Blood & Glitter in Paris (Phantom of the Opera/Labyrinth)

Chapter 19

Jareth lightly bounced Toby on his knees as a goblin polished Jareth's boot while the king sat on his throne. The baby gurgled and Jareth found himself growing quite fond of the child. Christine had been loath to part from him but Erik had convinced her she needed rest, her changing had drained her strength and she didn't need to push herself. Jareth glanced down at Toby and smiled a little.

"He's a lively little chap. I think I'll call him Jareth. He's got my eyes." It was true. The boy had Jareth's blue eyes. Now, he didn't have the dilated pupil that marked the Goblin King but the color was nearly the same. In fact, that had been a fact that was keeping him from wanting to turn the child into a goblin. The boy was sweet and since the very beginning, hadn't cried at all. In fact, he seemed to enjoy watching the goblins and often laughed at their antics.

Yes, the boy would stay with him as a human until he finally shifted into a Fae. Or, if he gave the child over to Erik and Christine, who would no doubt raise the child even if he didn't, he would become a vampire. Either way he would never return to the Aboveground.

As he glanced around the throne room, he realized what it would mean once the boy was his. Sarah would be gone. She would never come back. It stung more than he was willing to admit. What irritated him was his attraction to a girl with nothing that should attract him.

The girl was pretty but he knew many girls more beautiful. She was young but age made little difference in a world where one never ages. She was spirited and bold but those were attributes that would only cause problems if she stayed.

Yes, there was no reason he should care about whether the girl was around him or not. But he did care and it angered him. With a snarl, he passed the lad to a goblin and vanished into his Labyrinth. It was time for Sarah to feel some of his wrath. She would lose.

∞∞∞

Hoggle was walking and mumbling to himself about Sarah. He was a coward and he knew but he felt some shame for abandoning the young girl in the strange place. Jareth's Labyrinth was hardly a safe place. As he kicked a rock, he heard Sarah shouting for him. With a groan, he turned around and called out,

"I'm comin', Sarah!" He turned around and gasped as he saw the Goblin King leaning against a rock, smirking at the poor dwarf.

"Well, if it isn't you? And where are you going?"

"Well, the little lady gave me the slip...but I just hears her now...so I was about to lead her back to the beginning...like you told me." Hoggle tried to lie his way out of the trouble he was finding himself in.

"I see." Jareth completely disbelieved Hoggle's words. The dwarf was a traitor and once he won, he was going to through the ungrateful creature into an oubliette and leave him there. He couldn't wait for that moment. Perhaps he would even dip him into the Bog of Eternal Stench so he would have to live with that smell for the rest of his miserable life? In the distance, both Jareth and Hoggle heard Sarah crying for the rock-caller, Ludo.

Jareth ignored the cries and said, "For one moment I thought you were running to help her." His voice was dripping with sarcasm that the dimwitted dwarf didn't catch. He stood up and turned his back on Hoggle, walking a short distance away from him. He then turned around and stared down Hoggle. "But, no, not after my warnings. That would be stupid!" He clasped his hands behind his back.

"Oh, you bet it would! Me help her after your warnings?" Hoggle was wandering around nervously was about to make a quick escape. He couldn't lie to save his own hide and the quicker he left, the less likely he was to be in trouble. He turned a little and Jareth was kneeling right behind him and frowning.