Underground

IX

You wandered aimlessly around the castle.

You kept a firm grip on the crystal ball, occasionally stopping to watch Harry figure out puzzles and navigate dead ends. So far, the Goblin King hadn't done anything to interfere; well, the Labyrinth hadn't done anything to make Harry's task any harder than it needs to be.

You were stunned to discover that the hallways were finally leading to somewhere, and not just looping you straight back to the throne room. You were thankful for that. You couldn't cope another minute of listening to the drunken stupor of the goblins as they taunted and argued with one another. The throne room was becoming utter chaos; you were surprised that the King even allowed it, but he seemed so unbothered by the noise, almost like he was used to it.

Either way, you needed to escape the sound.

Now, you wandered without a firm destination in mind. You knew that the Goblin King wouldn't let you leave, so trying to find an exit was a foolish idea. You crossed that off your mental list the moment it had cropped up. Instead, you decided to just explore the depths of the castle.

You glanced around at the paintings that hung on the walls. You admired a few, some of them of unicorns, some of fae, many of the goblins. They each were depicted in various scenarios; their natural habitats; doing something mundane; posing for the painting...

And then you discovered something peculiar.

"Jareth..." you mumbled, tracing your finger along the name scribbled at the very bottom of a portrait of the Goblin King. He was perched proudly on his throne, looking straight ahead and surrounded by lavish items. That smirk you had come to know was painted permanently; it felt like he was smirking at you through the painting itself.

That must be his name.

You felt strangely powerful now that you knew his name. The way it sounded rolling off your tongue, the way it bounced around inside your head. Words were powerful, and so is the possession of one's name. You could recall from fairy tales that you should never tell a fae your name, or else they'd have power over you, and that was something that had frightened you when growing up. You never introduced yourself to strangers, resulting in being scolded a lot by your parents for being rude and dismissive.

You eventually grew out of that phase, no longer fearing that faeries would be able to control you by name. Because your parents convinced you that it was a simple fairy tale, and fae, along with other mythical creatures, didn't exist.

Oh, how wrong they were. You smiled to yourself while continuing down the corridor, listening to the sound of your shoes clicking against the stone floor as you maintained your admiration for the artwork displayed.

Then, you took a right turn into an entire room of stairs. You paused, bewildered at the sight. Because they weren't just ordinary staircases—they were flipped in various directions, leading onto the walls, the ceiling, doorways that seemed to tunnel back into the room again. You blinked in awe at the confusion of it all.

You'd surely get lost if you dared to try and explore it.

But you had 8 hours until Harry's time was up. And you weren't ready to return back to the throne room. You weren't ready to face Jareth and his goblins; you were still enjoying the peace and you wanted to keep it that way. So you began wandering around the room, amazed at the fact that gravity laws didn't seem to exist as you began walking upside down. You placed your hand in the air, touching nothing, wiggling your fingers and letting out an impressed laugh. This entire thing was bizarre and magical.

You settled down on a random ledge after 20 minutes of exploring, your feet dangling over the side of a very large drop. Unlike the pit that you had crossed with a stone slab, you could see the floor, but that didn't make the fall any less scarier. You turned your focus into the crystal ball, sighing as you observed Harry continue to solve puzzle after puzzle. You uttered words of encouragement; you scowled and frowned at his stupid decisions.