The fae couple that had been all set to adopt Toby are not happy. 13 Years after the Labyrinth run, Sarah has been kidnapped back Underground. As she starts to create a new life for herself, with new friends and even a possible love interest, she avoids having anything to do with Jareth. But things aren't always that simple. A story about hidden identities, revenge, love and hate.
PROLOGUE
1986
The boughs creaking in the breeze and the whispers of the needles rubbing together were the only sounds uttered in the pine forest, in which he stood. Occasionally there was the faint sound of a scurrying creature here and there. His own footfalls were barely detected by his fae hearing. The ground blanketed in reddy brown pine needles, provided the sound nullifying carpet he was traipsing across.
The moonlight lit his path through the ancient forest but he didn't need its illumination to know where he was going. A short distance away there was a cave, and in the cave he would find many many pearls of different sizes, colours and varying lustre.
They weren't created by oysters like the Aboveground pearls. Rather they were tears of pearls, the residue of magic, some ancient and some newer forms of magic, captured from the eyes of the magical creatures that had once upon a time wept them. But for some long forgotten reason they were only found in this cave within his Kingdom. Jareth had long suspected that long ago, the fae or the elves had collected them and then stored them within the Labyrinth for protection. Centuries old he may be, well read also, but there were just some things lost to history that he may never come to learn.
Rock callers of all different sizes guarded the cave from would be robbers and anyone that didn't belong there. He didn't have to see them to know they were there, and they let him pass without trouble as they recognised him as their King. He silently thanked them with a wave of his hand.
The heady scent of pine needles and fresh air was a balm to his riotous soul. He was being asked to find a wife by the High King. So he was here to choose a pearl that would be fitting for his future bride. The Pearl Keeper, Briyash, was meeting him here to make his selection. How he would choose a pearl when he had no idea who he was to marry, was beyond him.
But High King orders were orders. So here he was, selecting his Bride Pearl. Choosing a pearl was not something just anyone had the privilege to do. If you were a commoner or a magical beast, then you have no access to the cave. It was reserved for the elite, the elves and fae; the nobles and royalty. There were two ways to choose a pearl, select one that speaks to you or have one selected by the Pearl Keeper that would indicate who one was to marry. However, in recent centuries prophetic pearls had fallen out of favour, people preferring to make matches for political reasons, or convenience, rather than relying on gems to tell them how they should marry. These days people only entered the Pearl Cave to simply pick a pearl as a gift for their intended bride.
Marriage was not something Jareth had planned on, preferring to have a casual stance on relationships. He couldn't imagine having to spend more time with one fae over another. His life was mostly solitary, and that was the way he liked it. Choosing a pearl that would take all the work out of it for him, seemed the ideal route for him to take.
Briyash appeared out of the thicket of trees ahead. Jareth halted his movements and gave the elderly elf a shallow bow.
"Lord Briyash," Jareth greeted. "Well met."
"Your Majesty," Briyash swooped into a low bow. His long grey beard dusting the ground beneath their feet. "I understand that your plans are to get married."
"Those are the plans, indeed," Jareth nodded. "Whether they are mine or not, remains to be seen."
"Have you an intended?" The diminutive elf asked.
"No," Jareth looked off into the middle distance. "I have been given a grace period in order to find one."
"So we're not looking for one to match particular tastes, but rather one that will match you to your future wife," Briyash nodded sagely. "We shall go into the cave and find the right pearl for you."
They entered the dim cave, Briyash lighting a candle, illuminating the shining pearls etched into the stone wall of the cave. There were thousands upon thousands of multicolour pearls surrounding them.
"Here we go," Briyash stopped in front of a low font. "Put your hand into the water and the Pearl that is destined for your perfect mate will be in there."
Jareth stepped up to the font.
Peering in, for all intents and purposes it looked empty, but he could sense the magic floating around inside the water. Not that it truly was water, but rather mist that acted like water because of the magic imbued through the vapour.
Jareth removed his glove and placed his hand into the font. As soon as he had done this, he felt something land in his palm. He instinctively clasped his hand around it and drew it out of the font. He opened his hand to look at the Pearl sitting in his hand.
It was dainty, but shined with a powerful, purple and green hue. He hadn't seen anything quite like it before. Most pearls were traditionally white when it came to matrimonial pearls. It certainly caught Briyash's attention.
"Your Majesty," he gasped. "That is a magnificent jewel. The Lady you bequeath this too, will have the strength and wit to match yours, but at the same time an uncommon kindness. She has a forgiving heart and such strong loyalty."
"And you know all this from a single pearl?" Jareth raised a brow. He had heard of Briyash's pearl reading before. It was said that he had rarely been wrong.
"I believe this particular pearl is from the virescent and amethyst unicorn, the rarest of all unicorns. They are almost diaphanous and have unmatched beauty, but represent kindness and strength."
"I have heard of them but have never seen one," asserted Jareth, still admiring the pearl in his hand.
At Briyash's simple but resolute nod, Jareth continued with: "And I have yet to meet anyone that matches that description. The fae tend to not match any part of your description."
"I am not a prophecy giver, Your Majesty," he started heading back out of the cave. "I leave that to the pearls. But I feel you will meet her soon."
"How will I know?" Jareth pondered. "How will I know who this pearl belongs to?"
"Some dream of their mate, some get struck by lightning," he laughed. "You will just know when the time comes to choose your wife. You will know."
Being a King there weren't many people who he hadn't yet met. He was skeptical, but still a part of him had some hope the old elf was right. He tucked the Pearl away inside a crystal for safe keeping. He felt quite honoured to have this easy indicator of who his wife was supposed to be. Pearls were closely linked to marriage, but they had a tenuous link, at best, to actual love. It was possible a prophetic pearl may predict who you get married to, but no way indicated who you loved. Rather moonstone was the gem for predicting love, but Jareth had little to no interest in going down that road, besides to find the moonstone caves, he would have to travel to quite a different kingdom.
"Thank you, Lord Briyash," with a bow and a reciprocal nod, both males exited the cave and went their separate ways.
A few months after he had retrieved the pearl, Jareth had found himself Aboveground taking flight as a barn owl. He often came up here to check on previous runners as he still felt mildly responsible for them after they had returned.
He took respite in a substantially tree furnished park after his duty had been fulfilled. It didn't take him long before he noticed a young girl, playacting in the park. And it took him even less time to notice she had the little Red Book.
That book contained magic that connected him to this world, so he was always instinctively drawn to it. It was passed from hand to hand to entice people into his world. It is where most of the Labyrinth's runners came from.
The book spoke of someone's triumph over the Labyrinth but in truth, it had never been defeated and he doubted it ever would. But it spoke of the possibility of it being achieved. People wouldn't make careless wishes if they knew the consequences were dire. The Underground relied on careless wishes to repopulate their diminishing numbers.
But this girl didn't match the usual runner he had in his labyrinth. Most were neglected or hard done by parents or in some cases, parents who were trying to protect their babies from others as a last resort. But this was a healthy looking regular teenage girl.
As he listened, he preened slightly hearing her recite the ending speech to her dog, knowing she was reading a scene that involved him, the Goblin King. No one had ever got as far as the ending of the book in reality, so he had never heard the speech said with heartfelt, significant meaning. The words had never been said and meant before.
Jareth titled his head slightly when she forgot the last line. But shortly after that she was gone, running through the rain to her home. He had work to do. He could sense another runner was going to be his very shortly.
Back in his castle and while he waited for the summons, he consulted the heavy tome in his office for who was due to receive a human child next. Fae couples that struggle to conceive naturally, were added to a waiting list, and they would become the new parents of the wished away baby or child.
The next on the list were Yarbro and Meffod Pinnsburr. They were nobles of the nearby Kingdom, Trew. Jareth had met them at many balls and festivals and had always hounded him about when it was their turn. At least now he could get them off his back.
However, he would be very surprised if his latest runner-to-be was a mother. She was very young, even by human standards. And she didn't look downtrodden with the pressure of raising a baby as a teenager. It shouldn't be long before he finds out anyway. He could feel it in his bones that the summons were due soon. So he must start writing his letter to Meffod and Yarbro to come and collect their new baby or child.
Once that was done and sent away in a crystal, he retreated back to his throne room to wait. It wasn't long before goblins started popping out of existence in front of his very eyes. Then he felt and heard the summons through his entire being. It was a baby this time. The most welcome possibility the fae coveted!
Before long two goblins popped back into the throne room holding a baby between them. Now was the time to go and make his appearance.
After he made his dramatic entrance, he discovered that the baby was the girl's step brother and not her child. Just a spoilt brat. Not unusual, but not his usual wish maker. He went through the motions, playing and dancing with the baby, while he whiled away the time. He received a letter from Meffod and Yarbro, accepting their new baby and they would arrive at the 13th hour to pick the baby up.
He chose this time to check in on the runner. Sarah, her name was. Interestingly, Sarah had exceeded expectations and had actually got quite deep into the Labyrinth. She had also befriended the dwarf, Hoggle. Jareth had all but promised Toby to his new parents. He had to slow her down immediately.
She was determined, if not whiney and spoilt. She got through the tunnels. Even with his distractions and the cleaners, and into the hedge maze. The girl had spirit, he could give her that. But he had to stop her. He started concocting a spell that would trick her and slow her right down, to the point of forgetfulness.
He was waiting for the moment when Hoggle would finally give her the dream induced peach. As he waited he updated his potential parents again. They weren't happy. They deemed too much progress had been made by the girl. While he concurred, he had started to admire her tenacity against his better judgement. There was something about this girl that had him mildly intrigued.
He had just sent another progress letter off via crystal, when he felt the magic tug him into Sarah's dream spell. He appeared in his own crystal ballroom surrounded by party goers. It didn't take long for him to spy Sarah working her way through the crowd. Looking for him, he surmised. He had to admit, she was a vision in white.
The peach dream would last a long while so he decided to have some fun with her, a little cat and mouse game, ducking in and out of the crowd, just staying out of reach. It was only when she got close enough that he began noticing a hidden element to this dream.
There were pearls draped everywhere. And if he looked closer at some of them, they appeared to have a green and purple sheen to them. This time when she got near, he let her, he went to her. He noticed pearls in her hair but also one inset into her necklace, again with a purple and green sheen. Briyash had said he would know. And he did know. This little scrap of a mortal was to be his wife.
Before he could process this realisation, the girl had cottoned on to something not being completely right. And like the determined child he was learning she was, she shattered the dream and would awake back in the Labyrinth, gradually remembering her purpose. She was the biggest challenge he had ever encountered in all his time as the Goblin King.
This changed everything. He couldn't let her win, but his first action as her husband couldn't be to take her baby brother away from her family and palm him off onto Meffod and Yarbro Pinnsburr. He wasn't particularly attached to the idea of a wife, but if he had to have one, then he'd at least want to be reasonably respectful towards her.
He couldn't let her win because then she could choose to leave. His arrogance only carried his hope she'd stay so far. And then there would be the issue of Meffod and Yarbro. They'd want to extract their pound of flesh for letting their baby slip through his fingers. He knew their kind. No one had ever won before. He wasn't prepared for a loss this time. Now there was more at stake.
Of course there was also the issue of her being so young and a mortal. He wouldn't marry her until she became of age of course. Plenty of time to teach her magic, as well as the culture, history and protocols of the Underground, before their marriage. Having a fiance should be enough to satisfy the High King of his desire to meet his obligations.
She was a pretty young thing, and she held the promise of a great beauty as she aged. Not that it mattered to him, but fae did have standards. He was only marrying her because he had to take a wife. She was young and not caught up in Underground gossip and politics, so she could be made malleable to his wants and desires. From that perspective she was perfect.
He was just holding the baby, Toby, and daydreaming about how easy it had been to find a wife, well within the time frame he had been given, when a Goblin interrupted his musings to inform him that the girl was at the gates of the Goblin City.
A battle, brief and chaotic had ensued. Against all odds she had won. She had won the moment she had entered the castle. But Jareth had to do one more power play. As he was hearing the words for the very first time, he tried convincing her to stay as his wife. But no. She said the words that sealed both their fates. She returned home and he returned to the castle sans his wife.
He was slumped in his throne, still outfitted in the white clothes he was wearing when he'd last seen his bride to be. Still hearing those never before intended words, over and over in his head.
"You have no power over me," over and over again, blocking all other thoughts with their constant repetition. The pain that he suffered from hearing them actually meant, actually intended, was raw and infinite. He had banished all the Goblins as his headache was only being exacerbated by their raucous behaviour. They were celebrating Sarah's win. He was too frustrated and disappointed to either admonish them or to join in.
In his palm he held the pearl. The Pearl designed for his wife. The one that told him who she was. Maybe he would consult Briyash in a few days about what had happened.
"Yes, I'd be sulking too if I'd let myself be defeated by a mere mortal child," the voice of Yarbro reverberated around the empty throne room. Jareth looked up to see the fae enter with his wife. Both were tall, blonde and had sharp pointy features common in their Kingdom of Trew. They also wore the blood red traditional robes of their Noble House of Pinnsburr. "Where is our baby, Goblin King?"
"If you know I've been defeated, then you know where the baby is," Jareth reasoned. He never had any reason to dislike Yarbro and his wife, aside from their nagging, but he was starting to find large reasons now.
"Then you will need to go and get him," Meffod commanded abruptly.
"Do you forget I am King?" Jareth sneered. "Do you forget your manners so easily?"
"A King of a lower kingdom," Yarbro scoffed. "It doesn't give you the right to lose the child that is ours."
"She won, fair and square," Jareth got to his feet. "The babe remains in protection by the Labyrinth for as long as he may live. You can not touch him. Nor can I."
"And the girl?" Meffod questioned, with hostility.
"Is none of your concern," Jareth snapped.
"You should have tricked her into staying," Yarbro argued. "You should have tried harder. You let her go. You let her win. That's a crime you know."
"She won," Jareth stated clearly. "What reason do I have for letting her win?"
"You've never liked us," Meffod chimed in. "You did this on purpose."
Jareth looked into the Blue eyes of the Trew female and laughed.
"Are you truly so paranoid to believe I suffered a loss to spite you?" Jareth asked sardonically.
"It's the only thing that makes sense," Meffod frowned. "We have been asking for a baby for years now, and you keep dismissing us every time we've approached you. You don't want us to have a child."
"There is a waiting list," Jareth growled. "I followed the book to the letter. This was your turn and unfortunately for you, it didn't work out."
"So we're still due to collect the next wished away child," Meffod rejoined with a smug grin.
"It doesn't work like that," Jareth sighed. "You go back to the end of the waiting list. You join the queue for a challenge, not the prize."
"You lie," Meffod sneered.
"Now now, Meffy," Yarbro tried to settle his wife.
"I am sure you're disappointed," Jareth grimaced with his pounding headache reminding him of its presence. "The best I can do is add you to the bottom of the list."
"I am sure there is something you want or need that can change your mind," Yarbro suggested calmly, with a sly wink. "Money or servants or perhaps my niece Forsythia as a bride."
"I will not be bribed," Jareth shook his head, summoning his cane in his annoyance. "Especially not with a wife."
"How can a mortal child beat your Labyrinth?" Yarbro mocked, changing tack with his revived anger, one eye on the cane currently being hit against the Royal fae's boot.
"She persevered," Jareth answered almost fondly. "She had love for her brother and loyalty to her friends. Humans often share stories of love triumphing over adversity. She proved it right, that's all."
"She needs to be punished," said Yarbro through his teeth.
"You sound almost proud of her," Meffod accused at the same time.
"My response to both is no," Jareth dismissed both their statements with a wave of his hand and a cold stare with his hard blue eyes. "The Goblins are celebrating the girl as the Labyrinth's Champion. By rights that gives her a high standing within my realm. While she may not have the same level of protection as the babe due to innocence, she still can not be touched."
That wasn't strictly the truth. Toby, whilst safe and protected absolutely, couldn't be touched, but there were many loopholes with his sister. Yet, he didn't want to tell these two miscreants any of that for fear of what they may do to his wife. The loopholes may be there for him to exploit, but he didn't want anyone else being privy to them.
"She has my protection," Jareth reaffirmed.
"There are time limits to those kinds of protection spells," Yarbro shrugged. "If you don't deal with her as necessary, we will."
"You dare threaten my ward," Jareth's ire broke free of its chains. He knew he wouldn't be able to claim Sarah for at least 13 years, that was a major loophole that would be his last resort. "In my kingdom, when you are nothing and nobody worthy of questioning me?"
"Yet you are not our king," Meffod said calmly. "But we will take this to our King."
With his last shred of patience, Jareth warned them one last time and they still defied him.
"You take our child, deny us our revenge, let that mortal win, deny us the next child, it won't be the last time you hear from us," Meffod challenged. With a flick of his wrist Jareth was alone again. Meffod and Yarbro would be somewhere outside his realm, he didn't care where as long as they were gone.
Jareth settled back into his throne. He had to start thinking about how to get his wife back. He pulled out the pearl again and looked at it once more. He wondered why such a person was destined to be his wife. Something about her did entice him, Pearl prophecy aside. But he might have to wait 13 years before he could get her back to find out.
A/N: So brand new story. Yipee. This one will be longer and M rated ;) It will be very different from "Wings" but also inspired by Savage Garden (Tears of Pearls). Pearls were believed to be Tears of the Gods by the ancient Greeks and that is why they are common wedding ornamentation/jewelry. Lots of different myths out there from other cultures too though. In China it was believed you had to fight (kill) a dragon before you could receive a pearl.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. I have the whole plot mapped out, and the next chapter is written but needs editing.
My children are going berserk and I am at the end of my emotional tether so please be gentle with me, if you read this :)