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I’d move the stars for you
(Jareth x fem! Reader) pt. 1
A/N- hi so I just wanted to start off by saying that I’m back (for like the fifth time) and this time I intend to get a fully finished fic out to you all for the first time years lol. I’m usually a one-shot type of gal but I watched the labyrinth this Easter so you guys get the idea! Also I know there are books explaining some of Jareth’s lore but I don’t have the money read them so I’m going off my knowledge from tiktok videos about the books and lastly, Jareth and reader are both 18 when this story begins (incase you were wondering why I’m not describing him in all his glory lol) but yes. Enjoy my loves😘❤️
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There was a reason for Sarah’s arrival to the labyrinth, and there were reasons for every persons arrival before her. However, no one dared to bring it up.
After all, no sane person would poke a sleeping lion with a stick. So why start now?
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“Y/n? Are you ready yet? Father says we have to leave!”
Jesus…
If you heard one more syllable come out of your sisters’ mouth you were going to throttle her.
Not only were you not ready, you didn’t want to go at all. ‘Think of it as friendly business’ your father spouted.
Yeah…sure business my a-
“Y/n?!”
“Yes alright I’m…coming.”
You’d adjusted your dress one more time looking at yourself in the mirror. Yes you were familiar with dresses and in fact you enjoyed wearing them- gorgeous creations of lace and sparkles were all you ever really wore. But there was something about this one you despised. It was probably the fact that you’d be meeting your soon to be husband for the first time in this dress and as a young woman who would rather think about anything else but marriage, you were…sour to say the least.
Finally satisfied with your facade you opened your bedroom door to reveal your sister and father waiting for you anxiously.
“Ah! My darling there you are! Oh and how lovely you look!”
“Thank you father, but-“
“Y/n please dearest, we talked about this. You’ll be fine.”
Taking in a sharp breath (as that’s all your corset allowed you to do) you smiled at your proud looking father dreading what was to come.
The carriage ride was immensely slow. Most of the way you were staring out the window.
No one had met this Prince but you knew his parents had a reputation to say the least. His mother, (Queen of the Goblins) was not only a fierce and stern woman but a terrifying Queen. And his father, the king- well, he had a tendency to not only lose his temper but he almost enjoyed punishing every subject he sent to the bog of eternal stench. You had no such thing in your kingdom, compared to the lands of the Goblin king and Queen your lands were like some kind of far off dream. The citizens were kind and fair, the air was cleaner, the sky was bluer but the most noticeable difference was the ruler. Your father. A kind, bubbly man who believed that the punishment must not exceed the crime. His rosy cheeks and warm presence were in stark contrast to the king and queen of the lands you were currently travelling to.
The Queen was tall and lean, the same could be said for the king in all honesty but the Queen was more sunken in her stature. Her long face was harshly outlined by her noticeable eye makeup and surprising amount of contour whereas the king sported a constant glare that seemed fixing upon his face.
And to think, soon those will be your future in laws. The thought made your eye twitch but royalty goes hand in hand with duty. And if this was your duty to your people then so be it.
The sky begun to get darker as you entered their lands, a noticeable chill followed you. Trees shook without leaves to shake off despite it being spring time and the way that the land was completely deprived of all nature and colour made your stomach sink to your toes.
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The castle was worse.
So much worse.
You couldn’t believe how anyone could live in such a dreary place, let alone a prince. The journey through the halls were strange to say the least. A constant unease followed you and if the prince were anything like his parents you’d be doomed. Vines tangled up the castle long and decaying from neglect. The gates creaked open with a sickening moan as if they haven’t been active in decades…and so here you were. The underground. At least that’s what you’d heard it being called. This kingdom was something of a mystery to you, as up until now there had been no relations between your kingdom and the underground.
“Ma’am. Right this way.” A short green goblin spoke whilst you were emerging from your carriage, your father and sister close behind. Looking up at the castle was eye opening. It was much bigger than what you had imagined- hell it may have been bigger than your own. Blacked eyes watched you from a branch. Curious and observing. Your head turned in the direction of the bird before it flew off without a sound.
“Alright folks so what you wanna do is take that staircase there up to the main thrown room where the king and queen will greet you and then-“
The goblins words fell onto deaf ears. Well at least your deaf ears. You were too busy taking in the castle. The outside could have been the inside and the inside could have been the outside for all you knew, as there were still great decaying veins scaling the walls as if wanting to escape. However, there was a slight fog in the air that your sister ended up choking on.
Up until this point you had trusted your father’s judgement completely. But now? You believed that a doctor’s visit was in order. How could he do this to you? The kingdom is eerie the castle is worse and you didn’t even want to think about the people that resided in it.
“Is that understood your highness?”
That snapped you awake.
“Oh! Yes, yes thank you so very much.”
Had you heard what he’d said? No.
Did it matter? No.
You bid your goodbyes to the small goblin and headed on your way, this time lead by your father who was all too eager for you to meet the king and queen. The castle seemed to stretch and turn as you made your way through. It was strange.
However, finally the three of you made it to the thrown room. In amongst dirty cobbled floors and tangling veins sat two thrown’s. On each sat one stone faced monarch.
“You majesties! How lovely to see you, might I present to you my eldest daughter, Y/n!” Your father beamed giving you room to step forward. That was your que to put on that oh so charming facade that everyone drooled over in your kingdom. Yes you were kind and gentle however, you were also witty and sarcastic. Two traits that a princess should not possess.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you your majesties.” You smiled whilst curtsying as gracefully as you possibly could in your tight dress, the corset digging into your ribs almost making you sick.
“The pleasure is ours. Now, you two will reside in the two spare rooms in the east wing” the queen began pointing to your sister and father. “However you my dear, will stay in the west wing.” The queen said. There was an element to her voice that made her sound almost tired whilst talking to you. But you dismissed it as that and that only.
“Thank you very much your majesty we are so very grateful for your hospitality.” Your father stepped forward bowing to the both of them.
The man- and older gentleman was watching you with a sour glare, something you were warned of when your father first told you of your engagement to the prince.
“You will remain there until the masquerade ball tonight at 8 o’clock where you can enjoy yourself and get to know the highest social members of our kingdom. A good thing to know if you are to be Queen of this land.” The Queen remarked. The comment was almost a dig at you but you had opted to think about it later and not let a slip of the tongue destroy any hope of a relationship with your in laws.
Curtsying once more you were led away to the west wing by another goblin. This one was orange with extremely long pointed ears.
You’d heard of the creatures that lived in the underground but had never actually seen them. Your kingdom housed, pixies, elf’s and gnomes. Funny…kind creatures. This place housed goblins trolls and fairies.
The halls of the castle were winding and small. It seemed that the further into the castle you ventured the more your mind began to play tricks on you.
“Right. Here you are deary. I trust you have everything you need for tonight?”
“Yes, I have brought some bags with me.”
“Good but if you need anything, you give me a shout.”
Well…she seems nice. Maybe you’d been too quick to judge the inhabitants of the kingdom?
But something wasn’t sitting right. Just as the goblin turned to leave you spoke up again.
“If you don’t mind me asking-“
“Marigold.”
“Marigold…where is the prince, shouldn’t I meet him before the ball tonight?”
The goblin clicked her tongue thoughtfully.
“No one from outside of these walls has seen him since the day he was born. Not a living soul at least.”
You were a goner.
“But-“
“No buts, go get ready dear, you don’t want to keep him waiting…”
And with a cackle she was gone. You placed you hand upon the wooden door pushing gently it swung open with ease. Stepping in you realised it was a lot cosier than the rest of the castle. The ceiling was lower than expected and the walls were decorated with vines and…flowers? You hadn’t seen a living plant since arriving in this new kingdom. So for them to be localised to this one spot was strange to say the least.
Looking around 4 things caught your eye; your bed, with all sorts of fabric draped over it, some furs the others were just as soft and some so thin you could see through them. The carved bed posts were also a nice touch, winding up to the ceiling. The second was the wardrobe that stood proudly next to the bed. Floral patterns were carved into the precious looking mahogany as delicate golden paintings decorated the sides. The third was the dressing table that sat on the other wall, a (what seemed to be) freshly polished mirror sat right in the middle. And lastly was the window. The only source of light in the room- yes it wasn’t overly decorated like the rest of the room however it seemed to frame the sunlight that was cascading through the glass perfectly as if the sun was put there to compliment the window.
You sighed.
This was more than likely to be your home. This. Not your room, with your bed, not your wardrobe. Not the rooms that you learned to walk in. This. Cold and distant building that seemed to go on for years. And whilst you had to admit your bedroom was lovely, the rest of the castle was soulless. Completely devoid of love and care.
If this was what the castle was like, you’d dread to think of how your soon to be husband would be. Looking around a heavy feeling settled in your chest. Was this your life now? Would this be your everyday?
“Ello.”
“What? Who’s there?” You spun around rapidly looking for the source of the cockney voice.
“Just me.”
“Who’s me?”
“Down ere miss.”
Turning your attention to the floor you saw a vivid blue worm perched on a protruding rock.
“Did you say hello?”
“No, I said ello but that’s close enough!”
He smiled at you warmly as he tilted his head.
“You looked troubled Miss.”
With a heavy sigh you sat down letting your dress fold under yourself providing you with some shelter from the cold cobbled floors.
“I am.”
“Whatever’s the matter?”
How could you even begin, you were being torn away from your home, forced to marry a prince you’d never met out of obligation and you couldn’t even turn to your father or sister because they were currently in the complete opposite side of this prison you were in.
“I’m being forced to marry to the prince.”
“The goblin prince?”
“Yes! And I don’t have a clue on how to navigate this castle, everyone is cold and bitter here and I haven’t even met him yet!Oh this is going to be a complete disaster!” You cried before burying your head in your hands. Honestly, you were dreading meeting him tonight. What if he hated you? What if you hated him? What if-
“Don’t fret Miss, I’m sure the prince will be glad to see you!”
“You really think so?”
“Yes! I bet he’ll be over the moon with you! I mean- I’ve seen some of the other princesses that have been presented to him and those went badly! I mean one was turned into a toad and sent home!”
“WHAT?!”
Your head spun. Turned into a toad?! That couldn’t be true could it?!
“She did deserve it though! That girl had no manners!” The worm huffed nodding his head firmly. “She never talked to me even when I said ello!” He wriggle next to you and continued.
“You’ll be fine Miss.” before turning and wriggling his way back into the crack in the floor from which he came.
“Thank you…” you replied meekly before turning to the wardrobe.
Taking a closer look at the large piece of furniture you tugged at the handle gently. The doors creaked open with a sickening squeak that left your stomach feeling queasy. Inside was a pearlescent ball gown, with a similar mask to match. Its delicate silk was heavenly to the touch and the stones on the dress glistened in the light cast by the sunset. Examining closer a little piece of paper caught your eye.
“For you, y/n”
Your mind was running in circles. This couldn’t be from your dad or sister because it wasn’t there hand writing…Was this from him? A bit forward you remarked but…it was such a lovely gesture.
You did have your own dress though…and a mask to match however it would be rude if you didn’t except. Finally ending your internal battle with yourself you decided you would wear the dress.
“Well, it’s almost 8, I’d better begin to get ready…”
Making sure that the worm hadn’t come back or that there weren’t any other creatures in your room that you didn’t know about, you began to change.
The new dress fit perfectly! You were astounded at the fact that somehow someone had gotten your exact measurements. Examining yourself in the mirror opposite the wardrobe you were completely in awe of the dress. It protruded about a meter away from your body- actually how were you going to fit through your door now? Well, that was a problem for later you’d thought.
Turning to the dressing table you unpacked your hair brush and jewellery. You styled your hair, weaving intricate white flowers and pears through each stand carefully making sure that they would stay in place. Then adding you necklace and earrings made out of the shiniest rocks.
Taking one more moment to examine yourself you still couldn’t believe that this was happening. But despite the underlying feeling of dread that planted itself in your stomach you were beginning to get curious as to how this prince would be. Would he be ten feet tall? Would he have one eye? Would he be a goblin himself?!
“Scuse me you highness, the ball is to commence in ten minutes I’ve been asked to escort you to the main ballroom!” You heard a shrill voice shout through your door.
“Oh! Yes! I’m coming.” You hurriedly packed away your things and grabbed your mask before heading out the door to once again meet Marigold.
“Hello again!”
“Hello dear. Are you quite ready for tonight?”
“I believe so…yes.”
The walk was a nice chance for you to actually pin point certain parts of the castle like the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and the candles that seemed to be decades old cemented onto the walls.
Winding halls and corridors finally led you to the main ballroom. Marigold positioned you at the entrance along with other nobles, making sure that your dress was as presentable as possible before the doors swung open.
You lifted your head, smile never faltering. Your shoulders were drawn back to almost an uncomfortable degree however you remained graceful.
At the far end of the ballroom, past the mythical creatures that were looking at you with hungry eyes sat the King and Queen of the underground. Their eyes pieced you like little arrows going straight through your chest, completely knocking the wind out of you. However, next to them? An empty chair.
‘Was that for the Prince?’ You mused trying not to let your expression changed as you made your way down the stairs to the main dance floor where everyone was gathered.
Everything was so elegant. Pieces of fabric hung loosely from the ceiling and curtains in each corner of the room hung proudly. The windows in the room were also just as proud, letting in the cold moonlight along with more candles that provided extra lighting.
Looking to your soon to be in-laws you realised they were currently in a discussion. More than likely about their missing son you mused as you finally reached the two offering a curtsy.
You believed that you would have known who the prince was right away, whether that be from difference in outfit or attitude.
You turned to your left and walked as calmly as you could to the edge of the room whilst the music began to pick up.
One by one people and creatures began to grab their respective partners and pull them to the dance floor. You however, had no one.
Your mind began to wonder if this was a joke- a cruel prank played by the prince to fool you into loosing your temper so he (or his parents) could turn you into a toad. Luckily your patience was stronger than his games. Walking around the room wasn’t so bad after all, it gave you a chance to examine the decorations closely and see the architecture of the room itself.
Just as you’d made your way around the edge of the room you had decided to join the now bustling crowd of people that were only chatting now. A cold chill runs down your spine as you finally meet a pair of blue eyes that had found you from the other side of the room. His mask was dark with large protruding horns. You kept yours close like it would protect from what was about to happen. He strode across the floor towards you. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t planning to run away from him. His eyes burrowed into your own causing your knees to shake and you breathing to pick up.
There was something about him that was so purposeful, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t curious as to what he was like.
Finally coming face to face with him was a different story. He was taller than you. But he was no troll or goblin. He looked like the humans from your books and while you knew you looked human, you knew you were not. His hair was mid length and done into ponytail that hung just past his shoulders. This had to be him. You were certain.
“Hello.” You breathed as if muttering anything else would mean your untimely demise.
“Hello Y/n.”
