggle's name wrong, I'll never take anything at face value, I'll never listen to little blue worms, and I will never-- never-- choose down when I could go up. I will always remember dancing with the goblin king. I will always remember the smell of the Bog of Eternal Stench. The Labyrinth is a part of me.

"Jareth did me some favors, but he is an evil man. He is vengeful and spiteful. Stay away from him, stop using magic. Using his magic will only draw him to you. He is very strong, and he will use that strength to crush you. Be very careful, Alex. You have entered a game that you do not understand."

Alex nodded, but felt betrayed. How could he be evil, he had smiled at her. He had helped her. Maybe Sarah was right… maybe he only wanted to make her feel at ease so that he could get back at the one who had beaten him. Hadn't he told her to wish the baby away? That was wrong. Or maybe…

She remembered the myriad of expressions that had been on his face when he put Andrew in the crib: regret, loss, pain, anger, grief, sorrow. But the most prominent had been loneliness. It must be terrible for him to live with those goblins all the time with his only chance to talk to girls being when they are trying to solve the Labyrinth. She pondered this for a while as she watched the water from the vase soak into the carpet.

"Well, maybe I should try to keep from using his magic. However, I made a mess and that vase will be difficult to replace. I used his magic to make this mess so I'll use his magic to clean it up." She said finally.

Before Sarah could stop her she focused on what she wanted and felt that now familiar feeling of power well up inside of her. She focused the power on the vase, the water, and the flowers and suddenly all were back in place on top of the table on the other side of the room. She sagged in the chair. Destroying was easier than fixing, she had just discovered. She hadn't meant to destroy the vase she had just been angry and taken control of that newfound power inside of her. Fixing something took more power and more focus, but she was up to it. For now.

Sarah's anger was apparent, but she was also glad that her antique vase had been fixed. That had cost her a pretty penny, and she had been enraged when she heard it shatter and saw Alex staring at it in disbelief. She shook her head and went to take Andrew from her husband who seemed very relieved. Alex was left alone as the three of them left, so she was the only one who saw the white owl knock at the window, give her a measured and warning stare with his cold eyes, and fly away into the night.

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Jareth lounged in his throne. It was uncomfortable if you didn't lounge. One leg was spread over the arm of the thing and his back rested against the other. He was watching the goblins, reflecting on their uselessness. One might say that a goblin would make an amusing pet. But one would have to have at least two goblins, lest a single one get lonely. However, where there are two goblins, there are bound to be many more. And while they may be entertaining for a time, say, five minutes, they eventually start trouble. One goblin would get in a fight with another goblin and goblin two would try to avoid the conflict while talking to goblin three. Goblin one would then bash goblin four in the head with a string of sausages and the four of them would get in a fight, drawing in several more. During all of this, some other goblins would be trying to keep the peace to prevent Jareth from getting angry at them all which would result in an even bigger conflict.

After all of this, the tussle of about fifteen or so goblins would frighten a few chickens and they would start squawking and making a fuss. This would distract most of the goblins from their previous engagement and they would all dissipate throughout the room, tormenting the poor chickens. This is when a goblin would try to pick a fight with another goblin, while goblin two was quite happy talking to goblin three about something and goblin four would get bashed in the head with something very similar to a string of sausages…

Worthless, stupid, idiotic creatures. Somebody had to govern them, or they'd bring all of society crashing down with their erratic behavior. It was simply… insane. Jareth figured that all goblin kings had to be insane: the goblins drove them to it. He began to wonder why he was watching the goblins yet again before he felt that now familiar tug inside him that meant that Alex was using his magic. Without thinking he summoned a crystal and watched the girl stare dumbfounded at the space where a pile of homework had once been.

Would she ever get control of his magic? He sneered in disgust at the puny mortal child. She was a disgrace. Why was she tied to him? What could they possibly do for each other? He could teach her how to control something she should never have learned how to do in the first place, but what could she do for him? Noting that she was done performing feats that she didn't know she could do, he sent the crystal away. He'd only worry about that when the time came, until then he would watch. Patience had served him well in the past, it should do so now.

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"Why are you here? You should be doing something!" Luc shouted at the impassive goblin king.

Jareth didn't seem to hear him; he was humming that stupid lullaby again. He practiced not only passing a crystal ball back and forth from the palm of his hand to the back, but from his right to his left as well. It was hypnotizing, actually, and he had gotten quite good at it. Over the past few years he had adopted a unique style and flare that was unmatched in any of the Underground. Some younglings had tried to mimic him, but he had scorned and scoffed these until people were afraid to resemble him at all.

The crystal balls were his favorite pastime. Luc wondered, though, why he was killing time now hen he should be acting. Jareth had been the goblin king for three years now and no one had solved the Labyrinth the whole time. He refused to believe he had made the Labyrinth impossible, and indeed, he had not. Every time a person got caught by the Labyrinth, there was a way out. Those ways were just very difficult to find.

This day, however, was not a good day for killing time doing cheep parlor tricks. Luc knew that the Overseer was watching them. The Overseer watched each kingdom of the Underground in turn and noted how it was being run, he was anonymous and invisible, and gave hell to those leaders who abused their rights. Jareth was murdering his rights.

The girl who had wished her child away fought valiantly through the forest. She was almost to the goblin city, but that didn't mean much anymore. She got to the doors to the city bleeding, dirty, and tired. Why wasn't Jareth doing anything? She opened the gates. Jareth waited. She walked with fear through the streets and alleyways toward the castle. He still did nothing. This should be his most trying time! He should be calling out the guard, not singing a lullaby! Didn't he see that she was at the gates to the castle itself?

Luc stood silently screaming. Jareth inwardly smiled. The goblin king knew that the Overseer was watching, knew that Luc was trying to figure out why he wasn't doing anything, and knew that the girl would soon find her way to the throne room. She passed the point where he had set up a trigger and the crystal ball in his hand turned bright red. He set it gently on his throne after standing up, picked up the baby playing happily on the floor with another crystal, and headed into the room full of staircases.

As the girl entered the throne room, Luc turned invisible and watched in astonishment as she screamed at the clock on the wall. She walked over to the crystal sitting on the throne and gingerly picked it up. It turned into a crown of silver leaves that was just the right size for her and Jareth appeared behind her.

"Put it on," he whispered into her ear, "put it on and sit in my throne."

She placed the beautiful circlet on her head and sat down in the ridiculous throne. Her eyes glazed over and Luc could tell that Jareth had put her in an illusion. There was always a way out, wasn't there? Jareth grinned wickedly as she smiled and slumped backward in the throne. He moved to stand behind her, summoned the baby to sit in front of her and laughed that wicked and insane laugh as the clock tolled the thirteenth hour. The girl screamed in horror as the baby changed into a goblin before her eyes and bowed to the goblin king who was howling with laughter.

Luc was repulsed, was this really his friend? Was this really Jareth, or had something possessed him? The girl shrieked and Jareth stopped laughing. She spun around and tore the crown off of her head, tears streaming down her face. "You monster," she screamed, "You filthy monster! I solved the Labyrinth in thirteen hours, I deserve--"

"You did not solve the Labyrinth. Solving the Labyrinth includes getting your hands on the child and demanding that I send you and the child home or declaring that I no longer have any power over you. You made it to the castle beyond the goblin city, you made it to my throne room, but you did not get the child in time. Therefore the child belongs to me and has become one of my faithful goblin servants. I will heal you, clean your clothes, give you back whatever items you may have lost during your thirteen hour sojourn, but you agreed to a magical contract when you wished the child away, weather or not you knew what you were doing. Besides, not only must you follow your side of the contract, but I must follow mine." Jareth replied as if giving a lecture.

The girl stared incredulously at him, "I demand--"

"I do not care what you demand, now. The thirteen hours are over, the Labyrinth has changed the child into a goblin, the rules are absolute." He waved a hand in front of the girl in a dismissive gesture and she disappeared after her clothes had been mended and her wounds healed. He sat down wearily in the throne, but a look of triumph was in his eyes as he looked at the suddenly visible Luc. He started to say something about his victory, but stopped as he saw the expression of repulsion, rage, and worry on his friend's face. As Luc disappeared, Jareth realized what he had done.

The young goblin king dropped his head into his hands and started to sob uncontrollably. He was a monster. He had become an elegant, refined, sober monster. He was more cruel than Mathis had ever been. Grief overtook him as he began to fear that he had driven Luc away from himself as well. Pictures of Elena and Luc swam in his mind. Both of them had been driven from him, both of them hated him now. He had become the monster he had vowed he would never be, and now his guilt threatened to overwhelm him.

Well, he couldn't run the Labyrinth like this. He straightened up, brushed his hair back into the unruly mop he had come to like, and stormed into his room. It wasn't his fault, it was Mathis. Mathis had driven him to insanity and Elena had pushed him over the edge. If anyone were to blame it was those people who had said they loved him. Well, he would never love anyone ever again. If you don't give your heart away, it can't be broken. He would show them how strong he was. He was the goblin king!

Patience is a virtue. He'd be patient. He would wait as long as need be for them to beg to come back. Then he would graciously accept them, but not before. He had to be patient. He was good at that.

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He shook his head to clear the angry thoughts from his mind. Luc had come back, Luc had always come back. Jareth had always accepted him back. That was simply the way it was. He began to wonder if that was how it had to be, but pushed the thought roughly from his mind. He toyed with a little crystal and hummed that lullaby that threw so many people for a loop. He didn't know where he had learned it, but it was there, in his head, so he would hum it.

The goblin king had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had almost missed that tugging inside of him. Alex was using magic again. He brushed the thought away. She used magic quite often, now. Every time he checked on her she had done some little nothing. Well, he tried to brush the thought away, but it pulled on him. She was drawing an awful lot of magic this time. He checked the crystal in his hand and noticed nothing special, which worried him. He had expected something to have exploded.

Alex was walking down a street, she looked a little worried, but nothing seemed out of place. Her knuckles were white from where she gripped the sketchbook she hugged to her chest. Her purple hair was held up in a bun with a pair of paintbrushes, which he found strangely attractive… he shoved that thought aside with forceful anger and surveyed her surroundings. There was absolutely nothing to have triggered her fear. Nothing seemed to be threatening her at all.

He sent the crystal away and changed his appearance. He couldn't do much, his magic wasn't really used that way, but it was possible. He donned the appearance of an eighteen-year-old boy, close cropped sandy-blonde hair in stylish disarray, no make-up, blue jeans and a t-shirt. He seemed normal. Well… as normal as he could appear. He was still crazy, but he didn't seem as crazy without the make-up.

He appeared in an alleyway so he wouldn't attract unwanted notice and found Alex going into a store that sold random gift paraphernalia. He waited outside the store, looking around to see if he could figure out what had caused her alarm, because she hadn't let go of the magic inside of her. He saw absolutely nothing. Maybe she was crazier than he was.

Jareth quickly stopped thinking about that as he saw her leave the store and he walked after, eventually catching up and walking beside her. That seemed to make her even more nervous because she suddenly appeared obviously flustered. She kept glancing at him as if trying to decide what to think about him. Finally he had had enough and he grabbed her arm and steered her toward a park bench where he forced her to sit down.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"You're worried," he replied with an American accent instead of his usual British drawl. "I came to find out what caused you to draw so much of my magic. I see absolutely nothing to warrant fear."

"Who said I was afraid?"

He smiled at her and looked almost normal, maybe he looked completely normal and her fear of him just kept her from seeing it. The smile disappeared quickly, though, and he said, "Why would you be holding on to so much power if you weren't ready to let it loose on something or someone? I know you didn't mean to summon me, otherwise you would have said my name, unless you really are an idiot. You must be afraid of something. What is it?"

She looked own at the ground and no answer seemed forthcoming for quite some time. He was about to ask again when she whispered something unintelligible. He sighed and shook his head, "What was that?" he asked.

She glared at him. "I felt something weird. Something like I felt last time I saw you. It was like…" she trailed off, obviously at a loss for words.

He groaned and sat down on the bench beside her. "How is it that you can make me so tired, girl?"

She giggled a little, but drew in her breath with a hiss as the feeling she hadn't been able to describe washed over her again. Jareth tensed. He knew that feeling. That was the feeling of one of his people using magic. He looked around and saw a boy with jet black hair and eyes to match watching them. A growl escaped his throat as he pulled Alex out of the bench and back toward her house.

"What is it? You felt it too?"

"Of course I felt it. You could feel it simply because I could. That was the feeling of someone else using magic."

"Who?"

"Deram."

"Who?"

He growled and pulled her after him faster. They reached Sarah's house in record time and he drug her inside, slamming the door behind him. Sarah gasped at the intrusion, but he didn't seem to notice. He absentmindedly returned to his normal appearance as he looked out the window to see his disguised half-brother appraising the house as if about to destroy it.

"What is going on?" shrieked Sarah.

"Alex is in a lot of trouble." replied another voice from the other side of the room. Jareth spun around, his hands coming up as if to throw something at the newcomer, hate etched on his face, but stopped as he recognized the mousey-haired mage in baby blue robes standing before him. "A bit jumpy today, are we?" Luc asked.

"What type of trouble am I in?"

"Deram has that effect on me." Jareth growled.

The mage nodded, "Yes, he does do that."

"Hey! What type of trouble am I in?"

"What are you doing here, Luc?"

"I came to warn you about Deram."

"HEY! What type of--"

"Oh, hello Alex." Luc interrupted.

She stared in disbelief at the two fey nobles before her and started to demand to know what type of trouble she was in once again before Jareth cut her off with a glare. The two men seemed to know each other quite well and Jareth seemed to be warning her that the mage would explain everything in due time.

"What about Deram?" Jareth asked his friend once Alex was quiet.

"He wants the girl."

Jareth donned a long-suffering face as he rubbed at his temples. "Really? I couldn't tell."

Luc grinned, "He wants her because she's tied to you."

"Why should that make such a difference?"

Luc lost all manner of joviality as he looked down at the ground.

"Luc?" Jareth prompted.

"Well… nobody has been tied to a mortal in quite some time, so I've only been able to find explanations of how ties work in dusty old tomes, but none of those explanations say anything about the mortal being able to use magic through the fey being. Yours is a particularly strong tie, I don't think anything like this had ever been done."

"Get to the point, Luc."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well… I believe…"

"Yes," Jareth prompted again.

Luc sighed and his shoulders slumped, "Her very life is tied to yours. If one dies, so does the other."