Beauty and the Beast - A Labyrinth Story [COMPLETE]

1) Just The Start

Ten Years Later

Jareth lounged across the stone chair, sculpted into books that had been stacked and put together to form a seat. He'd been waiting for the Wiseman to arrive to his seat and find him. The Goblin King needed to have a word with him.

For the past decade Jareth had learned to live with the horrifying look that had been spun upon him. The people who summoned him were now both equally terrified. At first, Jareth found amusement. But now, all he wanted was to be freed from the curse, to find his love. Jareth longed to look as he used to; handsome, beautiful.

He drew up a crystal and gazed into it, seeing an image of his previous self. Jareth sighed once his reflection looked back at him; horns, scales and all. His eyes remained the same, but they were bloodshot and dark. He frowned at his incredibly sharper cheekbones and his gaunt face.

Ever since the curse was put on him, his bones had become more prominent. His hips and shoulders were especially noticeable, and his frail looking, bird-like fingers had grown claws and could become a scary sight without his gloves.

"Well, well! My king!" The Wiseman exclaimed, sauntering toward the lounging king and bowing his head and dipping the bird hat. "Of what service may I be of today?"

"Wiseman, I feel myself weakening." Jareth stood slowly. "Ever since this happened, I've felt my powers waning away, little by little. I know why, but what I don't know is how exactly to fix this."

"Hmm..." The Wiseman paused. "In order to reverse the curse, the queen must accept her status..." He trailed. "Sarah."

"Sarah? She's the only one who has defeated my Labyrinth, so I guess it would make sense..." Jareth muttered to himself. "But what keeps me from convincing her to come back is my form. She'll be terrified to see me like this... Besides, I took her brother. There's no way in hell she'd forgive and forget."

"Quite so. But, there must be a softness inside her that will allow herself accept her fate-"

"I cannot just show up at her doorstep, interrupting her normal life to bring her back to where her fears and nightmares once played a big part of her childhood!" Jareth snapped, baring his bigger, pointier teeth. The Wiseman only stood in front of the Goblin King, and then the hat spoke,

"Well well, then-"

"Be quiet!" The Wiseman interrupted the bird. Jareth rubbed his temple growling in agitation.

"What do I do? Ten years was a mere blink, but to live the rest of my life looking like this is not something I had planned. For fucks sake, I haven't attended any events for the past decade, everyone must assume I'm dead or something."

"Maybe you just have to take the risk. Appear before her, and speak with her. Your powers grow weaker, and soon you will not be able to use any magic. Go to her with haste." The Wiseman urged.

"Wiseman... I do not feel that I have enough energy to even appear in the Aboveground. Let alone teleport anywhere. For gods' sake I had to walk here to your chair, at the crack of dawn just so I could make it here before you did. Even during my walk, I felt weaker, as if I could've collapsed at any moment." Jareth grumbled.

The Wiseman mumbled to himself, and the bird on his head seemed to be mumbling along. The Goblin King tapped his foot, waiting with a hand on his protruding hip bone.

"Well? What do I do, Wiseman?" He seethed.

"I believe I can muster the power to get you there. But from there on...you're on your own until you can convince her to be queen. Only then will your powers be restored." The Wiseman waved his hand and pointed his old and bony finger to the Goblin King.

"Then please. Do it, I beg you." Jareth pleaded. The Wiseman only hummed to himself and tapped his foot.

"Alright. But this is just the start of your curing."