Labyrinth 2: The Queen of Dreams

Chapter 1: She Returns

Jareth

Jareth flew over the crumbling kingdom. The bright moon unveiled all the ugliness. This is why he hated light. The darkness hid everything that needed to be hidden and what wanted to stay hidden. The Goblin Kingdom was getting worse by each passing day.

Over the past few years buildings were falling to pieces, the plant life was dead or dying and the fey people were starting to migrate to other kingdoms. There was no one to blame but him. The land was magically bonded to him. Since she left him, he was losing his grip on everything.

He spotted the ruins of the ancient Goblin Catacombs deep within the forest. After morphing back into his fey form, Jareth ventured into the ominous entrance of the ruins. He knew every corner of the catacombs so he never needed to see where he was going. The squeaking of his leather boots against the wet floor and the scattering of rats made him nostalgic. He often played here as a child with his sister and cousin but mostly alone. He remembered roaming through the endless walls of goblin skulls and loosing track of time. His mother would lose her head when he came home near midnight covered in mud and near freezing. He always went back no matter what she said though. The catacombs gave him a rare peace away from the chaotic fey court he endured most of his life. He even met his most trustworthy friend in here.

Jareth stopped walking when he came upon a gigantic boar skull smack in the middle of the catacombs. He put his hand in the opening of the jaw to turn a hidden doorknob.

The skull was a cover for a door within the walls. Jareth remembered stumbling upon it as fey boy years ago and going down the rickety old stair case that reached down to an ancient library with never ending shelves of books lining every wall. Sitting in the middle of the library was a tiny old goblin reading a gigantic old book.

No matter how many years went by the library was exactly the same as was the old little goblin who has been greeting him the same way since the very first day. "My goodness child, let me know ahead of time if you're going to visit, I would have made tea", grumbled Moro without looking up from his gigantic book that he's been reading since the beginning of time. Jareth smirked and casually sat down on the stacks of books set on the floor. "She came back into my dreams", he signed. "I know", answered Moro without looking up from his book. Jared sat upright. "You know?!" he exclaimed. "Yes", answered Moro, still without looking from his book, "and she is here to stay". Jareth stood up and slammed the huge book Moro was reading shut. "This is not a teasing matter Moro", he warned while glaring into Moro's golden bulging eyes. Moro smiled and replied "Child, I don't play games. Don't confuse me with yourself now." Jareth continued to glare at him.