Unfortunately, I own none of these characters. Apart from our two new goblin friends..

Also, shout out to the random "guest" reviewed and left a lovely comment. Thanks also to Jewelzy, for your enthusiasm. As soon as I read your comments, I started typing this chapter immediately. Thanks so much for your support! You rock.

Note from the Beta: Yes, thanks so much for the reviews! She started freaking out and texting me as soon as she saw them. We hope that you continue to enjoy the story.

It was mid afternoon in the underground. A warm breeze drifted through the massive windows of the lower library. The past few days had been like summer, although the goblins didn't know why. The King sat at a table near the window, watching his crystal as he enjoyed his afternoon tea.

Jareth had the cup to his lips, ready to take another sip, when there was a clatter from under the balcony. Initially he ignored the disruption, but the sounds continued. His eyes twitched at the squawk of a rather unhappy sounding chicken. He placed his cup down, and looked to the middle of the table. The crystal had gone clear, he'd lost concentration.

It could have been noted, by any observer, from the moment the Goblin King's leather boot hit the marble floor that he was not happy. When in a pleasant mood, as he should've been during his tea, his steps were lighter, graceful, and took on a more natural pace. Many servants in the castle, being at eye level with the King's footwear, had learned to watch for this. Even the least attentive of goblins would know, should they see him now, to be wary. His steps, his stride, the air about him spewed his current temperament.

In seconds he was out on the balcony. His gloved hands gripped the stone half wall, and just as he was about to call out to the unseen disturbers of the peace, a sudden crash from the ground below shook the balcony. He pinched the bridge of his nose as his ears rang from the sound of metal on stone.

"You will move your foolery elsewhere, lest I relocate you myself; to the bog."

He whipped around in one fluid motion, and returned to his table. There would be no more disruptions. One mention of the bog of eternal stench was enough to have the whole kingdom on its best behavior for days, although he had no desire for another putrid goblin running around. As if they didn't stink enough.

Milly, a goblin servant whom Jareth happened to dislike the least, approached the table with a fresh pot of tea. She filled his cup, and watched as he attempted to refocus his crystal. He'd been watching it, her, in every free moment for quite some time now. A smaller goblin, tugging at her skirts, peaked out for a moment.

"Queenie?" He asked, pointing at the face in the crystal.

"No." He replied bluntly.

The small creature frowned, before deciding to try again. "I'd like a Queenie. Kingy deserves a Queenie."

Milly shushed her lesser-minded companion, concerned about upsetting her King again.

"I care not for what you'd like." Jareth reiterated, gesturing a dismissal to Milly now that his cup was refilled.

Milly left the King to his leisure, with the smaller creature still tugging at her skirts and moping in disappointment. "It's not possible, Ril." She whispered.

He looked up at her, teary eyes glistening "but Kingy likes her. Kingy never likes anyone."

"She's from above. She can't come here. Not without-"

"A WISH?!" He finished for her with a squeal. There was a jump and a skip in the tiny goblin's step.

"A very specific wish. His majesty isn't a genie."

"What's a genie?"

An aboveground concept; of course the little creature wouldn't know.

"Never mind."

When you spend so many years closely serving the King, you pick up a thing or two, as Milly had. She was certainly one of the better educated creatures of the underground, except for the wiseman (although that was debatable.)

"Will Kingy ever get a Queenie?"

"His Majesty doesn't need a queen. He has the lady."

"I haven't seen a lady."

Milly sighed. "In the Labyrinth," she corrected.

" In the Labyrinth? There's a lady? A runner?" Ril sprang into action. "Gotta tell Kingy!"

Milly stopped him before he got any further away. "No, dear. There's no runner." He looked back up at her like she had told a cruel joke. There hadn't been a runner for some number of days now, and most of the goblins were restless as a result.

Milly gestured for her companion to follow again, and they continued to the kitchens. "I was talking about the Labyrinth itself, dear."

"The Labyrinth is a lady?"

Milly smiled almost slyly. "In a manner of speaking." That sounded rather like what her king would say, hadn't it?

The two went through a door which connected to a narrow passageway. The floor was simple cobblestone here, and the rough stone walls had fewer torches. The not-so-elegant passage turned into a spiraling stairwell which seemingly extended on and on above them. This tower of stairways and doors had been used strictly by servants since the castle had existed, however long that had been, so as to ensure quick and easy access from their quarters to the rest of the castle.

"Kingy should marry the lady."

Milly couldn't resist giggling at the thought. "That's not possible, young thing. The Labyrinth isn't a person. It's..." She pondered the best way to explain the concept. "It's more like a spirit, I believe."

Ril looked around then, checking the shadows cast in the hall. "Aren't spirits scary?"

"That's a matter of opinion. And it's not exactly a spirit. It's-", she grumbled, " complicated. The Labyrinth chose His Majesty long ago, and now they are binded."

"But Kingy controls the Labyrinth."

"He does. Mostly. But that doesn't mean the lady is powerless." Milly knew, from her many years, that the lady's power, if prompted, could rival Jareth's own.

Luckily for us, the two have never been at odds...