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Raising A Family

Although they were very happy to have children, new parents Jareth and Sarah had some difficulties along the way. These two weren't like any other normal children in the kingdom. They had very unique abilities, such as being able to influence the elements of nature, orbing, being able to freeze objects, and blowing things up with their hands.  Hayley, of course, understood things very easily. She could learn things and soak up the knowledge like a sponge.  Arthur, on the other hand, was a bit of a troublemaker. For some unknown reason, he always enjoyed playing tricks on his sister as they grew older. It was like he had, shall we say, sort of a talent for trouble. Ten years had passed since their birth, and the whole kingdom was planning for their birthday ball. That same day, Sarah and Hayley were gardening in the back of the castle, while Jareth and Arthur were working on practicing their capabilities.

 "Dad, I have a question to ask," Arthur said, after freezing the ball of fire without looking at it. 

"You can ask me anything, son. What do you want to know?", Jareth replied, after making that same ball of fire disappear. 

"I want to know how you and Mom met. It has always been something that I wanted to know." 

"Oh. Well, your mother and I met about thirteen years ago. You do know that your mom is from  the Aboveground, correct?",he asked.

"Yes, I know. She told me a few years ago."

 "She had wished for her brother to be taken away by goblins after being stuck having to babysit him. Your mother loved fairy tales, mind you, especially the one that took place here. So, she wished that her brother be taken away, not knowing that her wish would be granted. The goblins who live here took her brother right after she had closed the door to her parent's room because she couldn't hear him crying anymore. I appeared in the window, soon after, telling her to forget about her brother and to go back to her room." 

"But, she didn't, did she?" 

"Oh, no. She begged me to bring her brother back and I told her that the only way to get him back was to reach the castle at the center of the labyrinth, so basically, here. I said that she had thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth before her baby brother became one of us, forever. Then I disappeared. She thought about how she was going to solve it when she met Hoggle, a dwarf. He did not want to help her solve the labyrinth because at the time, I was very frightening due to the fact that I was unhappy with my life, how I had no one to share my life with. I'll tell you the rest of the story later. Right now, we are going to be late to the picnic that your mother and sister have planned."

 "Ok, let's go." Little did anyone know, the royal family would soon be seperated by an evil sorcerer. The sorcerer had hated the royal family for many years and was now willing to take what was most dear to them, the children. As they sat down to enjoy the family picnic, Hayley asked, " Who's coming this year to the ball, Mom?" 

"Everyone who comes every year, mostly. But, rumor has it that this year, your Uncle Peter should be coming instead of cancelling at the last minute," Sarah answered, before picking up an apple and starting to eat it. 

"Totally, out of random curiosity, Mom, what was your first preception of meeting Dad thirteen years ago?", Arthur asked, turning to Sarah. 

"Well, actually, at first, I was a little bit afraid of your father when I met him the first time. He was much like how I read about him in the story 'The Labyrinth'. Mysterious, frightening, manipulative, but something clicked between us. An undying spark of love and compassion for each other. One of my favorite memories is when I had the dream of the two of us dancing at a ball. Everything around me was so mesmerizing and beautiful. It was one of the best times of my life. Why do you ask?" 

"Because he was telling me the story of how the two you met," Arthur responded. Just then, storm clouds began to roll in. Everyone ran inside to get dry and prepare for the ball.