Chapter Three: Failed Magic
The white owl flew over the vast Underground without a glance down at it. He
glided through the air and swooped down lower in order to fly through one of the
windows in the castle wall. The owl lighted on the ground and immediately transformed
back into human shape. The Goblin King glared out of the window.
He swept his white cape behind himself with an angry flick of his hand and
stamped out of the room. Jareth threw open the heavy wooden door and it slammed
against the stone wall. Several goblins who had been enjoying plucking feathers from a
dirty chicken cringed at the sound and the sight of their angry king.
He glared down at them and barely sustained an urge to kick them down the hall.
Instead he bent down by them and smiled. They smiled back at him with their big goofy
grins. They were both too stupid to understand anything he might have tried to tell them.
"You bumbling idiots, go and make yourself useful with the rest of the troops!" he
ordered.
The two quickly rose to their feet and scurried down the hall. The chicken was left
forgotten. It looked at its attackers with stupid glassy eyes and then headed the opposite
way down the hall. Jareth watched it walk away with little interest and then walked back
towards his throne room. It seemed that the goblins had forgotten their orders in the
matter of minutes he had been gone.
Jareth marched into his throne room and nearly fell into his throne. He draped one
leg over the arm and then put his face into his hands. He was alone for the time being and
it was just as well. He didn't know how much more of the goblins he could take that day.
His patience had worn thin and the many problems that had begun to occur a few months
earlier didn't help his mood much.
Then there was the stubborn girl! He clenched his jaw slightly at the thought of
her attempting to defy him. It was unheard of. She would look at him with an
overwhelming anger burning in her eyes. However, she would also bite her lip and
tremble slightly in fear and anxiety. He smiled as he thought of the fear he had forced
upon her. He thought of the cruelty that she had sustained.
Suddenly a deep pain gripped his chest in tight hands. Jareth's blue eyes opened
wide and he had to stifle a cry form the immense agony flaring through his body. He
placed a hand over his chest and felt his heart flutter unnaturally. Jareth pulled himself to
his weak legs and nearly collapsed on the ground. He steadied himself with the arm of his
throne and staggered out of the throne room. The entire room seemed to spin in and out
of focus. He lunged at the doorway and gripped it tightly in one white hand. A black
shade dropped momentarily before his eyes and blinded him. Jareth veered to the left and
collided with the stone wall. He groped blindly along the wall in search of his chambers.
The doorknob struck his arm and he pushed the door open violently.
"What do you want from me?" he demanded in a weakened voice.
There was no answer to his cry. He stumbled towards his bed and sat down,
holding his throbbing head in his hands. The pain subsided and vanished as quickly as it
had struck him. He brought his head up and gazed around his chamber with bloodshot
eyes. The room was finally in focus.
The mirror caught the reflection of a different man. The man was a little thinner
than he had been a few short weeks earlier. His face was white and covered in a fine
sheen of sweat. His intense blue eyes were rimmed with red. Jareth took a deep breath
and turned his gaze away from his reflection.
He was silently joyful that the goblins had left to follow his orders. It was better
that they didn't see their king in such a weakened state. He had been able to hide his
mystery illness from them for the time being. However, the attacks were progressively
getting worse and they lasted much longer than when he had first felt them.
His mind wandered slightly to his plan. There wasn't much time left until he
would be calling on her to assist him. Jareth could only hope that his strength would hold
up until after she had been properly controlled.
Jareth carefully made his way to his feet and walked towards the crystal orb that
floated in midair. He sat on the navy blue couch by it and stared deeply into its clear
surface. His magic was failing quickly. The crystals no longer appeared all of the time. In
fact, the faint blue glow that the orb had emitted for so long had flashed off and on over
the past weeks. He didn't know why their power was dying and why he had acquired a
strange illness around the same time the magic failed.
"What is this strange plague that has struck the Underground and myself?" Jareth
asked the large crystal. It's glow faltered slightly and then returned.
He shook his head and then rose from the couch. His gaze wandered over his
chamber and rested on the mirror. He had stood before that mirror often and watched
Sarah. It wasn't until today that she had seen him. He didn't understand how she had
used it. However, she had used it and she had seen him, if only for a brief moment. Jareth
shook the thought from his head and then continued out of his room.
"Your highness!" a goblin soldier called as he bowed deeply.
Jareth stopped in the middle of his stride and looked at the small dirty goblin. He
crossed his arms across his chest and waited for the goblin to continue. His strength was
beginning to return and his bad mood had lifted slightly.
"We was doing as you had told us and then something happened. The light died!
It died for a little and then came back and...and..," the goblin stopped as if he was still in
shock from the whole ordeal.
Jareth started walking again. He had no time for the stupid tales this goblin was
trying to tell him. They made no sense. The light died? It was stupid and obviously
something that the goblins would say. Jareth decided that it would be smarter to just
ignore them.
The goblin scurried after Jareth on its short, stubby legs. It tripped and landed on
its stomach. Jareth turned and looked down at the strange little thing. His mood had
improved, but his patience was starting to wear thin from the ignorant beast.
"Your highness. I was sent to have you look at the moaning woods. There's
something wrong, I'm sure," It demanded.
Jareth sighed deeply and gestured with his hand. A crystal ball appeared in his
formerly empty palm. Jareth spun it in his fingers and watched as it grew transparent and
the woods appeared inside. He watched as the ball scanned over the woods and revealed
nothing out of the ordinary. If the goblin had been lying to him he would soon find
himself in the bog of eternal stench.
Suddenly the crystal showed a break in the lush trees. The browns and greens of
the forest ended abruptly and formed into a horrible shade of gray. Jareth stared in shock
at the awful sight that was unfolding itself before his very eyes. He abruptly ceased the
spinning of the crystal and it disappeared. Jareth attempted to pull another one from
nothing, but he came up with nothing. The magic was failing again.
The forest had seemed normal at first glance. However, there was something very
wrong inside its calm exterior. The trees had died and withered closer to the spot that had
shocked him so. There was one tree that stood apart from all the others. It was the tree
that had been very regular until a few short minutes earlier. That one simple tree gave
Jareth all the proof he needed to confirm the fact that the magic was draining from the
Underground. The tree had turned to stone!
The white owl flew over the vast Underground without a glance down at it. He
glided through the air and swooped down lower in order to fly through one of the
windows in the castle wall. The owl lighted on the ground and immediately transformed
back into human shape. The Goblin King glared out of the window.
He swept his white cape behind himself with an angry flick of his hand and
stamped out of the room. Jareth threw open the heavy wooden door and it slammed
against the stone wall. Several goblins who had been enjoying plucking feathers from a
dirty chicken cringed at the sound and the sight of their angry king.
He glared down at them and barely sustained an urge to kick them down the hall.
Instead he bent down by them and smiled. They smiled back at him with their big goofy
grins. They were both too stupid to understand anything he might have tried to tell them.
"You bumbling idiots, go and make yourself useful with the rest of the troops!" he
ordered.
The two quickly rose to their feet and scurried down the hall. The chicken was left
forgotten. It looked at its attackers with stupid glassy eyes and then headed the opposite
way down the hall. Jareth watched it walk away with little interest and then walked back
towards his throne room. It seemed that the goblins had forgotten their orders in the
matter of minutes he had been gone.
Jareth marched into his throne room and nearly fell into his throne. He draped one
leg over the arm and then put his face into his hands. He was alone for the time being and
it was just as well. He didn't know how much more of the goblins he could take that day.
His patience had worn thin and the many problems that had begun to occur a few months
earlier didn't help his mood much.
Then there was the stubborn girl! He clenched his jaw slightly at the thought of
her attempting to defy him. It was unheard of. She would look at him with an
overwhelming anger burning in her eyes. However, she would also bite her lip and
tremble slightly in fear and anxiety. He smiled as he thought of the fear he had forced
upon her. He thought of the cruelty that she had sustained.
Suddenly a deep pain gripped his chest in tight hands. Jareth's blue eyes opened
wide and he had to stifle a cry form the immense agony flaring through his body. He
placed a hand over his chest and felt his heart flutter unnaturally. Jareth pulled himself to
his weak legs and nearly collapsed on the ground. He steadied himself with the arm of his
throne and staggered out of the throne room. The entire room seemed to spin in and out
of focus. He lunged at the doorway and gripped it tightly in one white hand. A black
shade dropped momentarily before his eyes and blinded him. Jareth veered to the left and
collided with the stone wall. He groped blindly along the wall in search of his chambers.
The doorknob struck his arm and he pushed the door open violently.
"What do you want from me?" he demanded in a weakened voice.
There was no answer to his cry. He stumbled towards his bed and sat down,
holding his throbbing head in his hands. The pain subsided and vanished as quickly as it
had struck him. He brought his head up and gazed around his chamber with bloodshot
eyes. The room was finally in focus.
The mirror caught the reflection of a different man. The man was a little thinner
than he had been a few short weeks earlier. His face was white and covered in a fine
sheen of sweat. His intense blue eyes were rimmed with red. Jareth took a deep breath
and turned his gaze away from his reflection.
He was silently joyful that the goblins had left to follow his orders. It was better
that they didn't see their king in such a weakened state. He had been able to hide his
mystery illness from them for the time being. However, the attacks were progressively
getting worse and they lasted much longer than when he had first felt them.
His mind wandered slightly to his plan. There wasn't much time left until he
would be calling on her to assist him. Jareth could only hope that his strength would hold
up until after she had been properly controlled.
Jareth carefully made his way to his feet and walked towards the crystal orb that
floated in midair. He sat on the navy blue couch by it and stared deeply into its clear
surface. His magic was failing quickly. The crystals no longer appeared all of the time. In
fact, the faint blue glow that the orb had emitted for so long had flashed off and on over
the past weeks. He didn't know why their power was dying and why he had acquired a
strange illness around the same time the magic failed.
"What is this strange plague that has struck the Underground and myself?" Jareth
asked the large crystal. It's glow faltered slightly and then returned.
He shook his head and then rose from the couch. His gaze wandered over his
chamber and rested on the mirror. He had stood before that mirror often and watched
Sarah. It wasn't until today that she had seen him. He didn't understand how she had
used it. However, she had used it and she had seen him, if only for a brief moment. Jareth
shook the thought from his head and then continued out of his room.
"Your highness!" a goblin soldier called as he bowed deeply.
Jareth stopped in the middle of his stride and looked at the small dirty goblin. He
crossed his arms across his chest and waited for the goblin to continue. His strength was
beginning to return and his bad mood had lifted slightly.
"We was doing as you had told us and then something happened. The light died!
It died for a little and then came back and...and..," the goblin stopped as if he was still in
shock from the whole ordeal.
Jareth started walking again. He had no time for the stupid tales this goblin was
trying to tell him. They made no sense. The light died? It was stupid and obviously
something that the goblins would say. Jareth decided that it would be smarter to just
ignore them.
The goblin scurried after Jareth on its short, stubby legs. It tripped and landed on
its stomach. Jareth turned and looked down at the strange little thing. His mood had
improved, but his patience was starting to wear thin from the ignorant beast.
"Your highness. I was sent to have you look at the moaning woods. There's
something wrong, I'm sure," It demanded.
Jareth sighed deeply and gestured with his hand. A crystal ball appeared in his
formerly empty palm. Jareth spun it in his fingers and watched as it grew transparent and
the woods appeared inside. He watched as the ball scanned over the woods and revealed
nothing out of the ordinary. If the goblin had been lying to him he would soon find
himself in the bog of eternal stench.
Suddenly the crystal showed a break in the lush trees. The browns and greens of
the forest ended abruptly and formed into a horrible shade of gray. Jareth stared in shock
at the awful sight that was unfolding itself before his very eyes. He abruptly ceased the
spinning of the crystal and it disappeared. Jareth attempted to pull another one from
nothing, but he came up with nothing. The magic was failing again.
The forest had seemed normal at first glance. However, there was something very
wrong inside its calm exterior. The trees had died and withered closer to the spot that had
shocked him so. There was one tree that stood apart from all the others. It was the tree
that had been very regular until a few short minutes earlier. That one simple tree gave
Jareth all the proof he needed to confirm the fact that the magic was draining from the
Underground. The tree had turned to stone!
