The Goblin King
Never had I seen his equal, well...at least not in person. He was tall and lean, clad all in midnight silk and leather, making him appear elegant and battle ready all at once. About his shoulders hung a long ebon cape that glittered blue when caught in the wind, a strange raiment completed by a high collar that framed his angular face. His hair was a pale blond, cut in a sort of wild Japanese Kabuki style spiked mullet that wouldn't have been out of place at a rock concert.
The man took a few lazy steps toward us, hands upon his narrow hips and the shadow of amusement sparking in his eyes. Piercing, clever eyes...enhanced and made all the more intimidating by the outlandish silvery makeup applied to his eyelids. I scowled at this intruder and retreated two steps for every one of his, holding Callie firmly behind me and leveling my pitiful excuse for a sword at his chest. "Who the hell are you?" I snarled.
The man, seeming almost to enjoy my unease, opened his mouth to speak. To call his voice impressive would be an understatement. It was magnificent. Smooth and deep, flavored with a sly, casually aristocratic British accent. "Now, now, Lara...," he purred. "No need to be nervous."
I stared at him. He knew me. This glittery cacophony of weirdness knew my name. How could that be possible? "I..." My voice came out a pathetic squeak, forcing me to start over. "I asked you a question."
The man chuckled. "You already know me, silly girl. And so does your young companion. Tell her who I am, Calpurnia..."
Callie clung to me, shivering with fear and excitement. "It's him. It's the...the Goblin King."
The man nodded in approval and gave me a pointed look that plainly said: You see?
I blinked. He couldn't be... That was just a stupid children's story. Just a story. And he certainly didn't look like goblin royalty. Well...not that I actually knew what they should look like. But, when imagining the fabled Goblin King, I saw a vastly different image in my mind's eye. Certainly not this oddly dressed elfin...thing. And yet here he stood in all his creepy glory, surrounded by a small army of goblins, no less. In an act of desperation I caught my lower lip between my teeth and bit down, hard. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Dang it...maybe I wasn't dreaming.
"Very well...Your Majesty." That's it... Be polite. Try not to anger him. "As I cannot deny that you exist, for plainly you do—well...unless this proves to be a freak hallucination—I must also assume that you have stolen my nephew. I want him back."
"Oho, is that the way of it?" The Goblin King folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head and peering at me through half-lidded eyes. His angular features twisted into a smirk. "And you assume that I will just give you your way, do you?"
I scowled. "Your tone suggests otherwise."
"What's said is said.And, as it happens...you were not the one to say the words." He inclined his head toward my niece, who shrank pitifully before his gaze. "Sweet little Callie wished her brother away. Not you."
Callie paled, her eyes so enormous and full of fear that I felt I might drown in them. "I...I didn't..." She trailed off in a whimper.
I squeezed her shoulder protectively and pressed her behind me. "She didn't mean it. She's only five years old!" I took a step toward the king, careful to keep the tip of my pathetic sword leveled at his chest. "I speak for her. I claim full responsibility for her actions and I take her words back." Admittedly, I was quite proud of my courageous statement. And quite proud of the fact that I was able to keep my gaze from drifting southward and locking on this dude's frighteningly snug trousers which, quite frankly, left little to the imagination.
The king was unperturbed. He smiled a lazy, catlike smile, his eyes chips of sharpened ice. "You assume too much." He reached out, quick as a snake, and struck my fake blade with two fingers. Suddenly, I no longer gripped a wooden handle, but a dull brown ribbon that fluttered limply from my trembling fingers. The goblins jeered and cackled as I stared at the remains of my weapon and contemplated making a dive for my backpack, for the mobile phone inside. And then what? Call the cops? '911, what's your emergency?' 'Hello? Yes, I need to report a home invasion. My nephew has been kidnapped and my sister's house is full of goblins. Their leader looks like Ziggy Stardust's evil twin. Better send a SWAT team.'
The king spoke again, interrupting my ridiculous train of thought. "You haven't the power to undo what's been done, Lara... Age makes no difference when the words are spoken with such confidence and determination. Faith, as it happens, is the strongest magic in the world." He took a few steps toward me. "You must forget about the boy. Both of you."
I shook my head, trying hard to hold that piercing gaze without faltering. "No."
He sighed impatiently and rolled his eyes. "Fortunately, you are not the one I have to persuade..." He then lowered himself into a crouch and grinned at my niece. "Look here, Callie... I have a gift for you. And for your aunt as well, if she is wise." He gave his gloved hand a graceful turn and in his fingertips there appeared a perfect sphere, thin as a soap bubble at first, but slowly solidifying into clearest crystal. Callie's eyes widened and she pushed away from me slightly, moving out from behind my back for a better look.
"Callie, no!" I warned, but the child might as well have been worlds away for all the good it did.
"What is it?" she asked, greedy curiosity in her sweet voice.
The king smiled. "A crystal...just a crystal," he said softly, beginning to turn the orb side to side, then rolling it back and forth over his fingertips with perfect balance and grace. I stared, almost mesmerized and more than a little jealous. I had seen contact jugglers performing similar arts, but none so smooth and talented as this king. The orb floated over his fingers, across the back of his right hand, flawlessly to his left, back to his right. "But if you turn it just so...and look into it..." He raised his eyes to mine once more, never pausing nor faltering in his motions. He had heterochromatic eyes, I realized. One blue, one a light hazel, and both striking. Funny thing to notice at a time like that... "It will show you your dreams."
I glared in response. The pale magician smiled again, turning back to Calpurnia. "Do you want this, little one?"
Callie was leaning toward him, staring hungrily at the polished crystal. Before she could say a word, however, I took her by the shoulders and faced her toward me, dropping to a crouch before her as the king had done. "We can't," I whispered. "Callie, we can't. We have to remember Alec. We have to get him back. Do you understand me? Think of how upset your mummy and daddy would be if we lost him."
Her eyes saddened, but she nodded. I stood and looked down upon the Goblin King, meeting his eyes once more. "We thank you for your...ah...generous offer, Your Majesty. But we cannot accept. I..."
The king rose to his feet and studied me expectantly, his expression smug. I bit the inside of my cheek, stubbornly forcing myself not to quail beneath his gaze and questioning the wisdom of what I was about to do. It seemed so absurd. Surely there had to be some other path to take... Some other answer... Oh, for God's sake, of course there wasn't. You know the story, Lara... You know how this works, I thought. It seems you have no other choice.
Resigning myself to my peculiar fate, I inhaled. "I ask that I be allowed to undertake full responsibility as guardian of the stolen child, to serve as his champion and...and to be given the chance to solve your Labyrinth and bring him home."
The goblins gasped and muttered excitedly to one another while their king's eyes flashed something akin to surprise, before shifting to falsified pity. "Lara...Lara, Lara... Do you understand the implications of what you have just said?" he murmured after a long moment. "You must consider the wisdom of this..."
"I already have."
He gave a subtle nod. "Then come." He moved over to the window on silent footsteps and beckoned for me to join him. I did so, cautiously, keeping hold of Callie's hand all the while. "My castle is just there." The king pointed out the window when I reached his side. The landscape outside was no longer the posh housing developments of the district in which my sister and her husband had decided to settle. In its place, stretching as far as the eye could see, was a strange and foreign land. My eyes drank in hills and valleys of yellow, green, and brown, vastly different when compared to the world from which I came. There, sprawling on for ages it seemed, was the legendary Labyrinth. Stone walls, columns, and passages, miles and miles of passages... It was massive, and yet not so intimidating as I had expected. At the center of the Labyrinth, towering over those strange lands, was the castle, perched like some odd yet majestic bird of prey amidst that twisting maze.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" inquired the king, his voice coming from behind me, back in the modern world. "I advise against it. I really do."
I turned and faced him, summing up my courage. "Of course I'm sure."
His eyes sparked with amusement. "So be it." He raised a gloved hand and snapped his fingers. My right hand, the one that had been holding Callie's, suddenly closed on thin air, causing me to look down in alarm. She was gone. Frantically, I cast around the room for her soft brown ponytail, for the crystalline blue of her eyes. They were nowhere to be seen.
I rounded on the Goblin King, purest rage etching itself upon my face. "What have you done?! You bring her back!"
The king only smiled. "Young Calpurnia is safe with her brother. She is the entrance fee you must pay if you wish to run in her place. Have no fear... I'll look after them for you. Consider it a sign of my generosity. Besides..." He stepped forward and placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me toward the castle once more. "You have other things to worry about just now..."
I was about to wrench out of his grasp and try to throw a punch at his royal nose, but before I could do so the world around me changed. The carpets beneath my feet shifted to compacted earth and the ceiling over head became dull grey sky. Bare brown trees were now growing where there had been none before and a dry wind tugged at my hair. Before me was the Labyrinth in all its massive glory, and at my side the Goblin King was watching me closely.
"It's not too late, Lara...," he said softly. "I'll give you this one last chance. Turn back. Reconsider. Forget about them."
I turned and looked up into his face once more. He stood quite close, too close, in fact. The wind teased through his pale blond hair and his cloak billowed around him, his eyes cool and clever. There was rather a lot behind those eyes, I realized. The task before me, however, did not allow me the time to try and draw out their secrets, so I shook my head. "No."
He nodded and pointed to a barren tree, an ornate clock with thirteen numerals painted around its tarnished face materializing in dry branches. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve my Labyrinth." He looked me in the eye again. "Thirteen hours before the children become mine..." He began to back away from me, his outline slowly fading into thin air. "Forever." And then the Goblin King was gone, leaving me alone with the trees, the Labyrinth, and my impossible mission.
Author's Note: How am I doing so far? I realize that my beginning is strikingly similar to the film as far as the buildup, the Goblin King's flashy entrance, and several of his lines. But why meddle with perfection? Besides, I figure Jareth for something of a creature of habit. He takes his role seriously. He must. It's all he has... So if an action makes him look, sound, or feel impressive, why wouldn't he repeat it?
Food for thought.
