Chapter One

Third Person POV

"Let me show you what I can offer you. I can give you everything you've ever wanted." came a dark, deep, pleading voice in the back of her blackened mind. Lily had blackened out some time ago and couldn't remember anything. Sitting up quickly from her lying position in the grass, she looked around her and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

She took another look around her surroundings again. She was lying in a grass patch in the middle of a forest. The grass was soft to the touch and was a lovely shade of dark green. She cautiously got up and wobbled as she did. Luckily, there was a tree nearby that she grabbed hold of to keep herself from falling.

"You should be more careful, love." came the same voice. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Lily looked around. This time the voice wasn't coming from within her mind, but from around her, in the wind. When she tried to speak, her throat burned and no sound came out. She looked around panicked. "No need to panic, love. You'll be able to speak soon enough." the voice came again, but now it came from behind her.

She spun around and quickly regretted it. A tall, slim man with light blond hair was leaning against the same tree with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. She tried to speak again, but was only stopped by the burning sensation. "Now, now, my Lily Pad. No need to worry. I'm only here to make you an offer." he said softly.

Even though his voice was soft, she could tell there was something underneath it. She moved away from him instinctively and she saw something she couldn't name flash across his eyes.

In two long strides, he was in front of her and looking down at her. He removed a leather glove from his right hand and placed it on her throat.

To her surprise, his touch was cold, almost like ice. Instantly, the burning in her throat stopped and his cool touch was slightly warmer. He slowly removed his hand and put the leather glove back on. "All I'm ask is that you let me speak." he told her, crossing his arms over his chest again.

Lily didn't say anything and waited for him to continue. The man smirked and walked closer to her. "I'm going to make you a little deal." he told her, a crystal popping into his hand. He held it up for her to see. "I've locked your memories in this crystal. There are two ways for you to retrieve them.

"Your first option, stay here. With me. I've watched you for far too long now. It's time I've made my move. If you choose this option, you will become part of this realm." he explained, watching her expression.

"And why would you want me to become part of this realm?" she asked, looking up at him. He waited for a moment before answering her question, thinking over his own answer. "Because my dear Lily Pad, you've caught my attention after all these years."

Lily didn't know what to say. He obviously knew who she was, but she had no idea who he was. He seemed familiar in some way, but she couldn't place it. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Your second choice is to solve my Labyrinth. If you make it to my castle in the time given, your memories will be returned and I shall return you home. You shall never hear from me again, unless requested by none other than yourself. You will have thirteen hours." he explained.

She could hear the truth behind his words. As she looked into his eyes, she could see that his words were true. "The decision is yours, love." he said, moving closer to her. He tucked a stray lock auburn hair behind her ear and ran the the back of his hand across her cheek. He chuckled when fear flashed in her eyes. "Do not worry your pretty little head off. No physical harm will come to you while you're under my protection." he told her, smirking as she shivered under his touch.

"Now tell me, my Lily Pad. What is your decision?" he asked, reluctantly pulling his hand from her soft skin.

Lily didn't know what to say. She stood there for a minute dumbfounded. He terrified her. She had only "known" him for a few minutes and here he was having her decide her future when she didn't even remember her own past. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice no higher than a whisper. "Time will revile the answer to your question. For now you may refer to me as the Goblin King." he told her with a smirk, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Her eyes widened, causing the Goblin King to let out a deep chuckle. "I already know what your choice is, love." he said lightly, walking around behind her. "Let me give you something." he whispered into her ear, placing one hand on her hip and placing the other on her on her temple. She gasped at the coolness of his touch again and her vision went black.

Jareth chuckled as the girl went limp in his arms. Leaning down, he laid her back down in the grass. He brushed a few strands of auburn hair from her face and stood up. With one last look, he vanished back to his castle.

"Lily, time to come inside." 6 year old Lily heard being called. She looked down from her perch on one of the many trees in the forest to see her uncle looking up at her. A large smile spread across her face as she made her way down from her spot. Once she made it to the ground, she ran into her uncle's arms. He wrapped his arms around the young girl and picked her up. "Lily, you know it's dangerous to go off on your own." he scolded her as they made their way back to their home.

"I know uncle, but I can handle myself. I've been doing really well with my training." she told the older, platinum blond man. This caused him to laugh deeply as they approached a rather large tree. The tree had a door cut into it and the man carried Lily into the tree. The inside was completely different than the outside.

The tree was hollowed out and was made into home. "I'm sure it has, but that doesn't mean you're ready to take anything on." her uncle told her, walking into the kitchen and sitting Lily down on the counter. Lily looked down at her feet, kicking them slightly. "I'm sorry I worried you, uncle." she said lowly.

Her uncle looked at her and was quiet. He chose his next words as carefully as he could. "Lily, if something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Your father left you here with me to protect you." he told his niece, wrapping his arms around her. "All I want is your safety."

"But why?" she asked, her voice muffled as she buried her face into her uncle's chest. Her uncle sighed and picked her up again, taking her into their small living area and sitting down on one of the large chairs. "Before he brought you here to live with me, did your father ever tell you that you were special and that you were different?" he asked, positioning the young girl so that she was sitting comfortably in his lap.

"Sometimes. I don't really remember though." she said, resting her head on her uncle's shoulder. Her uncle chuckled and squeezed her a little tighter to him. "You are special, Lily. Your teacher has taught you about all the different realms and how each race has their own realm. It's very rare for one race to enter the realm of another." he told her.

Lily said nothing and just listened to her uncle. "That's what makes you special, Lily. Your mom and dad are from two different realms. Your dad is from this realm and your mom is from the Asrai's realm. That's what makes you special. You're the only, and I do hate this word, 'half-breed' in any realm."

Lily shot up again and rubbed her temples, trying to douse the throbbing pain. After a few seconds, the pain stopped and she looked around. She sighed in relief when she saw she was alone. Using the tree to help herself up, she looked around for the first time.