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Nøkken	By : Lily-Beth_Bluebell Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 1571 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, and I make no profit from writing this. It is purely a work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 1-Nøkken
- 2-Chapter 2
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- 2
When Sarah Williams was just four years old, she almost drowned in the lake. She was saved by a mysterious man she can scarcely remember, but now, fifteen years later, the thing that tried to kill her is back. And it is entirely up to the Goblin King to save her.
(A/N): So, I was reading up on my mythical creatures, mostly the Fae and such to see what the more accurate term for Jareth's race would be, and I came across this one. I did quite a bit of reading on it and it genuinely freaked me out, so I'll give a quick heads up, there is a young child and deep water, but no death. Just a warning.
It was late, nearing dark, when the Goblin King took flight from the window. The build-up of stress over the course of his day was what caused him to transform into an owl in the blink of an eye half-way through ranting to his goblins about the noise level. In an instant, he was no longer the tall and lithe King of the Goblins, but an equally as powerful predator; a feathered hunter with razor sharp talons and golden eyes which could see every speck of dust even in the twilight. In one beat, his strong wings propelled him up out of his throne and into the air. He flew straight for the window. A long flight to the Above was what he needed to cool down before he annihilated every single one of his subjects.
Jareth had always had a quick temper and it took very little to truly annoy him, but after several hundred years of ruling over creatures as nasty and mischievous as goblins, one could hardly blame him. He had not met the previous Goblin King, but he imagined that he had felt the same way. Granted though, not all of his subjects were quite as bad as the goblins. The few dwarfs that hid out in the Labyrinth and in the darker corners of Goblin City were easy enough to deal with and one or two had even approached him to offer their services. He could scarcely remember agreeing to pay one of them if he sprayed the pesky sprites at the entrance of his Labyrinth which tended to put runners off. And he could not have runners giving up before they even entered the maze. That was hardly just.
He was so lost in thought that he barely noticed he was even Above. The sun was just beginning to set here. He slowed and landed expertly on top of a pale stone obelisk; some sort of giant memorial stone in the park. Off to his left was a cluster of trees; a small forest. To his right was a tiny pebbled bridge arching over a shallow stream which led to a lake. There was a decaying wooden bench by the lake. The rest of the park was covered in rich green grass and neat rows of flowers were in full bloom in specific areas. The rows framed the pebbled path which led to a children's play area behind him. Owls could not frown, but in his mind, he glared profusely at the flowers. They were tamed; forced to conform to what the humans believed was natural beauty. If only they could see the flowers as nature intended them back in the Underground: one of the only true places left on Earth that the humans had not tainted.
A childish giggle pulled him from his anger and he turned his head to glance at the metal framework he knew to be a jungle jim: years of dealings with mortals; humans had taught him that. A young girl, probably hardly older than four or five, had reached the top of the metal frame. Her hair was dark for one so young, and reached her shoulders. Her eyes were a pale, pastel green, almost resembling some kind of jewel he had once seen. New Jade, he decided. He tore his gaze away from her intensely triumphant face for a moment to search for her mother, but there was no one to be seen. She was the only one here. He dearly hoped her house was close by, otherwise, whoever was supposed to be looking after her was incredibly irresponsible.
Contrary to what most of the runners of his Labyrinth thought, he was not a hateful being. Cruel by nature, and generous, yes, but not hateful. He did not take wished away children out of malice, in fact, he rather liked children. If someone was careless enough to wish their child to be gone, then they did not deserve the child at all. So he would oblige their selfish desires, removing the child from a place it was unwanted in the process. If the wisher regretted their actions enough, he would grant them the chance to win the child back, but only the truly determined would best his Labyrinth. In the event that the wisher failed, he would adopt the child out to a family in one of the Fae kingdoms where they would eventually complete the change to Fae and live as they did.
Jareth ruffled his feathers, snapping himself out of his thoughts again. The little girl, with a yellow bear clutched under her arm, shakily straightened herself up so that she was standing atop the climbing frame proudly as if she had conquered it. It was a whole new world, and she was the first person to set foot on it. It belonged to her in that moment.
She held her bear out and glared at it.
"See, Lancelot?" she demanded of it. "I told you we'd make it to the top! We had to fight off goblins and villains to get here, but we made it!"
She was strangely articulate for her age, and he noted that she possessed great imagination and fire. Most children were able to play on their own or with toys relatively easily, but he had yet to find one who acted out scenes with such determination. As if she actually believed that she and the bear had battled with goblins and such to make it to the top of the jungle jim.
Jareth kept his eyes on her with extreme interest as she began to speak again.
"You're right," she muttered seriously to the bear. "How are we going to get down? The goblins and their wicked king are coming to get us!"
Due to his owl form, he could not smile, but he was deeply amused by her play for obvious reasons.
The girl glanced down to the softened chips of tree bark that coated the area around the jungle jim in thought. A look of avid determination was born in her eyes and she hugged the bear tighter. In a moment that took the Goblin King completely by surprise, the girl bravely leapt off the frame. He tensed, ready to leap into action should she hurt herself seriously, but she was fine (and, he reminded himself, he was not allowed to interfere in mortal affairs unless specifically asked). She landed on her feet hard and stumble forwards onto her knees. She made not a sound and did not release the bear.
The child leapt to her feet, briefly dusting her dress and knees down, and held the bear out again.
"That was close, Lancelot!" she whispered dramatically. "We should plan it more the next time we storm the castle."
He shuffled a little so that his whole body was facing her. She seemed to hear the scrape of his talons on the stone, as she glanced up at him. A look of delight spread across her face.
"Look, Lancelot!" she gushed, shaking the bear furiously as if it was a human being before her. "It's a real owl! Ssh! Don't scare him off."
Her jewel eyes rose to meet his golden ones and she smiled kindly.
"Hello, owl," she said politely. He was rather surprised when she gave a small curtsey. "Did you see us storm the castle?"
He tilted his head and blinked his eyes, staring at the spot she had landed when she had jumped from the frame. She glanced back at it too and looked down sheepishly, a shy grin becoming her features.
"Yeah, I guess that wasn't too safe," she admitted. "But the goblins were coming!"
Internally, he laughed. What an strange child. Amusing, polite, imaginative and rather intelligent for her age. And alone, he noticed again. She she not have any friends or perhaps an older sibling to play with?
A loud sound startled them both. He merely glanced to the large clock tower he could see in the distance from where the sound was coming. The girl jerked in fright and glanced up.
"Oh no, Lancelot!" she cried. "I don't believe it! It's seven 'o clock! Mommy is going to be so mad!"
She glanced up at him again. She was frightened of her mother's anger, he could tell, but not so frightened as to make him assume there was something darker going on here. This was simply a girl who did not want to displease her mother and get a telling off for arriving home so late.
"Goodbye, owl!" she called as she ran off towards the bridge.
He watched her rush away with interest. He was readying himself to take flight again and return to his kingdom to continue lecturing the goblins, when the girl stopped. So did he. The girl stayed still, but he looked around towards the lake. He could hear music played on a violin of some kind. It was beautiful and melodic, yet hauntingly seductive. It was meant to be entrancing, he could tell, but he could also see right through the spell it was supposed to cast, and he was immune to its effects.
Near the edge of the lake, up to his waist in the water, was a young man. His skin was pale and his hair was dark. Though his chest was bare, Jareth could see the waistband of some form of breeches. His eyes were completely black, but if he squinted, the Goblin King could see a bright yellow pulsing within. It would be completely missed by the human eye and he was fairly certain that if he was not in his owl form, he would not be able to see it either.
The young man was staring intently at the little girl who was slowly turning around. At first, Jareth thought nothing of it, despite the fact that he could feel the spell working its will through the music. Then, the girls mouth fell slack and her yellow bear Lancelot fell from her arms to the grass. Now he knew that something was seriously wrong. Not once had the girl let the bear fall, even when she tripped.
Jareth watched as the girl, so fiery and happy before the music, began to walk slowly towards the man playing the fiddle. Her feet dragged; she was a zombie in the way she moved. Her entire body seemed to become slack, as if it would crumble at any moment.
"That's right," the male whispered. "Come, child."
Jareth glared. He understood the words perfectly as if they were in his mother tongue. But they were in the ancient language of Old Norse. A language spoken by no one. He wracked his brain, trying to figure out what this thing was as the innocent child came ever closer to the edge of the lake.
With something of a pang, he remembered the name. Nøkken. A dangerous being to mortals, especially human children. Before he could finish briefing himself on the creature, a piercing scream shook him. Nøkken had ceased his fiddle-playing. In fact, the instrument was gone. He appeared to have reached out and grabbed the little girl's arm. She shrieked and furiously pulled against him, but a quick twitch of Nøkken's arm muscle had her in the water beside him.
The child could not stand in water so deep and she flailed and sputter wildly, trying to keep herself afloat. The look in her eyes filled him with a sadness. She knew that the games were over. She was not pretending to fight with a villain, she was living it. But soon she would not be. He clicked his beak angrily. Damn that rule. He was not allowed to do anything unless he was asked to.
Nøkken dragged the drowning child further into the lake, holding her under. She kicked and flailed like an animal, and managed to surface for a brief moment. In that tiny second, her panicked eyes met his.
"Help me!" she begged.
That was all he needed. Even as he took off from the obelisk, he was transforming back into the regal king that he was. His booted feet hit the ground hard and he moved with inhuman speed towards the lake. A heat filled his palm as he conjured a clear crystal ball there. The girl was close enough so that he could reach out and grab her.
He did just that, grasping her arm tightly and yanking her out of the water. Nøkken glared at him, his beautiful facade failing and turning to gruesome ugliness. Without giving the creature time to say anything, Jareth tossed the crystal at it.
"Nøkken, begone," he ordered in the Old Norse.
And just like that, it disappeared. Jareth did not need to check twice. He knew the limitations of its power. It would not return to this lake now that he had personally banished it.
He turned his attentions back to the child who was coughing and gasping. She had fallen to her knees again, and was crying as well as trying to force air back into her lungs. She had not taken in any water, she was simply panicking.
"Breathe, child," he told her calmly, placing his hand on her tiny back as she leaned forwards to cough more.
He was kneeling beside her now, one bent leg pointed towards the sky and the other horizontal. The girl placed her hands on his leg to push herself up and she gazed up at him, tears in her eyes.
"You're alright," he reassured her quietly. "It cannot hurt you any more."
She hurried forwards and threw her tiny arms around his neck. He put his hand on her back again as she sobbed into his neck. She was calming herself quickly, but she did not let go of him. He let her cling to him for several minutes until he remembered that she had panicked about being home late.
"Should you not be on your way home?" he asked her. "Your mother is surely worried about you."
She moved away from him and nodded, sniffing and wiping her eyes.
"Can you come with me?" she asked timidly. "I'm scared."
Jareth sighed. The thing would not find her again. But he supposed she was only a child, after all, and she had very nearly drowned. He got to his feet and held out his gloved hand to her. She immediately reached up to take it. She was the one leading him, and he allowed it. She reached down to grab her bear as they passed it, but otherwise, kept her hand firmly in his.
She led him across roads and even up a small hill. He was surprised by how far her house was from the park, and how dangerous the journey was for one so young.
"What are you going to tell your mother?" he asked her.
"She doesn't believe me when I tell her about goblins and stuff," the child explained. "So I'll just tell her I fell in the water by accident."
Jareth nodded. She was a smart child and knew better than to go ranting about mysterious men in the water.
"What will you tell her about me?"
"I guess I'll say that you helped me out of the water," she mused aloud.
Jareth did not press her. She would not say anything to make her parents suspicious, that he was certain of. The little girl led him right up to the porch of a large, white house. There, she released his hand.
"I must be on my way," he explained to her. "I have things to take care of back home."
"Yeah," she said thoughtfully, ringing her hair out. "You look like a kinda important person."
"That is because I am," he laughed. "Farewell, child."
"Goodbye, owl," she said as he turned away from her.
Jareth grinned and transformed, flying up into a tree beside the house and out of sight. He stayed to hear her mother berate her for being late and wet and then to become hysterical when she discovered her daughter had fallen into the deep lake. The woman ranted about what her father would do when he returned and she contemplated not telling him at all. He discovered that the small girl was named Sarah.
Sarah meaning 'princess', he mused. She was more like a warrior with her fire and passion for play and they games she acted out in the park. But her looks...she would grow to be quite beautiful, even by Fae standards.
He stayed in the tree for a while until well after dark when the girl, Sarah, had been bathed and put to bed, but had secretly stayed awake to see her father come in from work. Once the gentle man had kissed her goodnight, she closed her bedroom door fully and sat up in her bed with the bear Lancelot. He listened with rapt attention, and as she spoke, he felt a sadness in him. Was this stuffed animal truly her only friend?
"Wow, Lancelot," she whispered so that her parents would not hear she was still awake. "Did you see what happened today? I'm sorry I dropped you, but that music made me...it made me move when I didn't want to. It wasn't like our games. It was real. And I was really scared. If that man with the glitter didn't help me, I would have really been in trouble. And did you see what the man playing the music looked like? He was so scary." He saw tears roll down Sarah's cheeks. "I wish I could forget all about it."
The Goblin King dipped his head. She could not have made his job any easier for him. He left the branch and flew towards her slightly opened window, pushing it open with his feet. Sarah jumped but when he transformed back into the 'glittery man', she seemed to relax.
She wiped her tears away and smiled at him as he knelt down beside her bed.
"Though you won't remember," he began, "I am giving you the ability to call me whenever you should feel the need. You just have to say your right words. Do you know the right words?"
"I wish..." she whispered.
He gave her a small smile.
"That's right, Sarah," he encouraged. "All you have to do is wish for me, should you need me. In the meantime, however..."
Jareth held up his right hand. That familiar heat spread outwards from the centre of his palm and a clear crystal ball rested there. The girl did not protest as he held it out to her, she simply reached up and took it in her tiny hands. He was fairly sure that she knew the purpose of the crystal. After staring at it for a few seconds, it began to glow and Sarah fell asleep instantly.
He stood and leapt out of the window, transforming back into an owl. He felt that he would miss this little girl, though the spell would eventually wear off due to it being cast on someone so young. But by then, she would assume it all to be a vivid dream. Besides, despite giving her the power to call him whenever she wanted, he was sure he would never see the child called Sarah Williams again.
Ah, Jareth. How wrong you were. I feel that this could work as a stand-alone one-shot prequel to Labyrinth, but I'm going to be continuing it because I like to stress myself out XD.
I'd like to explain a little about the creature known as Nøkken. I came across him in my Fae research. He is an Old Norse mythical creature kind of similar to the Scottish kelpie. He lures people into the waters he resides to drown them, though not to eat them. He is a shape-shifter. He can become a white horse with black eyes, or - to women - an attractive young man playing a fiddle. He can also be an old wooden boat or a tree stump and all you have to do to get rid of him is to say his name and tell him to piss off then he'll go back into the water, leaving you alone. But despite this, he is very dangerous and manipulative.
Anyhoo, please review :D I kinda liked this one personally. Ya know, it shows how Jareth possibly met Sarah before and him giving her those 'certain powers', though not necessarily falling in love with her. And we have Lancelot :D
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Nøkken