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Jareth soared through the tainted air of the Aboveground, irate that he’d had to leave his kingdom over the case of a troll that had escaped the captivity of his goblin patrols; how incompetent were his goblins that they’d managed to lose an entire troll, letting it get into the Aboveground no less? Perhaps by human standards, one escaped prisoner wouldn’t be much cause for concern. One escaped troll however, was extremely dangerous.
The troll in question, Nasus, was very uncreatively living under a human bridge, challenging passers-by to guess its name then eating them if they failed or tried to run; then again, trolls were extremely stupid creatures, with little imagination of their own. Nasus had probably heard the immature human tales of how trolls were supposed to act and based its behaviour on them.
And so, Jareth flew onwards, disgusted that he couldn’t simply teleport to the offending troll as he would have in the Underground. He had to preserve his magic for the upcoming battle; it always took so long to recharge in the Aboveground. It concerned Jareth that he already had to use a tracking spell on the beast, but he had to find the troll fast before another human met their untimely end and law enforcement was called in. If any human started to investigate real magic creatures it could mean trouble further down the line; that was why Jareth had planted so many decoys all those years ago, the Loch Ness monster and Big Foot still amused him greatly.
Upon finding Nasus, Jareth was lucky to capture the creature quickly, though not without great cost to his magic. The second he placed the troll in a temporary holding crystal, he knew he wouldn’t be able to teleport back to the Underground. Instead, he would have to fly to one of the few slim tears between the mortal realm and his own. The nearest one was at least a twelve-hour flight away; this was simply not his day.
Somewhere during the fifth hour of Jareth’s flight home, heavy sheets of rain shot down, hindering even his superior owl vision. Jareth swooped downwards, hoping to see some kind of landmark closer to the ground. Had he of slowed down at all, he might not have had his accident. As it was however, he didn’t even see the approaching car before it hit him.
Dazed by the heavy hit, Jareth couldn’t focus. All he heard was the sickening crunch of bones, the screech of the car’s brakes, and someone yell out in shock; after that, consciousness slipped away from his smaller, weaker form.
You held the injured barn owl close to your chest, careful to keep it wrapped up in your woolly jacket and hurried to your laptop where you hoped to find some answers on how to take care of the creature.
“C'mon, hurry up,” You prompted the laptop as if it would turn on faster at your command; it remained stubbornly slow, annoying you to no end.
All you really wanted to do was take the animal to a vet, someone actually capable of repairing the barn owl’s broken wing, however several things stood in the way of that. One, you were in the middle of nowhere in a rented cabin on what was supposed to be a holiday of sorts. Two, you didn’t know where the nearest vets even were. And three, the storm had gotten much worse since your little trip out, making any travel impossible without risking a car crash and that was the last thing you needed.
Jareth stirred, opening his globe-like eyes, though you didn’t notice as you scanned the internet for answers.
“Stupid bird,” You muttered. Jareth glared at you through a half-lidded gaze, ’Foolish human,’ he thought indignantly.
“Why’d you have to hit my car?”
Jareth internally sneered, ’Why did your car have to hit me?’
“Ah-Ha, okay, place bird in carrier if it tries to run- Oh!” You stared down at the owl in your arms, noticing for the first time that it was awake. “Okay owl, please, please, please, don’t freak out on me.”
You put it on the coffee table gingerly, clearly nervous of what wild behaviours it may exhibit; Jareth momentarily considered acting out just to scare you, but the behaviour was beneath him, so he let the idea slip by, instead sitting patiently, and using what little magic he had left to ease the pain.
“Alright, nice little owl, please stay still so I don’t have to put you in a cage… which I don’t even have.”
You glanced at the instructions once more, noting all the things you’d need to gather from around the house, then looking apprehensively at Jareth who was staring daggers at you now. You pointed a finger at the bird, “Hey, don’t look at me like that, you hit my car, remember?”
Jareth, fully annoyed now bit your finger in protest, making you withdraw with a sharp cry of pain as you nursed the cut he’d made.
“See here little… miss?” Jareth hooted indignantly. “Mr?” You tried to be angry, but it seemed like the owl really was communicating with you in its own way, standing proudly when you guessed correctly, despite the broken wing which sagged at the side, useless for anything in its current condition. “Fine, Mr. Whatever. My point is, you really must work with me here. I have to get some shit together unless you want to live like that forever so don’t even think of trying an escape mission, ‘kay?”
The owl blinked haughtily, and you wondered if all owls were as relaxed or as arrogant as this one. Perhaps it was a lost pet and that was why it was so relaxed, then again, it didn’t really matter considering the situation. All that mattered was repairing the damage your car had done, and that meant gathering everything on the list, or whatever was close enough.
When you came back, you pulled out Jareth’s wing, surprising him with your gentleness as you cleaned the wound with water, stopping the small amount of bleeding with some ancient baking soda you’d found in a neglected cupboard. As carefully as possible, you wrapped the wing in some gauze, taping it to the bird’s body. During each step, you explained what you were doing, though more to calm your own nerves than his.
“'Kay, so the website says you should be able to walk unhindered now, so go on, walk.”
Jareth remained perfectly still, he refused to be ordered around by some random peasant, and a human no less.
“C'mon, move already,” You prodded his legs, withdrawing quickly when he tried to bite you again. “Stubborn git, what do you want me to do? Beg? Fine, here’s me begging.” You clasped your hands together, “Oh, great and mighty owl that hit my car on this most auspicious of nights, please walk so I can if I did this bandage crap right.”
Although Jareth didn’t appreciate the sarcasm, he did like the sight of you begging. He complied with the request, walking in a circle around the coffee table, enjoying your incredulous expression.
“I- Um- You’re something else owl, I’ll give you that. Fine, whoever owned you before must have had one hell of an attitude. Like, seriously, did you belong to a prince or something? You seem spoiled enough.”
Jareth hooted quietly, laughing in his own way; if only you knew how close you were.
“Well, according to this it says you’ll be with me for around five weeks. Think you can stand that?”
Jareth screeched angrily. If you thought that he was staying for that long then you were certainly were mistaken; with his magic, he estimated a full recovery within around four days, though he wondered how he would stand to be with you for that long.
“Hey, it’s no picnic for me either buddy, I could just take you to the vets as soon as this storm is cleared up, in fact I will. How do you like them apples?”
Jareth clicked his beak, he didn’t like one human; more would be absolutely unbearable.
Unfortunately for you, the storm showed no sign of stopping, even the next day. You’d never seen so much rain; it was a miracle that the house hadn’t flooded. Since you were stuck with his Royal Highness, which is what you’d named your visiting owl, you did everything you could to make his stay more comfortable. Without the proper foods, you were stuck feeding the owl leftover Cheerios and Weetabix, though it took rather a lot of convincing to make him eat them; then again, it took a lot of convincing to make the stubborn bird do anything.
To be honest, Jareth found it amusing to make you do his bidding, he’d often make it harder than it had to be simply to entertain himself further. However, as fun as it was to pester you, he soon found himself beguiled with your individuality. He’d observed other humans throughout his long life, often finding them selfish, serving only themselves and not caring for anything nature had to offer. You however cared for him tenderly, checking his wing regularly and fretting over it, even though you knew not much could be done that you hadn’t already tried. In addition to that, you also opened your doors to a few other stray animals, sheltering them from the storm, though you hadn’t intended it to happen. As well as Jareth, you now had a cantankerous, old badger whose sett had been flooded, a fearless wild rabbit which had found its way in through the cellar and liked to warm itself by the fire, and a fox which kept coming and going of its own accord. Jareth suspected that the odd mix of animals were drawn to the cabin by the magic he emanated. He waited for you to panic upon first seeing each individual creature, yet you surprised him by taking it upon yourself to care for them to the best of your ability and with the limited supplies you had in the house. When any extra mess was created, you didn’t shout or have a tantrum as expected, but instead handled whatever had been thrown at you with patience and decorum. It was truly an attractive quality, and as such, Jareth communicated with each of the animals ordering them to be as placid as possible. Sensing that the owl was truly a fae, the animals bowed to his will, keeping the warm house in exchange for their good behaviour.
In the meantime, Jareth watched you to see if you held any more desirable qualities, though to test for such things he used small amounts of magic to create unusual scenarios within the small cabin. He made holes in the roof, discovering your determination and resilience as you worked out in the rain to fix them properly. From there, he ensured that you got a bad cold to see if you’d shoo the animals away then. Instead, he found that you were compassionate and hard-working, pushing yourself to get up and take care of all the animals’ needs before letting yourself rest. After that, Jareth plunged the house into a blackout, but instead of complaining, you lit candles and read aloud, as if it would somehow comfort the creatures around you.
After many more tests that lasted days, Jareth came to a decision. You were to wed him in the Underground, and rule by his side. Long ago, he would have simply taken you by force until you had no choice but to be his. However, times had changed and so had he; he was no longer the fae that stole his possessions, he earned them, as he would also earn you.
Upon curing your cold, Jareth waited till you came down to give him his usual bowl of stale cereal before transforming in front of your very eyes. You stumbled back with a cry, falling to the floor. Jareth couldn’t help smiling at the spectacle; it was one he’d become used to in his long life.
“Hello, (Y/N),” He greeted, tipping his head graciously in respect.
“W-w-what are you?” You breathed quietly.
“To you I was merely an owl that hit your precious automobile. I think you’ll find my real name to be more… entertaining, shall we say? I am Jareth, the Goblin King of the Underground.”
“And I’m dreaming? Or I’ve hit my head, or something… Am I in a coma? Are you a wacky part of my imagination? But like, with more glitter?” You longed to stop rambling, but the words kept coming, and while you wished this piece of insanity was a dream, you knew it wasn’t; there was so much ethereal power in the room, it made the hairs on your nape stand uncomfortably.
“Come now (Y/N), you’re smarter than that, you know this isn’t anything but reality.”
“So, are you a goblin yourself or something?”
“A Goblin? Me?” Jareth laughed arrogantly, “My dear, I am so much more than a mere goblin.”
“Okay,” You nodded, walking out of the house and into the freezing rain, Jareth followed you, remaining indoors and watching you intently, lest you try to run from him.
“Pray tell, what are you doing?”
“I’m trying to get a grip on reality,” You replied calmly, letting the rain wash over you, soaking through your clothes and making them cling to your skin.
“You treated me well (Y/N), I’m going to reward you.”
Jareth waited for a glint of greed to appear in your eyes, but there was none, only confusion, “Like Rumpelstiltskin? Or any of those other old stories? No thanks, I don’t want anything. You can just… Whatever man, you can just go and do whatever it is you do. Making shoes for the poor or something?”
“Do not confuse me for your childish human fairy tales, my sweet. Do you not get bored of your human life here? Think of what I’m offering you.”
“And what are you offering my Your Royal Highness?” You eyed him suspiciously.
“A life with me, in the Goblin City, if you’ll have it.”
“What?” You wished you’d said something more eloquent like 'Excuse me,’ or 'Pardon,’ but you’d hardly been trained in proper speech and it seemed that you were getting more shocks in the current conversation than you had in a lifetime.
“I shan’t mince my words dearest. I love you. Fae emotions are strong and in the past six days I know I love you and always will. As such, I ask you to come with me to my realm in the hopes of courtship. If you come to love me then we shall be wed, but if my feelings are not reciprocated, you will be brought back here to resume your normal life.”
“I… I have family and friends here.”
“Whom you will still be allowed to visit, my peach. You shan’t be my prisoner, only my guest in the hopes that we shall one day wed.”
You chewed your lip, “Can I have time to think?”
“No. It’s a decision to be made now and only now; I wait for no one.”
You slicked back your hair, squinting up at the grey sky and thinking of all the stories you’d read as a child, where the prince would come for his one true love and they’d live happily ever after. You’d always thought that you’d jump at an opportunity like that, but now it seemed that there was so much to think about. Yet, the more you considered it, the simpler it became.
Slowly, you paced back into the house, staring up at Jareth, “You promise I can come back if things don’t pan out?”
“On my name as King.”
You nodded wordlessly. Jareth wrapped his cloak around you, drawing you close and within the blink of an eye, you saw your new home at the centre of a Labyrinth. Life as you knew it was about to change.