Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my ideas.
There was a deafening silence in the throne room. Everyone was frozen in place as Sarah and the trio stepped hesitantly into the room. The sound of the doors closing behind them echoed.
Sarah's eyes went straight to the throne, which was disappointingly empty. Where was he? She scanned the sides of the room, where various fae sat like spectators watching the court proceedings.
Not there either.
She looked towards the center of the room and saw him standing with his hand outstretched towards two other fae that looked remarkably like her favorite meat. Had he been talking to the chicken ambassadors?
His was the only head that wasn't turned in their direction. He took his time, lowering his hand first and then turning his head to the left until he locked eyes with her. They stared at each other for what must have been an eternity, her eyes widening in shock as the reality of the moment hit her, and his remaining unreadable. Finally, he broke contact with her and let his gaze rove over her companions.
Harry stepped forward.
"Your majesty," he greeted with a bow. He'd seen it in movies, and weren't all kings the same?
"Harry Potter." Jareth tilted his head slightly. "And his two loyal friends." Hermione drew in a breath at the recognition.
He was attractive in that Fae way, all unearthly beauty and youth. He looked at her and she could feel the strength of his gaze like a force of nature, wild and untamable. She could tell in that moment this mission wouldn't be as simple as it sounded.
"You've certainly chosen the perfect time to visit me." Jareth's voice held amusement with a hint of inquisitiveness. Sarah snorted. As if he didn't know why they were there.
Jareth turned back to the chicken ambassadors and dismissed them, or rather, told them they could enjoy their new home in the Bog of Eternal Stench. The court cheered as the crystal sent them away screaming.
Turning back, he called out, "Court dismissed!" The onlookers slowly made their way out until the room cleared up and only Sarah, the trio, and Jareth remained.
"So," he began, returning to his throne chair, "What are you here for, Harry Potter?"
Harry stared as he watched Jareth comfortably lounging in his chair, with one foot propped and a crystal weaving around his hands. He was strongly reminded of Crookshanks after a successful mouse hunt. King, indeed.
"Er," he stuttered. "Well…" It was all sort of overwhelming. Jareth's position did nothing to hide the bulge in his pants; in fact, it seemed to highlight it. Harry couldn't stop staring at this… glittering king.
Hermione saved him.
"We're here about one of your goblins, sir." She stepped up to bat, keeping her eyes firmly on the King's face, though hers was tomato red. "His name's Higgle and you've exiled him to Gringotts. We want his exile repealed."
Jareth nodded at the name. "And what do I get out of this? Why should I revoke a goblin's punishment?"
"Because… well, it's the right thing to do!" Hermione was having trouble coming up with ideas with the intimidating aura coming from him. She gulped.
Sarah closed her eyes, waiting for the words "Have fun in the Bog" to come out of his mouth. Instead, she heard laughter. Jareth's laughter.
"'The right thing to do'?" he repeated. "Since when has my kingdom become a charity?" He finished laughing and looked at them like the cat that ate the canary.
"Hoggle, come here."
Sarah wasn't as surprised as she should have been to see Hoggle revealing himself from behind the giant throne. He'd disappeared a while back and she figured he'd hang around somewhere to get his crown.
Jareth turned to lean closer to Hoggle. "When you told me you were returning, I expected you to bring Sarah back, not Sarah and her little wizard friends," he said so softly she had to strain to hear him. "Why are they here?"
Hoggle stumbled over his words for a minute before getting a sentence out. "They found Sarah through Higgle! They needed her help getting here and I had no choice!"
Jareth grinned then, a feral, evil grin. "Of course you didn't. Don't worry, you'll still get to be a Prince of the Labyrinth. In fact, I think I'll reward you now."
"Oh yes, please, I've waited so long for this—" Hoggle vanished as Jareth tossed a crystal at him.
"Where'd you send him?" Sarah asked accusingly. He smirked at her.
"To the Fireys, or do you object?"
She smirked back. "Nope, not at all. You'd think he'd learn after the first time."
"Now he's Prince of two things now: Bog of Stench and Land of the Fireys. I'm sure they'll make quick work of decapitating him," Jareth mused aloud. Sarah snickered but then grew serious.
"Enough with your ramblings, old man." That sure got his attention. "We're here for a reason."
"Oh, you were serious about letting Higgle come back?" Jareth raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sorry to say that my court is neutral to Aboveground affairs. I won't get involved in some stupid wizarding war."
"What makes you think this has anything to do with that?" Harry asked. He tried to keep his words even and calm.
"I'm not a fool," Jareth said disdainfully. "Higgle is connected to Gringotts, the safest and most secure bank in the world. You clearly need something from Gringotts or you wouldn't be going along with his demands in the first place. Not to mention, you have quite a reputation, Harry Potter. Why else would you be here, except to save the world?"
The four of them stared in shock as their whole unstable plan came crashing down around them. The King had figured everything out and now they had nothing to bargain with, no hidden advantage he couldn't see. Harry supposed if the King recognized him, it was probably easy enough to deduce, given that he was supposed to be the great Savior and all that.
Well, he wasn't a Gryffindor for his brains.
"You're a coward."
The ensuing tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"You hide here in your underground kingdom and let your own people die trying to fight even though they're already dying from magic deprivation. How shameful is that? And now, when you get the chance to help in some way without leaving your hiding place, you turn it down. What's next, you're going to stick me in some smelly swamp until I die?"
The other three gaped at Harry in varying degrees of admiration and fear for their lives. Hermione had to resist the same urge that drove her to punch Draco Malfoy in the face their third year and Ron was simply admiring his best friend's fighting spirit. He clearly wasn't thinking of the circumstances.
Sarah had to give Harry credit, he was definitely a brave one. Admittedly, being stuck in a place that only smelled bad didn't seem that frightening, but Sarah had been there before and she'd wish for death before she was stuck smelling that for the rest of her life.
"The Goblin Court is separate from any Aboveground problems. They have their own Courts to handle those issues. Fae are exiled there because they've committed unspeakable crimes," Jareth explained coldly.
"But Higgle hasn't done anything wrong! He was wrongly imprisoned because of some stupid backwards plan to get to me," Sarah argued. "And you're going to agree with this because Hoggle told us all about you ordering him to spy on me."
"However," Jareth continued, ignoring Sarah's outburst and slyly watching them, "Since you three are the reason Sarah has returned to me, I'll give you a chance."
"'Returned to you'? Where do you think you're going with that, Goblin King?"
"What's the chance?" Harry asked cautiously.
Jareth smiled with his teeth.
"You just have to run the Labyrinth."
AN: So… Goblin King. Is he okay? Too OOC? I've probably written this chapter over 10 times trying to get it right, and I don't even know if it is, at this point. I've actually written a few more chapters ahead, but now I feel like I'll have to rewrite them… again.
And just as a heads up, if anybody actually reads the AN: Jareth here is pretty cold to everybody, but he's different when he's alone with Sarah. I like to imagine he's not exactly in love with her, but more fond of her than, say, some passing goblin. Just keep that in mind please.