Chapter 1
Birds soared across the skies and the pond water sparkled as Meah walked across the stone bridge over the water. She had her iPod earbuds in her ears and was listening to piano instrumentals from The Phantom of the Opera. She hummed along as the words played in her head. Her eyes were closed as she swayed and spun to the music.
It was sort of hypnotic, the way she moved and felt. Meah loved losing herself in music. Ever since she was little, she's had an affinity for it. Over the years she had learned to play the guitar, piano, flute, and harp. She would rather listen to the Philharmonic Orchestra than people like Avril Lavigne or Fall Out Boy. She loved to read even more than that.
Those differences were the ones that set her apart from her classmates when she was in high school. Her best friends were her grand piano and a certain red velvet book she now had in her messenger bag. Her mother had always told her that she would regret not trying to make friends in high school, but she hasn't yet. She graduated three weeks ago and has felt no loss or remorse. No heartache from past boyfriends, no reminiscing the glory of the past few years that ended once she got her diploma. No. She was ready to move on with her life. She had gotten a scholarship to Julliard in New York City. She couldn't wait for this last week at home to be over. She left for New York next week, and she couldn't be happier. She was sad to leave her family behind, but she knew it was time for her to go off on her own.
As Meah walked across the grass beside the pond, the wind started to blow softly, causing her long, dark brown hair to whip around her head. Meah opened her black-brown eyes and impatiently pushed her hair behind her ears. She sat down on the grass and leaned back on her hands, staring out at the water. It was a blue-green color and, unlike the other ponds in the city, it was fairly transparent. She could see gold and white fish swimming around along with tadpoles and minnows. Meah pushed herself up on her knees to get a better look at the fish. The music in her ears dulled until she couldn't hear it anymore. She looked down at her iPod, which sat on the grass beside her, only to see that the music had stopped though the screen said the song was still playing. It hadn't been paused, but it wasn't moving anymore. She looked up and around at her surroundings. Birds hovered in midair- wings outstretched, but unmoving. Children were frozen in place as they played on the swings and slide. The earbuds fell from Meah's ears as she slowly climbed to her feet. What was going on?
"Meah," a deep, male voice whispered softly in her ear. She spun around, looking for the source, but found nothing.
"Dearest, darling, Meah," he whispered again adoringly.
"Who's there?" Meah asked, looking all around. "Where are you?"
"The water. Come to the water, Meah," he coaxed her. She knew something was way wrong about all of this, but Meah was a naturally curious person. She walked slowly toward the water. Now standing at the edge of the pond, Meah looked into the water. A pair of mismatched eyes stared back at her. Her jaw dropped and everything started to get fuzzy. She shook her head and backed away from the pond. She was dreaming. She had to be. Meah snatched her iPod up off the ground and ran away from the water, toward home.
At the same time in the Goblin Castle…
"Damn it!" Kristopher growled, throwing the crystal he held in his hand to the floor. It popped like a bubble when it touched the stone.
So close. He had been so close! Meah had almost fallen under his spell. She had almost been his.
Kristopher stormed out of his chambers, his boots clicking angrily on the stone floor, making all kinds of noise in the mostly empty castle. His father, Jareth, had died the previous year, leaving nineteen-year-old Kristopher to assume the throne and rule the realm of the goblins. He had been training the last few years to take over, including running creatures and even an occasional stupid human through the labyrinth. He had won every time. The only time in history that anyone had beaten the maze was when his father was king.
When Kristopher was fifteen, Jareth told him the story of a girl- Sarah- who had won the labyrinth and, in turn, had won his heart. Jareth even went as far as to show Kristopher who Sarah was. She, of course, was much older by that time and had a child of her own. A daughter. Meah. Petite, with doe-like brown eyes, the innocent girl had captured his attention. Over the next year, Kristopher checked in on Meah periodically. On her sixteenth birthday, he sent her a gift- the very book his father had made for her mother. He was delighted when he discovered her love for that book. Though it was about his father and her mother, he knew that he had formed a connection with her over it. She sympathized with the lonely Goblin King. That gave him hope. Maybe she could learn to love him as well? Him being Kristopher of course, not Jareth.
He had tried to contact her over the years, in her dreams and through reflections, like he had done with the water. He wanted her to picture him when she thought of the Goblin King. Him with the same mismatched eyes as his father and the same tawny hair, though his was more tame than Jareth's had been. His affection for her grew as they did. Now, almost eighteen, Meah was the one thing Kristopher wanted most in the world. He wasn't about to give up. Sure, he had failed to bring her to the Underground today, but next time would be different. He was determined to make her his. At whatever cost.