Dear Reader,
I don't own Sarah, Jareth, the settings of the Goblin Kingdom or anything else associated with the Labyrinth. I do hope you like little Batten. I think he's cute. (No, no, no, I know Jareth-poo is still the cutest, don't worry…) So, keep your shorts on and let's get on with the story!
Hugs and kisses,
Jane
Jareth had been sitting in the lonely tower room since the sun had gone down the previous night. He wasn't as much sitting as he was seething. Glancing out the window with a distinct frown smothered across his chiseled face, he drew up one, two, three crystals and began to swirl them around in his hand.
"It had to be today. Today of all days," he growled to himself.
The meeting with all the other Kingdoms around the Goblin Kingdom happened twice a year. It wasn't that it wasn't exceptionally boring. It wasn't that seeing the other Kings and Queens was annoying. No, wondering around a crowded room and listening to the small talk infiltrated with deep political musings was highly entertaining. It was almost like a game for Jareth to discover as many subplots in a conversation as possible. He might even throw a couple more devious schemes into the mix if he felt so inclined.
He had actually been quite looking forward for the entire affair. It wasn't too often that he got out of his great castle, so any chance to leave was a blessing. The Goblin Kingdom was a full time task, one that required him to not only manage an entire race, but to handle the Labyrinth and the lost children wished to him. He certainly did not get out of his kingdom very often at all.
Jareth was still scowling as he watched the sun rise over the horizon.
Every year that had passed by had given rise to an equally increasing amount of frustration, resentment and more than enough plans of revenge. Never one to take anything for granted, this one of the seven mantras of the Goblin Kingdom had been firmly pressed in place ever since he had been a young boy, the Goblin King considered the significance of the day. Yet as he began to picture that same day, a mere decade ago, the wounds clearly yelled out that they were yet still too raw to be battered around so harshly. Closing up his mind, for the one hundred and eighty sixth time that morning, Jareth turned from the window at back into the stone room he had spent the night in.
It was smaller than his normal bedchambers, but the night had been too large so he had decided to settle into the womb of the room. Instead of curling into the richly luxurious dark blue covers, Jareth had fallen asleep in a plush purple chair with an equally swanky ottoman to rest his lanky frame on. Although the seat had fulfilled more than a chair's usual amount of comfort, he had woken up with a cramp in his neck almost as bothersome as the discomfort in the pit of his stomach.
No, this was most certainly not going to be a good day.
The knock at the door woke him as a sharp rap was again repeated on the thick wooden surface.
"Your Highness. Your Highness?" called a weak and high-pitched voice.
"Yes, yes, yes," he grumbled back, "by all means, come in Batten." Before he had even managed to finish, a small and slightly squished looking Goblin plodded in the room, shoving the door open first with his back then excitedly slamming it closed with the rear of his foot, all the while keeping a tray with a cup and coffee perched precariously on top from falling to the floor.
Ah, yes, just what he needed first in the morning, a cup of coffee and a manic dwarf of a goblin with every intention of driving him slowly insane.
Batten set (or tossed, thought Jareth) the tray on the little side table next to the chair and stepped back with a satisfied grin. Somehow the goblins had no trouble at all keeping a snickering smile on their face, even in the presence of a perturbed King. Goblins were foolhardy, fun loving, mischievous little creatures that were fiercely loyal to themselves and their king. They only forgot about the loyalty to the latter half of that spectrum some of the time. But mostly, the goblins lived contentedly in their realm, wreaking havoc whenever possible and getting into the most unpredictable situations that they could. Sometimes, if they were lucky, select goblins were chosen to travel with Jareth to the Aboveground.
Jareth eyed the slightly spilt cup and tray and glanced back up at the miniature goblin.
"Yes?"
"Your Highness, sir, we were wondering if… well, sir, we wanted to know if we were going to be able to come with you today… because, you see your Highness, we…"
"No," he grunted back. Not in a trillion years type of no. The idea of the goblins coming with him to the Grand Gathering sent certain shivers of fear up his spine that he would rather ignore at that point.
Batten looked down at the ground dejectedly and sauntered back out of the room. Jareth stared at the back of the door several seconds after it had been heaved closed, deep in thought for the second time that morning. With a sigh, he thought of the only good thing about the morning, picked up the cup and took a good long chug of it.
Some things in the Goblin castle could be completely bizarre and others as bare and boring as the castles in the Aboveground were. The mix shifted to and fro, along with the charging body of the Labyrinth surrounding it. Containing the heart of the Labyrinth, the castle reflected the maze's qualities, the good and the bad.
Sitting back down in his chair, Jareth watched as the bathroom door on the other side of the room began to silently sidle across the wall towards the window, stopping directly before the interior curved towards the outside. He smiled to himself; the Labyrinth was consistently inconsistent in a predictable way, just the way he liked it. Placing his palm out, he willed a crystal into existence and gently blew on it, coaxing the sphere towards the bathroom. Seconds later, he could see steam billow out from beneath the edge of the door and he got up to prepare for the big day ahead.
Exiting the spacious tub, Jareth allowed his mind to wander again. Ten years had gone by so quickly, too quickly in fact. He could remember seeing her face when he had offered her her dreams for the second time. Her face had been strong, youthful, passionate, and did he detect a hint of regret? It was that last flutter of sadness that he saw in her eyes that kept his mind repeating the scene over and over in his head. It was like that look had become a hook and he was being reeled in, willingly or not. He pulled up his breeches and stretched his long arms through a black velvet jacket as he continued to muse over her adventures. Stepping out of the concealed room, he entered back into the cold and harsh reality of the Goblin Kingdom. He wasn't allowed to brood for too long, being the King of a realm full of rebels.
Jareth prepared himself for the Great Gathering that day, attempting to keep his mind busy enough so that it didn't wander to a certain face with certain green eyes calling to him. Walking about the Labyrinth and checking the nooks and crannies could take months to handle, and he found it the perfect activity before he was summoned. The Labyrinth contained three main sections that would never vary: the inner wall, the outer wall and the bog of eternal stench. Otherwise, the maze shifted endlessly, causing where a bush was one day to be transported five miles the next hour.
Soon enough, the sun began to teeter from its central point in the sky and Jareth grinded his teeth, preparing himself for the massive ball and social event he was attending. He summoned a crystal and transformed his outfit to one befitting a King, rich in deep purples and blacks with a long cape fluttering behind his back. He looked at himself, satisfied with the effect and transported himself with another crystal to the Goblin castle one last time before his departure.
"Grizzle! Halmwrac!" he called, summoning them to the throne room. Two large goblins with fluffy white beards scurried to him as fast as their aged legs could carry them.
"Good, you're here. As you know, I want you to keep an eye on things when I am gone. Just make sure my citizens don't do anything too awful or the Labyrinth doesn't make a major move. If that's the case, than I want you to summon me." He gestured for them to come to him and they obeyed with hands held out, accepting the crystal he was offering.
"Of course your Majesty," they both replied, mimicking the other and mumbling under their breath in a manner that would be seen as seen as pretentious by other goblins. Jareth scanned the throne room and its numerous scatter-brained occupants one last time before he called a sphere to take him to the Elf Kingdom. Traveling by crystal was easy and smooth, one hardly felt the trip take place at all and it went by in a matter of moments.
Landing in the center of a great room, Jareth looked around him to find himself in a hall especially reserved for guests coming in by magic. It was covered with a tiled dome and surrounded by great white pillars, meant to impress the newcomers. Jareth merely bypassed the grandeur, avoiding the glamour like the plague. Dodging around other new arrivals, he made his way to the front of the room to be greeted by the Elvin King and Queen.
"King Jareth, we are most pleased that you could come this year. It is wonderful to see you again," remarked the Queen as she smiled down at him, hiding her sideways smirk from her diligent husband. "And I hope to see you again and again tonight as well, your Highness." With that, she laughed and leaned back towards her husband and waved the Goblin King off.
It wasn't uncommon for royals, or anyone else for that matter, to stray a time or two or twenty from their monogamous relationship. It was seen as a token of health by some and the scapegoat of the mind by others. No matter who it was, the fact that the Elvin Queen and Jareth had a past of sneaking off together in the midst of a crowd was not one that was reprimanded, yet it did provide a juicy bit of gossip for the many tongues to wag.
A tall, thin elf stood at the doorway and beckoned Jareth to follow him so that he could lead him to his rooms. Jareth knew, from time and time again, the calculations of the Great Gatherings. A small meet and greet, get acclimated and be shown off the kingdom you're staying at, wine and dine and finally, begin the ball, all the while intermingling with the other nobility of the Underground.
"Check one," thought Jareth as he surveyed his temporary nightly domain. The room was oversized and sparsely decorated, keeping in line with the basics of the Elvin culture. Only the most pure and precious items were used as decorations and a metallic rawness consumed the room. Jareth found it fitting for his current mood and flopped onto his bed in a most un-kingly like fashion.
It was going to be a long night.
It was going to be even longer if her couldn't stop her from invading his head too.
A/N Thank you so much for reading my story! I am developing a pretty cool plot right now, so it should be coming together soon. Or perhaps it already has come together, pwuhahahaha! I would adore you forever if you would give me some feedback on my writing and/or the story. This is my first work of fiction EVER and I really want to know how to make myself better. You guys are wonderful!