Disclaimer: All references to the characters Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and the film Labyrinth belong to Jim Henson Studios and other pertinent parties. I do not claim ownership to the characters and / or the original source material.

Life's Little Lessons: Chapter 8

"Please," came the piteous voice of Thomas to Jareth's ears. "You can't let him take you away." Thomas hiccupped at the end, which gained himself another quiet, maternal gesture from his cousin.

"I have no say in this matter. It's up to him whether or not he wants to spare me," she said quietly. She sighed a little and pushed Thomas away again with her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her with red rimmed eyes and a drippy nose. "Just… promise me two things, Thomas."

The boy nodded vigorously until her hand under his chin stilled his action. The corner of her pink lips twitched upward slightly. "Promise me you won't ever speak ill of someone without thinking first about the consequences."

"I didn't mean it."

"I know. I know you didn't. You never do. You have learned your lesson, and you won't ever forget," she reassured. "But do you promise?"

"I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to die? Stick a needle in your eye?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Now." The girl swallowed and seemed to fight herself for a moment. "Promise me… promise me that you'll talk to Mom for me. You know, she had to deal with the same thing – grandpa's divorce and all that. Promise me you'll confide in her. She-she'll help you to cope. She loves you, too. Don't ever forget that."

"I promise." The boy sniffled and he pulled back a little. He tried to whisper, but his throat was raw. Jareth could hear every word as he pretended to admire a crystal in his hand. "When I go back, I can ask Aunt Sarah the right words, and I can come back and save you and-"

"Thomas Gareth Williams," she reprimanded sternly. The boy fell silent. Jareth continued to pretend to examine the crystal with interest.

Thomas stood still because she never used his full name even when she was angry at him for something stupid he said or did. She held his shoulders, and she gently squeezed them to have him look her in the eye. Her stern expression softened. She looked like Aunt Sarah for a moment with that warm smile on her pink lips. She reminded him vaguely of his dream from that morning – of a dark haired angel in the Jones' kitchen with a halo of morning sunlight. "Mom probably won't remember me. It'll be like I didn't even exist… and how would you be able to get back here? Wish yourself away to him? That's just silly."

"But-"

"You made a choice… and you are going to have to live with it. As am I."

"What if… I take your place? Would he allow that?"

"I won't allow it." The sternness crept back into her voice. Then she softened again as she teased him ever so gently. "He doesn't need another Little Goblin like you anyway."

Jareth waved the crystal away. Her words had piqued his interest again. A thin eyebrow rose as he assessed the young woman. Once again, he was struck by how different and similar events were playing out between him and the Williams children. He felt almost like a voyeur watching events play out without him. Sarah's daughter spoke the truth, and unlike her mother, she was resigned to her fate. She didn't seem to fight the consequences of her cousin's actions, which he found a tad unbelievable. Was this girl Sarah's daughter or not? Where was the stubborn fire? Why was she so resigned to her fate of being his… forever?

Comparatively, Toby's son was adamant about saving her. Stubbornly, he kept trying to find a way to circumvent the inevitable and to atone for his words. But the child had meant them. He had unleashed his anger and pain and he had truly believed. Otherwise, the pair would not be here with him. Thomas's words had carried weight, and even if Charlotte was not the reason for his anger, she shouldered it admirably.

"You would, wouldn't you?" the boy's question drew Jareth back to the present. Thomas stared at him, and the girl turned around to partially look at the Goblin King. Her eyes were somber, hurt, and a tad hopeful. Jareth realized Thomas finally had the wherewithal to ask the one person who had the power to resolve the situation. In that moment, he made a decision.

"I won't," the Goblin King drawled. "There are rules not of my making at play here. Only the one wished away can become a goblin. The wisher cannot take their place."

"But you're the King! You rule here! You make the rules!" protested Thomas. He thought a moment, back to the little red book and what he had managed to read. "I-I could be your heir, right? You don't really need Charlie!"

Jareth let a lazy grin of pointed canines and smugness come to life on his face. "How presumptuous of you, young man. I do rule here. I do require an heir… but why would I want such a spoiled, angry child such as yourself? Miss Jones would also be a fine-" He paused for effect and his eyes flickered to the young woman's figure. "Addition to my household as well."

The boy's shoulders fell. He failed to see a blush creep over Charlotte's cheeks, but Jareth didn't. She did look rather like her mother at that moment. The long hair hanging loose except it was a reddish brown and not raven black; lips the color of blush and not crimson roses. Her green eyes weren't so deep or clear. They appeared more olive than true green. He vaguely wondered if she had her mother's tastes for men. Apparently not by the way she suddenly glared at him. Anger. Jareth understood anger, and the emotion made him smile even more. Jareth barely heard the boy's next words as he remembered another time and place with a beautiful girl on the cusp of womanhood who had turned her childish anger on him.

"Can't you just… let her go?"

"I can, but I won't. Why should I?" he asked conjuring a crystal ball again. The Goblin King began to manipulate it nonchalantly over his hand as he gazed into it. "Simply because you regret your actions?" He paused with the crystal poised on his finger. Jareth added a tone of desperation to this voice to mock the boy. "Why, you didn't even say please."

"Please, won't you let her go?" the boy amended. He had to talk louder in order to be heard over the titter of goblins. Jareth chuckled at the boy's feeble attempts to garner sympathy from him. As if a please had ever worked on the Goblin King… Jareth liked the sparkle of hope in the boy's eyes. His desperation would be useful if the Goblin King chose to exploit it. As he settled back on his throne, the tickle of a possible plan began to fall into place with another piece. Jareth's gaze drifted from Thomas to Charlie. While Thomas was an open book of emotion, the young woman kept her emotions restrained… except for that moment of anger. She, too, held onto a small shred of hope. She, too, would be useful in this fomenting plan of his. There had to be more this girl than her maternal side and resignation at her fate.

"Just because you are Toby's son and you are Sarah's daughter," he began. Back and forth, he let the crystal trail magically over his hand. Clarity gave way to opacity as something remembered came to the surface. Jareth couldn't help but smirk in triumph as he said, "No."

Their disappointment was palatable. The goblins picked up on the wave of emotion and began their titter of laughter again. They would have a new comrade soon. It had been ages since they had had a human turned goblin join their ranks. Jareth watched a memory bubble up and come to life in the crystal. His hand stopped as he turned the crystal first one way and then another to admire the memory of Toby bouncing on his lap. Goblins sang and danced around them. Even he looked pleased as he sang and danced with the toddler in his hands.

"Did you know that I wanted to make your father my heir?" he asked conversationally. Two pairs of eyes grew wide. "Ah, apparently not."

"Why not make Charlie your heir? She's too pretty to be a goblin." Charlotte's hand flew to cover his mouth, but she was too late. "Plus she's smart and caring."

"I offered her the world – a place at my side as consort, me as a slave at her feet. I moved the stars for her and stopped time itself. I dressed her in gossamer starlight and danced with her alone. In the end, I offered her my love for I truly loved her… and she denied me without a thought. She rejected me… thinking it was all part of my game in order to save her precious little brother," the Goblin King mused as he pretended to ignore Thomas's offer. He gave a dramatic sigh for emphasis. He watched the memory of Sarah in her white dress dancing in his arms in the crystal ball. The bittersweet memory lasted but for a moment. "She would have made for a beautiful Queen."

With a twist of his wrist, the crystal disappeared. Jareth turned his attention to the astonished face of Sarah's daughter. She seemed genuinely surprised and flustered at his honest confession. He found it amusing and reminiscent.

"Oh? Did your mother leave out that part?" he asked before chuckling at her meager nod and face growing pink in embarrassment. Even prettier,he mused to himself.

"She also must have told you that it was love at first sight when she met your father?" Jareth hedged.

"Nobody falls in love at first sight. That's only in fairy tales. Love takes understanding and openness and admiration," Charlie argued. She also refused to answer his question directly. He would have to find out the truth later.

"And how would you know what love is?" he asked casually. Her pink cheeks deepened to a pretty shade of red and she looked away. Ah, less naïve than her mother at this age… but obviously still a young woman,he mused. Her brown hair fell over her shoulder and she had returned to petting the boy's head. She seemed to be fighting with herself over this change in her mother's story. Or so he thought.

"What if-" began the young boy, but his cousin was faster this time.

"Don't you dare ask him! You've done enough." Her green eyes went wide with fear, and Jareth admired the contrast of flushed cheeks, pink lips, pale skin, and dark hair. Thomas pulled her hand away and glared at his cousin. Yet her words didn't stop the boy.

"But he could, couldn't he?! You would have power here! And you wouldn't be a goblin either! And I've seen the pictures of Aunt Sarah at your age! You're prettier than her!"

Jareth barked another laugh that kept Charlie's retort on the tip of her tongue. "Not only do you banish your cousin to me, you presume to make her my consort?"

"The Goblin King loved the girl, right?" countered Thomas. He watched the Goblin King sober then glower at him. The boy lifted his chin defiantly. "Charlie is just like Aunt Sarah. Probably even better. It's hard not to love her."

"Thomas, it's not like," Charlotte began, but a wave of the Goblin King's hand cut her off.

"No one is like Sarah, and I doubt a child truly knows what love is," Jareth bit out angrily. He scoffed and settled back on his throne with an imperious air. "Perhaps I should make you a Little Goblin for your ill-mannered behavior for the next twelve hours."

A chorus of laughter and cries of mercy from the goblins filled the throne room. The Goblin King raised a finger and flicked it forward. A tall goblin obediently emerged from the shadows behind the throne. He seemed different from the bouncing and boisterous goblins in the throne room. The tall goblin bowed low in a stately manner and waited patiently for his king to speak.

"I tire of these two. Since he refuses to run the Labyrinth, take the boy to the dungeons to wait out his trial. Use one of the smaller cells for our temporary guest," he stated looking a frightened but stubborn Thomas square in the eye. A knot of goblin guards began to approach. His gaze fell upon Charlie and he smirked. She cowered ever so slightly, but her arms tightened around her cousin. Even if he received word that this plan violated the rules, it would still serve to amuse him.

"Lock the girl in the highest tower, and see that she is made comfortable for the time being. Have someone loyal to me guard the tower door until the thirteen hours are up. I have matters elsewhere to attend to before I speak to her again about her new life here in my kingdom."

"So it shall be done, Your Majesty," the goblin intoned with a bow to his sovereign. Already the obedient goblin guards were prying the two mortals apart. Their protests rang out in the throne room and nearly drowned out the goblins of the court. The Goblin King hid his frown behind his gloved hand as the two were ignominiously dragged out of his throne room in opposite directions.