I have a book idea that I'm really excited about but there's no way I'll be able to focus on it enough to actually develop it, so, here you go. Anybody can use this if they want. Feel free to change it or add onto it or just take the whole thing and make it your own. I'll show you all the notes I've written down so far about what I was imagining.
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(Loosely based off of The Labyrinth (the one with David Bowie) and the German story of Der Erlkönig.) In a strange twist of fate, it is a young human man named Marcus Lowe who falls in love with the Goblin Queen. The Goblin Queen is neither good nor bad, and yet he is drawn to her. He feels as though there are things he doesn't remember, perhaps even from a past life. He has a strong desire to escape his world, and is easily swayed by the promise of eternal youth, prosperity, and magic. He doesn't need any convincing or trickery to come to her palace - he makes his way there himself. She is more than happy to humor him - but as time goes on, Marcus begins to wonder if his choice was the right one.
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(First seems like a romance, then a fantasy, and then catches readers REALLY off-guard when it turns into something almost horror-esque)
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In the land of the Goblin Queen, reality is hers to command, and hers alone. There are no limits. She can look however she wants; time is hers, the land is hers, the people are hers. The lands are ever-changing, because she can control them and how they look with half a thought. As such, no maps work for very long. It's like the entire plane of existence is a massive unexplored labyrinth, one that is constantly shifting and replacing parts of itself with new ones, and adding on to the others, expanding infinitely.
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"Just because I am not bound by time, does not mean I don't feel its weight on my shoulders each moment I am alive. Sometimes I wonder if I am in fact dead. Then I think, no, that couldn't be, because they say that to die is to put an end to all pain...and this emptiness is the most exquisite agony."
"Is there any way for you to die?"
"Perhaps, but none that I am aware of. If there is, I haven't tried it yet."
"What?"
"You abandoned your world to come here because you sought an escape. You've no right to judge me for seeking my own."
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Scene where Marcus realizes the Goblin Queen is turning back time in order to fix an executioner's deathblow so that the prisoner doesn't suffer. She keeps turning back time and adjusting the angle and placement, watching the prisoner's execution over and over and over and over again until she gets it right and the prisoner dies on the first swing before any pain could even be felt. Nobody else understands this, because they only see the final version where she was successful, and thinks the prisoner merely got lucky and received a painless death - more than they felt he deserved. This is the first time Marcus sees a side of the Goblin Queen that is empathetic and can't help but grant mercy even to people who don't deserve it.
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Marcus knows that goblins and elves can enchant humans through a single kiss, and the human will love them forever, entirely devoted to them. The Goblin Queen reminds him of this many times, but he still insists that he has fallen in love, and wants to kiss her. The Goblin Queen knows everything that happens in her lands - her people's thoughts and actions, as well as the future. The future is a big part of her mind, occupying most of her attention. But she first time she relents and kisses Marcus, the future suddenly goes dark and empty, causing such a jarring shift in her consciousness that she blacks out. That means there is no future, because if there was a future, she would be able to see it. This plants the first rift in her mind about Marcus, because for all her power, she wonders why Marcus wanted the kiss so badly, and why the kiss put an end to the future as she knew it. After this event will be the first time Marcus sees a side of her that can be terrifying and, admittedly, completely paranoid and insane. She wants answers that Marcus can't give. She's used to being the one to know all the answers, and it's such a strange and unfamiliar concept that she has no idea how to deal with it.
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There is something strange about the Goblin Queen, Marcus eventually realizes. Something he can't quite place. Her powers, energy, and mindset are those of a timeless ruler of a magical dimension, but there is something else she keeps hidden. The fact that she looks nothing like the other goblins might be attributed to the fact that the rulers of the Goblin Kingdom are considered higher beings and might take on different forms. Or...perhaps it is because the Goblin Queen isn't a goblin at all. Or because something in her past is important enough that she'd choose to take on a human-like form. Whatever it is, Marcus can't shake the feeling that there is more to the Goblin Queen than meets the eye.
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As much as Marcus claims to love the Goblin Queen, she refuses to give him her true name. No one but her knows her true name, because true names hold the power to command. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, the Goblin Queen's true name could be used against her, and she could lose everything. She has sworn to herself that she will never reveal her true name to anyone, be they a lover, a tormentor, or a close friend. In this regard, she trusts absolutely no one but herself. Marcus resigns himself to the fact that she will never tell him her true name, but constantly wonders about it anyway.
