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You couldn’t believe you’d failed. You had been selfish enough to wish your sibling away and then you couldn’t even get them back from the ridiculously hard Labyrinth put before you by the Goblin King. Jareth knew you’d gotten farther than most in his game, and because of that he was willing to grant you an audience with your sibling to say goodbye, though it wasn’t a gift so much as a curse, because you would have to see them turned into a goblin as punishment for your failure.
“Hurry it up,” Jareth demanded as you clung to your sibling as if your very life depended on it instead of theirs.
“I’m sorry,” You sobbed hideously, choking on the air itself. “I didn’t mean to- I- I didn’t-”
Jareth rolled his eyes; he’d heard all this before from countless others. It was always the same. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. It was an accident. It wasn’t my fault. Hah, it was always their fault; humans with their pathetic excuses. Then, they would go back and live their lives anyway after barely mourning at all; such inconsequential creatures. Lazily, Jareth pushed himself up, waiting for the part where you would beg for mercy which he would of course deny. On queue with his expectations, you let go of your sibling and threw yourself on your knees before him.
“Please, Goblin King, I know- I know my words were selfish- but please… Take me instead. Don’t punish them for my mistakes… Please.”
Jareth could see your sibling was about to argue, and with a wave of his hand, he silenced them, taking their voice away so he could speak uninterrupted. He circled you like a predator. You sat perfectly still, never flinching or cowering away, though what more was there to fear now you had faced up to everything in the Labyrinth itself and still come to a loss? Jareth didn’t know quite what to make of you. Was it possible you were trying to trick him? He had to test you to find out.
Coming to a stop in front of you, he tilted your chin up to face him. Yes, there was definitely hatred in your eyes and a hint of defiance, but he also found a sincerity that was unusual for humans.
“You would be turned into a goblin for this pathetic creature?” He sneered, letting go of you. “Even after wishing it away.”
“Yes, your majesty,” You bowed so your head pressed against the freezing cold flagstones.
Your sibling shook their head vigorously, willing you to look their way, but you wouldn’t; your only job now was to convince the Goblin King to grant your request.
“You do realise,” Jareth sneered, “that if you choose this path, you will have no memory of your former life.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“You will be my subject, pet and plaything.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“You may even be tortured for my own entertainment. You would really subject yourself to such a future, all for that which you so carelessly wished away.”
“…Yes, your majesty,” You said subserviently, glad to have at least stopped crying, though your voice still wavered.
Jareth smiled darkly, having trapped you into a verbal contract which he could now accept or reject at his own desire. “Very well, I accept your terms.”
With a wave of his gloved hand, Jareth sent your sibling home, to never see you again.
Although you were getting a headache from the cold flagstones, you didn’t move, unable to trust yourself not to cry again. Jareth rolled his eyes irritably, and sneered, “What are you still doing there?”
“Waiting.”
“For what?”
“Seriously?” You looked up resentfully. “You want me to watch when you turn me into a goblin? What the hell is wrong with you? I mean, you- you- you kidnap people! You just take whatever the hell you want and then you- you put me through hell and now, you’re about to turn me into a freaking goblin and you want me to watch!”
Jareth restrained a smile, enjoying the rant thoroughly; apparently you weren’t as docile as he’d suspected, which was bound to be much more entertaining than if he’d have kept your sibling. “My, my, what a temper you have. I suppose it will have to serve as my entertainment for a while.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“I could answer you, but let me first ask, do you really think it wise to speak to me in such an ill-mannered way?”
“Why not. I won’t remember any of this anyway… I may as well say something worth saying before I forget.”
“Such an interesting pet you’ll be.” Jareth paused like he was thinking, despite knowing exactly what he was going to do next; theatrics were all a part of the game. “Indeed, much too interesting to turn into a mere goblin.”
Despite your confusion, you stared at him stonily, unafraid now that it was only your life in danger. You probably should have been at least a little bit frightened, but after everything you’d seen in the last thirteen hours, you were much too exhausted to feel anything but perplexed and a little bit rebellious.
“Well,” Jareth gestured to you haphazardly, “What are you waiting for, chop chop, get to work!” He transformed your outfit into servant rags and a mop appeared in your hands.
“All that magic and you can’t even clean your castle with it?” You snarked.
“Oh, I can do that and much more, but I find watching others work much more entertaining.”
You scoffed distastefully but kept quiet, not daring to challenge Jareth more than you already had in case he decided to break his oath and trade you and your sibling for the sheer fun of it. You started your task with haste, resigning yourself to your new life as a slave within the Labyrinth.
The orders Jareth gave you were exhausting, humiliating, and never-ending, yet as you cleaned up goblin messes and other such nonsense around the castle, you tried to find happiness in your prison. You had accomplished your goal of saving your sibling, so despite the tasks set to you, you found that you didn’t mind as much. Perhaps that was why all those fairy tale characters like Snow White and Cinderella never complained about their own situations; they knew that somehow, life could be worse and so it was best to accept what they had and take it on the chin.
Despite your resolve, you found the cold hands of loneliness threatening to mottle your heart, so you began speaking with the goblin denizens of the city below the castle. Initially, you found it hard to relate to them but after a while, you got used to their strange ways, even learning to enjoy their wild tricks and games. You soon found yourself visiting the city goblins daily, sneaking away from the castle whenever you could to play with them. You believed that you were being subtle in your few escapes, but unbeknownst to you, Jareth saw everything that happened within his Labyrinth. Sometimes he would leave you be, watching in amusement as you learned the goblin traditions and dances, and at other times he would pretend to have found you by sheer chance and send you back to the castle as punishment with even more work to exhaust you further.
It wasn’t long before Jareth had another contestant in his Labyrinth, and he spent more time watching you than them when you found the dungeon where he kept the wished away prisoners. Although you couldn’t get into the cell, you stayed outside it the entire time, neglecting your chores so you could talk to the child prisoner within, telling her stories aimed to allay her worries. When Jareth had to turn the child into a goblin, he believed you would hate him for it, but much to his surprise, you said it was probably for the best because the pain of knowing the past was torture and at least as a goblin, the child seemed happy.
“Hmm,” Jareth held his hand regally under his chin, observing you as the child-turned-goblin was led away into the city.
“What?” You said, self-consciously.
“You are to attend to my needs tonight.”
“Don’t I always?”
“No. In case you haven’t noticed, you attend the castle’s needs, not mine. Tonight, you are to meet me in my chambers where I will give you several tasks before a grand ball I am to host. After you have seen to my needs, you will serve at this ball, and until then, you are to clean the grand hall in preparation for it.” Jareth pointed to your feet, casting a small spell on them, and making you jump up and down on the spot. “Hop to it,” he smiled impishly.
You squeaked indignantly as your bouncing feet led you to the grand hall; once there, you were free of Jareth’s spell. You slumped irritably against a wall, tired from the long days of hard work that were slowly wearing down on you. Remembering the reason you were in the goblin realm to begin with, you groaned, ignoring the pain in your aching back and getting on with the task at hand. You worked until you knew night had fallen; it was hard to measure time in the Labyrinth because the sky seemed to act of its own accord and clocks were only around during a trial, but somehow, after so long there, you were able to actually feel time rather than measure it.
You stood up, stretching as you made your way to Jareth’s chambers where he sat on a stool in front of a black wooden vanity, decorated with carvings of troublesome goblins in all manners of playful poses. You wondered why he chose that mirror in particular because each wall was covered entirely in mirrors, some large and ornate, others tiny hand mirrors. Upon closer inspection, you realised the mirrors didn’t reflect you or your surroundings, instead they each showed different places, some changing occasionally to show somewhere else.
There was no time to speculate on what you believed the mirrors to be, as Jareth said snarkily, “Do you intend to stand around all day, or are you here to work?”
A hairbrush appeared in your hand which you stared at, dumbfounded. “You want me to brush your hair?”
“It won’t brush itself.”
“You- You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Jareth grinned devilishly, “Oh, you’ll know when I’m kidding, my dear. Now come and groom me, you shall have plenty of time for harder work afterwards, I assure you.”
You shook your head incredulously, walking behind him and brushing his hair gently. Jareth raised a curious eyebrow. How hadn’t you noticed that he called you dear? He’d never called you such a high term of endearment before. Perhaps it was plain human ignorance that kept you from noticing his loving term.
Jareth could have told you he loved you and under normal circumstances, whether you returned the sentiment or not, he would have, but these weren’t ordinary circumstances. Fae emotions were clear as day and much stronger than human emotions, but for once Jareth would not say how he felt until he was sure you felt the same. You weren’t fae, nor were you of noble birth. You hadn’t even succeeded his Labyrinth; by all accounts, you were not someone worthy of his recognition and devotion. Yet, Jareth found that after watching you in your caring and hard-working ways that he did indeed love you and it was crushing against him with every breath he took.
With no outlet to his feelings for you, Jareth decided to toy with you. If the work hadn’t been unusual before, then he would put you through everything he could tonight. In human terms this would be the equivalent of children teasing their crushes to get their attention, but Jareth had no time to analyse such thoughts as he made you brush his hair.
He watched you intensely in the mirror, never blinking or taking his eyes from you. You found the image unsettling but said nothing; mostly everything about Jareth was unsettling, though not always in an unpleasant manner, the man was simply unusual to you. You wished you could look away from Jareth’s reflection, but it was like his eyes were holding you in place with the ethereal power he emanated. You stopped what you were doing, holding the brush slackly in front of you and blinking hard as your vision blurred.
“Are you waiting for an invitation?” Jareth scoffed. “I gave you a job you do.”
“I don’t-” You cleared your throat. “I don’t feel so good…”
Jareth heaved a dramatic sigh, “And I suppose this is your best attempt to get out of work tonight? How utterly selfish, though I suppose I shouldn’t have expected better from a mere human. I should turn you into a goblin right now for-”
You dropped the brush and it clattered on the flagstone floor.
“I-” You never got to finish the sentence as you fainted. With inhuman speed, Jareth spun around to catch you, lifting you into his arms so he could carry you to his bed.
He tapped your cheek gently, smiling to hide his fear, “Come now slave, we have no time for foolish games, open your eyes.”
You didn’t respond and Jareth found himself snapping his fingers to summon a pail of water which floated above your head. “Slave, if you do not open your eyes immediately, you will not see the pail of water that I’m going to drop on you for your insubordination.”
Still, you remained motionless. Jareth waved the water bucket away, taking his glove off to feel your temperature. He was no expert in human health, but he thought you were overly warm, and somewhat clammy.
“Slave… (Y/N), are you sick? You would tell me if it were so, wouldn’t you, my darling?” Jareth sighed, thinking of his treatment of you since you became his servant. “(Y/N), my dear… my love. Has the work been so truly gruelling that you have not even had time to rest? Have I been so undeservingly cruel to you, that you should become ill now?”
His heart raced. Had you not been unwell, you would have had some reaction to hearing his confession of love, as understated as it had been for someone as flamboyant as him. Jareth felt guilt flood into him, for a human it might have been a small stab, but to a fae, the guilt felt like poison, ready to kill him unless he put things right immediately.
Hastily, Jareth summoned some of his more competent guards, ordering them to cancel the ball so he could tend to you personally. Just like time, illness was different in the goblin realm when compared to that of your human realm. So, over the course of weeks while Jareth tended to your every need, you did not wake. Jareth wished he could have simply used his magic to make you well, but even he had his limitations and since fae never got ill, he had no healers to summon.
Every day, Jareth would wash your face with only the finest of cloths to keep you cool. He would then apologise once again, speak to you, telling you of his life and requesting to hear more of yours when you awoke. After that he remained by your side, sometimes reading aloud and other times using his magic to keep you clean, ever the gentleman protecting your decency.
It was exactly thirteen weeks into your slumber that you finally opened your eyes. Jareth was sat by your side reading the story of Hansel and Gretel, commenting on what selfish little beasts the children were for eating the old witches house without offering anything in return, when you soundlessly awoke. Jareth sensed the change immediately and put the book down, grabbing your hand tightly in both of his.
“My peach,” he lamented, “do you forgive me?”
Somehow feeling simultaneously tired and refreshed, you turned to face the man who had invaded every dream you’d had since fainting. Dream Jareth had relayed every word the real Jareth had spoken to you in the waking world. In your dreams, you had attended countless balls and moonlit walks with the man who was your King and master.
“Speak! Please, I must hear you speak.”
You mulled over your words carefully, thinking of how many times since you’d fell asleep that he’d called you my love or some other term of endearment. Did you return his feelings? He certainly had some kind of hold on you, but was that just fae magic or was it something more? “I- You love me?”
Jareth smiled in relief, quickly regaining his composure and moulding himself into the very image of a King. “I do, and what have you to say of that?”
“How can you love a slave? You don’t even like me?”
“On the contrary my peach, I have found many reasons to love you.”
“But-”
“Ah yes, the slave thing, well who brought that up because it was certainly not I. You are freed of your slave status and are now a member or the royal court. You shall be treated to only the finest of everything-”
“So long as I say I love you back,” You said sadly, thinking of how everything Jareth did was for something in return.
“No, no, (Y/N), I clearly cannot buy your love, as much easier as that would be for me. I shall however earn it. I have every intention to court you in the hopes that you will become my betrothed. Nevertheless, you are in control here. Should my affections upset you, all you have to do is say the word and I will leave you.”
‘For a while at least,’ You thought, finishing Jareth’s unspoken sentiment.
Whether you returned Jareth’s love or not, you were at least glad to have a modicum of control over your life once more. “I want to go outside now, I’ve been cooped up way too long.”
Jareth stood up enthusiastically, “A marvellous idea. Allow me to accompany you, I can show you some of the more beautiful areas of the Labyrinth.”
Before you could respond, you found yourself in finely tailored outdoor clothes in a garden with Jareth pointing out a new crop of unruly man-eating plants, quite unlike the Venus-fly traps in your realm. You gulped in the air, unsure of what you would do under the attention of the Goblin King. Still, at least the walk didn’t seem unpleasant; maybe you would get used to him. After all, tomorrow was another day.