***This is my little tribute to the memory of David Bowie who will always be the Goblin King. May he reign forever.***
Take note that I've fudged the timeline on when Sarah's original journey occurred for various stylistic reasons. In this story, Sarah's original trip to the Labyrinth occurred at the beginning of summer in 1996, NOT 1986.
I own my original characters and the precise order I put my words down in. The world and characters of Labyrinth will sadly never belong to me. I just like to play in their sandbox. I make no money off of this.
Jetredgirl, Black Flower, SarahlouiseDodge, Honoria Granger, foolalex, and dcmccorkle: Thank you all so much for your kind words! I can't express how much they mean to me or how much they keep me motivate to write. You have all been sent mental gift baskets full of fuzzy thoughts and chocolate. :)
Honoria Granger: Never fear, while Jareth only makes a very brief appearance in this chapter, he will be appearing more frequently as the story progresses. The beginning of this story is just far more focused on Sarah and the changes she has gone through since her return from the Labyrinth. Also, you would think that Sarah would know not to take fruit from Fae without asking questions wouldn't you?
The Questing Room was located in the depths of the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. It was, in many ways, the heart of the Castle and it had been there at least as long as the Castle itself. Some of the oldest Lorekeepers insisted that the room existed long before there even was a Castle, but no one knew for certain. The room never really changed. The Labyrinth altered constantly and even the Castle shifted from time to time, but in a place of continuous transformation, the Questing Room was constant.
The Great Mirror hung in the center of the room's front wall. Lessor mirrors flanked it and covered the walls on either side of the room. When a questor of any sort was present, be they a Challenger or merely a runner, the mirrors would display their progress through the Labyrinth. The back wall was dominated by a massive portrait of the Goblin King as a youth. Of course, it wasn't truly the King portrayed in the image. As the shining plaque beneath it proclaimed, it properly depicted "His Royal Highness, Prince Jareth the Clever, Champion of the Labyrinth." As a youth, Jareth had challenged the Labyrinth on the very day the ancient laws named him an adult. Against all odds, he succeeded. As the Labyrinth's first and only Champion, She made him King.
Prince Bree'Onne had only been Royal Seneschal to the Goblin King for a bit over two centuries and Labyrinth quests were still intriguing to him. Whether the quest involved a simple mortal runner or a true Challenger, he watched the events unfold every time he had the opportunity. The King always granted him leave to watch the infrequent Challengers, but mortal runners were far more common and Bree'Onne had only had the chance to witness a few dozen of them.
Luckily, His Majesty had little need of his Seneschal currently and permitted Bree'Onne to retire to the Questing Room to watch the latest runner. This one was a girl on the cusp of womanhood, a pretty enough thing for a mortal. It was a common age for a wisher, but this case was unusual. Normally, if a girl that age wished away an infant, she was the unwanted babe's unfortunate mother; a girl who, still being a child herself, was not up to the task of raising one. This girl, however, was not the child's mother, but rather a maiden sister. Her connection to the realm of dreams must be strong indeed for the words to have come to her, Bree'Onne thought.
From the beginning, it was clear that the girl was different from the other runners Bree'Onne had seen. She recognized the Goblin King immediately. She didn't insist that he couldn't be real or deny what was happening. More importantly, she lacked the proper fear a mortal should display when faced with His Majesty. There was a hint of fear in her eyes, but not nearly enough and what fear there was, was overshadowed by sorrow and even traces of defiance. She begged Jareth to return the child, but on his refusal, she insisted that she would run the Labyrinth to retrieve her brother.
Most runners agree to enter the Labyrinth with hesitance even if they're desperate to save the child, but this girl seems almost eager. This will be interesting, Bree'Onne decided. For once, he didn't expect the runner to give up. The baby would have to be returned when the time ran out regardless. The girl was neither the boy's mother, nor his guardian. She was not the one actually responsible for the child, and so, she lacked the power to give the child to the Fae. Her run would only decide her own fate. Would she show strength and earn a boon from the Labyrinth? Or would she fail and pay the price for her weakness? It should be fascinating to watch in either case.
The King finished the ritual words that began the girl's quest and vanished from sight. His part was done; the girl was just a runner, after all. She turned towards the Labyrinth, examining the stone walls. Her jade green eyes flashed with too many emotions for Bree'Onne to interpret. "The Labyrinth," she said. "It doesn't look that hard."
Bree'Onne's eyes widened. He heard the Lorekeepers' surprised murmurs around him. Was that a challenge? he wondered. She addressed the Labyrinth personally, just as ritual required. Would the Labyrinth consider this mortal child as an actual Challenger? He spun toward the crystal orbs flanking the entryway. The orbs were filled with green light indicating that a runner was present. As Bree'Onne watched, they pulsed and the light turned violet. The Challenge had been accepted.
His Majesty appeared in the Questing Room without warning. "What's happening?" he demanded. "I felt the Labyrinth accept a Challenge, but a run is already underway."
Master Lorekeeper Merrick turned towards his King, eyes filled with wonder. "It's the girl, Sire. After your departure, she challenged the Labyrinth personally and her Challenge has been accepted."
Bree'Onne had never seen the normally unflappable Goblin King look dumbfounded before. Jareth turned his head toward the Great Mirror. There, at the top, in letters of violet fire, was written, "Current Challenger: Sarah Williams." Her Statement of Challenge was listed beneath her name. Jareth blinked and looked at the words again, as though he expected them to change. "The Labyrinth has never accepted a mortal Challenger," he said. "And her words…that hardly seems like a proper Challenge! Why would the Labyrinth accept?"
Merrick shrugged, "Can't say as I understand it myself, Your Majesty. The Labyrinth does as She does. Her reasons aren't always for us to know."
Jareth pinched the bridge of nose with a long-suffering sigh. "True enough, Merrick. True enough. It seems I'll have a bigger part to play in this than expected." He shook his head and stared at the girl's image in the Great Mirror. "A mortal girl…how absurd. Ah well, nothing can change it now. What's done is done." With those words, the Goblin King vanished as quickly as he'd appeared.
Bree'Onne turned towards the Great Mirror and settled into the cushioned leather of his chair. He couldn't guess what any of this might mean. Mortal runners were in no actual danger during their quests. They simply had to refuse to give up. If they never surrendered, or if they proved that they were willing to sacrifice themselves to save the wish-away, then they were considered victorious. There were a fair number of successful runners. A Challenger, on the other hand, was in very real danger from the time they entered the Labyrinth. To be victorious, a Challenger had to actually defeat the Labyrinth's Challenge. No one save the King had ever achieved that. Would the Labyrinth actually kill the girl? he wondered.
The scratching sound of quills against paper filled the room as the Lorekeepers eagerly recorded every detail revealed in the mirrors. This situation was new and none of them seemed to understand quite what such a change might herald. Bree'Onne could feel their excitement. Even amongst the Fae, most people feared change, but Lorekeepers reveled in it. He heard Merrick's delighted whisper, "History is happening!"
The quest kept getting stranger the longer Bree'Onne watched. The Labyrinth always shifted itself to be a proper trial for the questor. After all, the purpose of the quest was to test the fortitude of the questor's spirit, not what skills they possessed. He had seen it take on many different forms from hauntingly beautiful to utterly terrifying. But this form was bizarre, to say the least. This incarnation of the Labyrinth was run-down, ugly, and even comical at times. The poor Labyrinth denizens the girl encountered had been warped past all reason. Bree'Onne shuddered. Some things could not be unseen.
The girl herself was bewildering, a study in contradictions. She displayed both strength of character and whining petulance. She was both manipulative and kind, both clever and foolhardy. Regardless, her determination didn't waiver. Her sheer stubbornness was oddly captivating.
After several hours, three elven serving girls entered with food for the observers. They flinched and looked away when Bree'Onne glanced up at them. Most of the servants found his appearance very disturbing. He chuckled in response. Bree'Onne was a half-breed. His mother, Maav'Ra, was High Princess of the Serpentine, the vicious snake goblins renowned for their skill as assassins. His father had been some unfortunate Sidhe lord whom Maav'Ra had tricked into her bed. Bree'Onne neither knew, nor cared, which lord had sired him. He had no interest in the fool's title. Bree'Onne himself was in line for leadership of the Serpentine and had been given his current, coveted status as Royal Seneschal by the one who ruled all goblins. Regardless, his Sidhe blood served its purpose by enhancing his magic. He had by far the most magical potential of any living Serpentine. His upsetting appearance was just a bonus.
Bree'Onne's features were distinctively Sidhe in origin, the sweep of his cheekbones, the arch of his brow, the long ebon hair that he wore pulled back with a simple leather tie. But minor touches made such a difference. His fangs weren't the subtle things most Sidhe possessed, but the pronounced fangs of a viper. His alabaster skin was covered in tiny scales. He had retractile claws and a serpent's forked tongue. However, his eyes were what really bothered most Fae. They were faceted, glittering black, devoid of variance, and projecting malice. They marked him clearly as Serpentine. He smiled and murmured his thanks to the serving girls as they retreated, then took a plate for himself and went back to watching the quest play out.
The hours the girl had spent in the Labyrinth had obviously done nothing to wear down her determination. If anything, she seemed more devoted to her quest than when she began. When she encountered the King for the second time, after her escape from an oubliette, she was no longer politely defiant towards His Majesty. Rather, she was impudent, brazen, and even mocking. Does the child not comprehend the danger that she's in? Bree'Onne wondered. He'd never seen anyone speak to Jareth with such disrespect and live before. She was even more of an oddity than the unprecedented form the Labyrinth had taken.
By the time Bree'Onne had seen the Forbidden Bog, a terrifying place out of nightmare, transformed into the Bog of Eternal Stench, he felt like he was losing his mind. The courageous Sir Didymus, while still at his post, had been turned into an odd little fox-thing and his noble steed took the form of a cowardly, shaggy dog. Merrick assured him that nothing like this had ever happened in all of the Labyrinth's history. It baffled the mind. Bree'Onne couldn't even begin to imagine how His Majesty must feel.
When the girl ate the dream peach, Bree'Onne assumed that the game was over. Even powerful Fae very rarely escaped the peach dreams without aid, and sometimes not even then. Besides, the girl belonged to the Underground now. Bree'Onne shook his head. Considering the girl's obsession with fantasy, he had believed she would know better than to eat food from the Fae realms. Ah well, he thought, it was an entertaining diversion while it lasted. He started to rise, when he realized that the Lorekeepers were watching the mirrors with expressions of rapt anticipation. As Servants of the Records, the Lorekeepers were known to have a feel for the approach of important events. Bree'Onne knew that he should have realized that today's quest would be unusual by the sheer number of Lorekeepers present. No more than two or three were ever there to witness a mortal runner, but thirteen of them were in the room.
Bree'Onne sat back down. The mirrors showed nothing of the girl's dreaming, only her sleeping form, but he knew that the peach dreams were ones of temptation and enticement. He considered the sheer number of ploys the Labyrinth had used against her. Even if they had been oddly executed, she had faced many trials: physical danger, fear, confusion, betrayal, revulsion, perception, and now pleasure. It was rare to see a Challenger overcome even a fraction of those. There was clearly something unique about this little mortal.
Regardless, it was still surprising when the girl freed herself from the dreaming. The Labyrinth had transported her as she slept and she awakened in the Halls of Gold. Or at least, she awakened in what should have been the Halls of Gold. Now, they were an eerie copy of her own room from the mortal realm, filled with toys and trinkets from her past. She faced the challenge of avarice and overcame it with seemingly little effort.
By the time the girl reached the Castle itself, Bree'Onne had started to believe she might actually win. She left her friends behind and went to face the Stairs of Relativity and the Goblin King alone. The Stairs were considered impossible for anyone but the King himself to navigate. It was a cruel final challenge and not one Bree'Onne would have expected, but she didn't hesitate.
Despite all that had transpired, it was Jareth's words to her that made the Lorekeepers gasp in shock. The King proclaimed his love to this mortal girl, promised her everything, and even explained his actions. Those are NOT ritual words, Bree'Onne realized. That meant that Jareth's words were true. The Sidhe could not lie to humans on their own volition. The Goblin King was freely offering this slip of a girl what he'd refused to even consider granting to any Fae noblewoman. And the girl, Sarah, ignored the King, focused only on saving her brother. When she jumped, even Bree'Onne flinched. He heard the tolling of a bell and knew that the Labyrinth had a new Champion.
Still, the mirrors showed Sarah facing the Goblin King. Jareth actually proposed to her in his attempt to convince her to stay. She had already won, but she didn't relent. It was only when she spoke her final words to the King that the mirrors went dark. In that instant, they were words of power, potent as any spell, and they echoed through the Questing Room. "You have no power over me."
Bree'Onne couldn't have said how long he sat there, motionless. He didn't know what the consequences of the last hours would be, only that they would be great. Finally, he heard Merrick's shocked whisper, "The painting!"
Bree'Onne turned and saw that change had finally come to the Questing Room. He stood and approached the back wall. There, where Jareth's painting had hung, was the image of a familiar mortal girl. The plaque beneath it read: "Lady Sarah the Defiant, Champion of the Labyrinth." To the right of her portrait, a smaller version of Jareth's portrait hung. The plaque beneath it had changed. "His Royal Highness, Prince Jareth the Clever, First Champion of the Labyrinth." To the left of Sarah's portrait, there was a painting of the Stairs of Relativity showing Sarah, Jareth, and even the baby.
Bree'Onne turned to Merrick and asked, "If her portrait is here, that means that she holds full title, does it not?"
Merrick nodded, his eyes never left the painting. "It does."
"Has any mortal ever held full title in the Underground?" Bree'Onne asked. He had certainly never heard of such a thing.
Merrick shook his head. "No. I didn't even know it was a possibility."
Bree'Onne began to speak, but Merrick cut him off with a sharp motion. "Before you ask, the answer is no. I have no idea what this means."
They stood there for a long time, staring at the paintings in silence.
After the Lady Sarah's departure from the Underground, no one saw the King for nine days. The Labyrinth sounded no alarms, so Bree'Onne assumed that His Majesty was in no danger, but his extended absence was troubling. Jareth might vanish for a day here or there, but he'd never before been absent for such a long time. Bree'Onne would have sent out searchers and risked his King's wrath, but he knew there was no point. If Jareth didn't wish to be found, he wouldn't be.
On the tenth day, the Goblin King appeared at court as though no time had passed. He threw himself into his work. At first, it was a relief to see the King so dedicated. Bree'Onne was able to convince himself that Jareth was simply making up for the time he had missed. Three months later, Bree'Onne was truly worried. Jareth did everything required to fulfill his duties as a king, but nothing else. When the day's work was done, Jareth retreated to his private chambers. He accepted no visitors; he attended no gatherings. Jareth had always been social. As the only neutral monarch in the Underground, he was invited to every major event by both the Seelie and Unseelie courts. The masques he personally threw were the stuff of legends. Now, he barely spoke to his closest friends. Something was very wrong and Bree'Onne had no idea how it could be fixed.
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