Jareth's Labyrinth; The Origin of the Goblin King

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Get back here!" Balthazar yelled as he chased the young prince down the halls of the castle. Prince Jareth, wearing only his diaper, flew down the halls using his levitation powers. For a year old babe, Jareth's control over his powers seemed to rival that of a mastery level wizard. Balthazar, exhausted from the chase, rested against the castle wall as he watched his son twirl and swirl around the halls, giggling gleefully as he did so. Balthazar's panting was interrupted by the laughter of his wife, Adelaide. In her arms she was cradling little Jareth, who was cooing with happiness as he nuzzled his mother's chest with his nose. Balthazar stared at her in perplexed shock.

"How did you-"

"My love," interrupted Adelaide with a chuckle, "you are a wise and noble king, but you know nothing about children." Balthazar rolled his eyes and stood up straight, clearing his throat and regaining his breath.

"This child was no match for me." Adelaide smirked at her husband as she noticed him struggling not to look tired.

"Of course not," she said sarcastically. Balthazar grunted with anger and started walking ahead without his wife. Adelaide quickly followed behind him, being careful not to move Jareth from his comfortable position in her arms.

"Why must you be so stubborn, darling?" She said to her husband as the walked. "It's perfectly fine for you to be exhausted with Jareth, he can be quite a handful. All Fae are at his age."

"Adelaide," growled Balthazar intimidatingly, "must you insist on making a fool of me? A king should not be bested by a mere babe."

"You were not bested, Balthazar. Jareth's magic is just far more unstable than yours. The energy levels can be hard to keep up with" Balthazar stopped and turned to face his wife.

"Then how did you manage to catch him?"

"Simple," said Adelaide looking down at her son, caressing little Jareth's fist lovingly with her index finger, "I'm his mother." Balthazar lowered his eyebrows impatiently at his wife. He wasn't going to accept that as a valid answer. Queen Adelaide giggled and kissed her husband on the cheek.

"You look so cute when you're annoyed, dearest," she said with a smile. "Alright, I'm not afraid to admit it, you caught me in a lie. Before I gave birth to Jareth, I asked the castle bookkeeper to give me every book we have on Fae child care. I hoped you would do the same, but I can see you did not." Balthazar huffed.

"I had duties to attend to, my Queen," he said with his head held high, looking down on his family, "I didn't have time to read books filled with trivial information."

"You find our son trivial?" Adelaide's tone had no trace of kindness.

"Why must you twist my words," said Balthazar impatiently, "of course that's not what I meant."

"But information that could help raise him is trivial? That is what you meant." Baby Jareth started fussing as his parents began to raise their voices and erupt in an argument. He whined softly for his mother, trying to pull her attention away from the fight, but it didn't work. The arguing just got louder and louder, until finally little Jareth let out a loud cry and burst into tears. Suddenly, both his mother's and his father's lips literally zipped shut and the two looked down at their crying son with their eyes wide. The baby wailed and cried, waving his tiny fists in the air as he kicked and fussed. Balthazar snapped his fingers and the zippers vanished. Adelaide gasped in shock and Balthazar put his hand up. He smiled down at his weeping son and gestured for Adelaide to give him the child.

"Even the child knows we shouldn't be fighting like this," she said as she passed Jareth to her husband. "Perhaps we were the ones acting like children, not him." Balthazar nodded, but his focus was not on the conversation. He ran his skinny index finger down the child's cheek, being careful not to scratch his son's cheek with his clawlike fingernails. The baby stopped crying, surprised by this unfamiliar touch, and looked up at his father with wide eyes. Balthazar smiled, showing off his sharp fang-like teeth.

"Hush, my son," he said with a voice like silk, "there's no need to cry. Daddy's here." The baby didn't move a muscle. All that could be heard from little Jareth was his soft breathing. He continued to stare up at Balthazar, watching his every move carefully. Adelaide smiled as she watched her king and her prince together. It touched her heart to see what she thought to be father-son bonding, but in reality young Jareth was terrified of his father. He was so used to being around his loving and warm-hearted mother that the cold touch of King Balthazar sent shivers down the child's spine.

"Adelaide, my love," said the king, looking up at his wife, "Do you think I could lay little Jareth down for his nap? I want to spend more time with our son before my kingly duties steal me away from him." Adelaide kissed her husband softly, gently running the palm of her hand down his pale cheek to his perfectly shaped jawline.

"Of course," she said with a smile on her lips, "I would love nothing more." Balthazar gave his wife one final kiss and the two went separate paths down the castle halls. Jareth fussed and reached out for his mother as she walked away.

"Mum," called the little baby as he watched his mother slowly shrink in the distance, "Mumma!"

"Shh," said Balthazar, placing a hand on Jareth's back, "Daddy's here, Jareth. There's no need to fuss." Little Jareth let out a sad coo, but then did as he was told. The child could sense that it would not be wise for him to upset his father, even if he didn't exactly know why. Balthazar chuckled to himself in a rather menacing way as he carried the baby to the master bedroom. He sat down on the royal bed and rocked the child back and forth slowly, trying to lull him to sleep. Jareth was not cooperating. The baby was wide awake and his little arms were crossed impatiently.

"Stubborn little thing, aren't you?" chuckled King Balthazar. "You want your mother to sing you softly to sleep." The baby cooed happily at the mention of his mother. Just the thought of her was enough to bring a smile to the child's face. Balthazar couldn't help but smile back at his son, whose joy seemed to be infectious. "She is wonderful, isn't she?"

"Mumma! Mumma!" Squealed little Jareth as he bounced with happiness. Balthazar laughed quietly to himself and gently took his son's hand. A rush of energy suddenly flowed through him. Balthazar smiled wide, showing off his teeth once more and let out a chuckle.

"Oh yes," he said with a grin, "there is definitely great power in you, my son. Great power indeed." The baby began to squirm again, not liking the feeling of his own powers surging through him. Balthazar waved his free hand and a music box appeared, floating beside the two of them. It began to play a soothing tune as a pretty plastic fairy twirled around the top of it. Baby Jareth was instantly mesmerized and followed the floating music box with his bright blue eyes. Balthazar caressed the child's thumb with his own and smiled as he watched his son slowly try to grab the music box as he drifted off to sleep.

"Sleep my little Jareth," sang King Balthazar quietly to the tune of the music box,

"Let your dreams take wing.

One day, when you're big and strong,

you will be a king."