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CHAPTER THREE OF ??

❝ jareth ❞

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3RD PERSON POV. 1986, ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK.

COMPARED TO HER, THE GOBLIN KING WAS A FIGURE OF ETHEREAL BEAUTY AND UNMATCHED CURIOSITY. In a dramatic entrance of billowing curtains, a flowing cloak and silver glitter, the Goblin King stood tall opposite her. He had spiked, long blond hair, with eyes that could appear heterochromatic, pale eyeshadow and graphic eyeliner. 

He was both alluring and sensual. A mystery waiting to be solved. He was dressed in all black, including a high-collared cloak and leather. "You're him...aren't you?" (Name) timidly asked, a far cry from her earlier attitude, "You're the Goblin King?". The Goblin King had a cocky smirk on his face, taking in her terrified form.

He didn't say anything, he just stood there. Jareth. The man from her book, the one that had been passed down through the centuries. He was more attractive than the book made him out to be, "I want my brother back," she demanded, trying to sound confident. "Please...if it's all the same. 

He merely folded his arms and gave her a taunting look. "What's said is said," Jareth coyly answered, his presence only made more flamboyant and imposing by the flash of lightning and billowing wind behind him.

"Please," (Name) begged, desperation present in her eyes as she balled her fists, her nails pressing crescent-moon indents into her palms, "I didn't mean it...I said those words in anger!".

Jareth smirked again. "Oh, you didn't, did you?" he mocked, almost utilising her fear against her. He liked her begging like this. And she knew it, trying to seem confident when he knew that the very idea of him actually being real scared her. 

"Please," she begged again, desperate, as tears stung in her eyes, salty and harsh, her bottom lip quivering, "Where is he? You don't know what will happen to me if he's not here...".

Adjusting one of his black leather gloves, Jareth stated his answer simply; "You know perfectly well where he is, (Name),". She felt her heart stop when he said her name. They'd never met in person. How did he know that? Ignoring the bile brewing in her stomach, she tried to fake confidence and approach him.

"Please bring him back," she pleaded, "Please,". She'd approached him ever so slightly when Jareth, with his hands on his hips, approached her with that same mocking, coy smile. He was mocking her, taunting her. Was this all a game to him?

"(Name)," he uttered, softly tracing her cheekbones with the thumbs of his leather gloves, making her freeze, eventually relaxing under his touch, "Go back to your room. Go and play with your toys and your costumes. Forget about the baby,".

His honey-smooth words were almost hypnotising enough. Almost enough to convince her to do his bidding but then she shook her head. "I can't," she murmured, "I can't. I really wish I could, but I can't,".

He stuck his hand out, all the tips of his fingers touching. "I've brought you...a gift," Jareth simply spoke. As if by magic, a crystal orb materialised out of thin air, resting atop his fingers. (Name) eyes widened slightly and her jaw dropped.

He fascinated her. He fascinated her too much. "What is it?" she asked through quivering lips and a shaking voice. Her false courage amused him, it amused him very much. And she knew it. All too well. 

The crystal smoothly slid across Jareth's hand, like a Newton's Cradle. The ways his hands moved was purely elegant and smooth as silk. Her eyes were glued to the crystal, hypnotising her. "It's a crystal," Jareth plainly answered, "Nothing more. But if you look at it this way, it will show you your dreams. But this is not a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby,".

The offer was tempting, she'd give him that. But she'd rather at least try to save her brother than face the wrath of her father and stepmother and the consequences of Toby going missing. Jareth extended the hand that held the crystal ball towards her, almost goading her into accepting it. 

"Do you want it?" he questioned. She stood strong and still. Silent, "Then forget the baby,". The thunder rumbled and crackled in the background, and (Name) shook her head, sighing through salty tears.

"I can't," she answered. She ran a hand across her hair, "It isn't that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me, uh, your Majesty. But, I need to have my brother back, my stepmother will kill me and bury me in the garden if Toby's missing. God, he must be so scared-".

Jareth was quick to cut her off. "(Name)," he uttered, the single word silencing the eighteen-year-old before him. She flinched, with a single hand gesture, the crystal ball transformed into a black and red snake, which Jareth then held between two hands, "Don't defy me,".

Without warning, he threw the snake at (Name) and she was quick to shriek and grab it, trying to pull it away from her neck. The snake then morphed into a multi-coloured scarf, which (Name) threw to the ground. The scarf then transformed into a furry, brown goblin, with beady red eyes which snickered at her.

A multitude of snickers echoed in unison around the room, as a myriad of goblins came out of their hiding spots within the bedroom momentarily, before hiding themselves again when (Name) turned around. She huffed in annoyance, eyeing Lancelot on the bed.

(Name) turned around, to meet the gaze of the Goblin King. "You're no match for me, (Name)," Jareth stated. (Name) scoffed. His very look could turn someone to stone, it might as well have, as (Name) felt frozen to the spot she stood on. 

"But I have to have my brother back!" she insisted. Jareth smiled at this. She wasn't going to give up so easily, and not without a fight. Jareth moved out of the way and pointed with a single finger out of the window. 

"He's there," Jareth informed, jabbing his index finger out of the window, "In my castle,". (Name)'s eyes widened as she raced towards the window, looking out into the distance. Instead of the familiar sight of neighbouring houses, thunder-clad skies and minimal woodland, the sky was an orange colour with streaky purple clouds. 

The view was surrounded by small trees from where she gazed, and she laid eyes upon a seemingly endless labyrinth, with a castle just visible in the very centre. This was Jareth's domain, his world. And it abided his rules. This was no mere game. It was very, very real.

"Do you still want to look for him?" Jareth questioned. (Name) almost jumped out of her skin as his voice shocked her back to reality. They'd teleported or something along those lines. Instead of looking at the kingdom from inside her father and stepmother's room, she now stood on a hill in Jareth's kingdom, with the Goblin King himself behind her.

Despite her lack of optimism, (Name) tried to have a positive perspective on this. To encourage herself to go on with the task of rescuing Toby. "Is that the Castle Beyond the Goblin City?" (Name) asked, hair being blown back by some wind, as she turned around to look at Jareth.

"Turn back, (Name)," Jareth warned, trying to sway her from her decision. His words didn't phase her. Not one bit, "Turn back before it's too late,". She stood her ground. 

"I can't," she tried to explain, conveying her point. She was now a little frustrated by this point. Did he get it? No matter how old he may be, she can't just ditch her half-brother, especially since he's a baby, "Don't you understand that I can't?". 

She turned back around to look at the castle and the labyrinth in the distance. "What a pity," Jareth almost mocked, walking up behind (Name).

"It doesn't look that far," she tried to encourage herself. She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Jareth standing behind her, "Jesus Christ! You're gonna give me a heart attack before I even get near the labyrinth!".

"It's further than you think," Jareth taunted. She groaned at his comment, "That was not my intention, sweet thing,". He affectionately touched her hair with his gloves, moving some of it around ever so slightly, "Time is short,".

The pair turned to look at a clock that was balanced against nothing. It wasn't like traditional clocks, instead of having the numbers one through twelve, it went up to thirteen. (Name) frowned at the clock. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth," Jareth spoke, walking backwards and slowly fading away, his voice growing distant, "Or your baby brother becomes one of us forever. Such a pity,".

Jareth and the clock both disappeared, leaving (Name) alone on the hill. She looked around briefly, shrugging, before turning back to the labyrinth. "The labyrinth," she acknowledged, "I don't know what he was honking on about, doesn't look that hard. Well, allons-y!".