“There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes.
A kind of pale jewel
Open and closed
Within your eyes.
I'll place the sky
Within your eyes.

There's such a fooled heart
Beatin' so fast
In search of new dreams.
A love that will last
Within your heart.
I'll place the moon
Within your heart.

As the pain sweeps through,
Makes no sense for you.
Every thrill is gone.
Wasn't too much fun at all,
But I'll be there for you-ou-ou
As the world falls down.

Falling.
Falling down.
Falling in love.”

Odd, not every day you would hear the voice of another singing so freely, and when you did, it was typically a mare or young filly playing about. It was obvious this voice belonged to a stallion, singing out to no one in particular it seemed. Beautiful lyrics were cast out to the skies, hoping to entrance anyone to start swaying softly to the slow song.
It was the kind of song you could imagine in your perfect fairy tale romance, dancing away with your prince in a world so perfect, so unbelievable, so enchanting, that you were afraid that if the music stopped your world would come to an end. A dying art, being able to sing like that, and not many could match it. At least, these were the opinions of the stallion who had been wandering through the winding maze of his lands before coming to the center, a castle like structure abandoned by humans and gods long ago. Why would he disobey every law to not cross into certain borders for certain alliances? Simple, he believed he had no alliance. And since he had taken rule of this land, there was no required alliance either.


“I'll paint you mornings of gold.
I'll spin you Valentine evenings.
Though we're strangers 'til now,
We're choosing the path
Between the stars.
I'll leave my love
Between the stars.

As the pain sweeps through,
Makes no sense for you.
Every thrill is gone.
Wasn't too much fun at all,
But I'll be there for you-ou-ou
As the world falls down.”

His singing kept him occupied and prevented him from being bored, but occasionally he would end up pausing to continue his song directly to someone if they requested it, though none seemed to catch his interest enough to stay too long. At the age of at least ten years, the stallion wasn’t his youngest, yet he wasn’t old enough to be considered…Well, old. But it was a bit old to have only known one love, and that had been years ago. He a stallion, but the love still just a three year old filly who knew nothing of the meaning of love. Yet even know his thoughts were brought back to her, but he roughly shook his regal crown to shake the memories away. Even with the rough shake, the shorter hairs of his grey mane still stood straight up, while uneven long strands fell around his neck. He looked like such a gentleman, and you could sense a royal air around him, so mysterious.

He wore a coat of silver grey, hardly destroyed by any scars visible. The few scars he did have had faded long ago, and blended smoothly. His legs were darkened by dark grey stockings to match his ashen muzzle. Stepping into a bit of sunlight, anyone could now get a good look at his eyes. How strange, as one pupil remains enlarge while the other shrinks down to the size of a pin head. Surrounding the mismatched pupils were deep pools of navy blue, the shade varying in different lighting. At the height of 17.3 hands, he was a bit tall for his breed of mostly Thoroughbred, his added height given to him by Percheron bloodlines. His mixed bloodlines gave him a slim physique, but with enough strength and power to take on those who challenged him.

To some, possibly many, he was quite the odd looking stallion, and has even had a few equines admit that he creeped them out when they first met him. Ah, but what would you except from the Goblin King? Sure, to many of the creatures that existed, he looked like a relatively normal stallion until you saw his eyes or his slightly jagged teeth. Recognizable in an instant with his eyes, those who knew of him knew well of his supposed powers. Even the mortals of the normal equines understood that he could just as easily take away something in a flash the second you turn your back. Goblins, they are known as, they are his eyes and ears everywhere. The words popular to jealous siblings, “I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now.” If they were said, more often than not the wish was granted. If the one who wished away with the foal wanted the foal back, they were sent on a ridiculous journey through his labyrinth before they lost the foal forever, as a goblin. As he continued on his way through the dark fields, the ending of his song could be heard softly fading away…

Falling
As the world falls down.
Falling
As the world falls down.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling in love
As the world falls down.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling in love
As the world falls down.
Makes no sense at all.
Makes no sense to fall.
Falling
As the world falls down.
Falling.
Falling in love
As the world falls down.
Falling.
Falling
Falling in love
As the world falls down.

{lyrics from As The World Falls Down by David Bowie}

With a sense of hearing that could make a mortal bat envious, the King stopped in his tracks before entering his home. Looking back over his shoulder, he turned around quietly as he waited for whoever was to show up to hurry up and get here. He was starting to grow impatient, and from inside the castle he knew the pathetic equines considered the goblins were surely wrecking his home. At last the mare showed herself, though he was a bit confused. Sure, he sensed her presence before he could see her, but why was she here? No one had wished away a foal lately, and she certainly wasn’t a mortal coming to retrieve the babe. With mortal’s, they usually took hours to find the center of his labyrinth.

Raising a brow to the mare, he kept his crown held high, not like the mortal’s that stick there nose up to the sky and think their all high and mighty. No, but just enough to stand tall and straight, looking down at the smaller mare with ease. White tipped wings instantly caught his attention, followed by the spiraling horn that could jab anyone by accident if she turned to suddenly. Jewelry of gold laughed at the King’s simple large moon amulet of silver draped about his neck. Markings and tresses of snow draped across a chestnut body, sure, the young mare was beautiful. But then again, most mythical mares were. If they were not beautiful, they were often hideous instead. He said nothing to her at first, studying her for a few seconds before coming to the conclusion that she was not a threat.

“Why have you come here? Through my labyrinth and kingdom to just walk up to my castle?”

He gave a slight snort, but the gentlest ruffling of feathers caught his attention as well. Birds were rare in his kingdom of the Underground, unless he summoned them himself, they were often scared off by the slightly dreary look of the land. They say the mood of the King reflects in the conditions of the land, and it seemed he was always in a good enough mood to keep the lands beautiful and healthy, yet in a dark enough mood to keep normal creatures at bay.

“Same goes to you.”

He called back to the eagle without so much as looking back, unsure if whether or not it was an equine in disguise, but it certainly couldn’t have been a normal bird. He should know, being able to transform into a small owl himself. He waited somewhat patiently, for either of them to get the nerves to speak before the other.

As she gave a small bow, the King in returned dipped his muzzle respectfully. Chivalry is not dead yet, so long as respect is shown to him, he had reason to show them some at least decent respect as well. Hardly surprised as her feathers dropped, he kept the straight face while she smiled. Her response on the other hand, made him smirk.

“Now, Katastrophe, I highly doubt that you are here for the same reason I live here. I live here because I rule here by birthright. And I don’t think that’s your reason as well, not in this land at least.”

Hardly noticing the scar that ran along her neck, he glanced to the other mare to see if she had anything to say as well. One of the things about mythicals, they were no where near as much fun as messing with the minds of mortals. Most mythicals were too cocky and ‘fearless’ with ‘nothing to lose’ and figured that he could do nothing to them. Those were the ones that didn’t realize he could strip them of their powers, until it was too late and they became a goblin. And those that did understand that, either predicted or sensed what he was to say or do. Mortals on the other hand, were so much fun to confuse and torture, their simple minds and imaginations giving him a chance of control. No, mythicals were hardly that much fun…

With no response from the other mare just yet, he glanced back to her before looking back to Sophie. He spoke to both of them now, in case the chestnut mare was wondering who he was as well.

“Most just call me The Goblin King…”

He was not planning to tell them of his actual name, some could know his name by one of those looking into the past type visions, or someone around the castle would randomly mention it. If they were to actually ask for his real name, maybe he would tell them.

Taking notice of her relaxation, one ear flicked back at her last comment. Respect? Respect? Ha, hardly any showed him respect anymore. Not since the mortal defeated him years ago, all thought he was weakening, putting him in the state he was in now. Besides, why did she care? And even more so, how did she know? Eh, who cares. Practically everyone knew of his loss now. Even before, it was hardly respect he received. It was fear. But now, none seemed to fear or show respect to the brute.

“Indeed Sophie…But forgive me if I seem rude or insulting, but I do not have friends, nor do I use the term friends.”

He said quietly, not exactly accepting her calling him friend, for a friend is only someone you think you can trust and you can end up getting close enough to tell worldly secrets too before the trust is broken. She had only just met him, and she had hardly told him anything about her as well. Didn’t matter, if she planned to stay here they would surely eventually know more about each other.

One ear flicked towards the very...green, mare that had been standing beside them for some time now. She had yet to say anything, and it was starting to aggrivate the King with her silence. He had addressed her as well when Sophie had come down from her spot upon the tree branch, why did she not speak? He turned his mis-matched gaze towards the mare, flicking his ears back as she began to walk away while staring around at his lands. Taking advantage of the momentary silence between him and Sophie, Jareth dipped his darkened muzzle to her before narrowing his gaze to the fairy like mare, also showing her why he was excusing himself away from the dappled mare for at least a minute or two.

Stepping lightly as to be silent, the king silently approached the mysterious mare, noting her intense stare around the lands which included the end of the labyrinth, his castle, the lands past the labyrinth and a nice overlooking view of the labyrinth itself.

"Can I help you?" He asked once he had stepped up towards her shoulder, his tone not exactly the happiest one.

My dark emerald occuli turn to look at the King from underneath heavy, black lashes as he spoke. The tone of his voice put me off, showing clearly through the frown that marred my maw.
"I doubt it," comes my scoffing remark, as my gaze turns away to try and figure out what I'd Seen a few days ago. "Not unless you can explain to me why the hell I was brought here, or what I should be looking for. But, I doubt you could answer that as well."

White and pale green tassels swung from side to side as my mind turmoiled within its self as I tried to recall anything important or anything that gave away what I should be looking for. Though, I got nothing. Surpressing my growing frustration, I casually add; "I'm Malleus Maleficarum, or Mura, by the way." I was half-tempted to utter the meaning of my name, though I refrain. I'll wait and see if the brute that calls himself King could figure it out during the time I was here, looking for the answers to the riddles I kept Seeing. 'Twould make a fun game to pass the time..

"Mind what tone you use to who your speaking to when in my lands." He said coolly, though his voice was a low growl. She didn't have to be a member of his herd to strip her of powers, after all, she was pretty much tresspassing. Stepping away from her a few feet, her snarky (xD SD's word) attitude with him had not exactly helped his mood.

"Well I certainly didn't summon you here, and your not a mortal child wished away. So only you, as of right now, can answer why you have tresspassed here and decide to already think you can do whatever the hell you wish."

It was obvious by now that the King took to treating others the way he felt treated, by change from being respectful and courteous to Sophie, to returning snappy remarks to Mura. He grunted, standing stock still as a way to calm himself after he had distanced himself from her by a few feet.

"As I have told Katastrophie, most simply call me The Goblin King," Glancing over to Sophie, he spoke a bit louder before saying his real name so they would both know it. They'd know it sooner or later, his mood for wanting them to figure it out on their own gone.

"Though my actual name is Jareth."

After attempting to calm him self to at least a decent point, the king listened to the words of Sophie. His name was decently unique, but in the world of mythicals many of the names one comes across are quite unique indeed. Compared to Mura's long name, that he was sure had something to do with a foriegn meaning of some sort, Jareth felt his own name was relatively normal.

At her request, the silver brute dipped his muzzle in a way of saying that he had no problem in her changing now. After catching her as an Eagle before, he had grown curious as to what else she could be able to change into. His only other form, that he knew of at least, was that of a snowy-faced barn owl, an excellent bird of prey for his survival should vegetation become rare while rodents and other small animals became popular.

He kept one aud flicked toward Mura, knowing that more than likely she'd throw another comment to him at any moment. But his eyes watched Sophie with minor curiousity, muscles still tense from his angered state.

Watching the dappled mare morph into a spotted feline, navy eyes followed her ever changing form until he could no longer see her, which was quite a distance when nothing was blocking his view. Nares flared at the metallic scent of blood, hearing Sophie approach before Jareth glanced back over his shoulder to see her approach. Obviously one of her forms was a meat-eater, and Jareth took note to be cautious should she form into a hungry predator. Sensing her change wouldn't be too much of a problem, and if need be he could simply shift into his own flying form if need be.

He nodded to Sophie again, flicking his tail once before speaking a bit.
"Interesting, though you may need a bit of training in controlling random impulses."

Jareth had a bit of sarcasm in his voice, but the truth was behind it as well. He didn't bother excusing himself from Mura, since she had yet to answer him and he was still standing nearby her, waiting for a response.

I simply brushed off this growling response. Hell, as if he could strip me of powers. Sure, he could take my healing abilities - but my Preminitions would stay with me till death.
"No, really?" comes my snappy retort to his second remark. It was very clear I wouldn't take crap from anyone - King or not. "Obviously. I know when I'm summoned and when I'm not. And trust me, I'd know if you had summoned me."

I noted how he kept distancing himself from me, though it didn't bother me much. Being oddly colored, it was nothing new.
'It'll take alot more than snappy remarks and a King pulling rank for me to humble me down, m'dear. Bitten off more than you could chew, they said.'

In a drawling response, lyrics called out with a musical trill of amusement;
"A pleasure, Jareth."

Oh Supreme One how he wished to give this mare a good kick in the jaw, would get her smartass mouth to shut up. Or even better, cause her to be knocked out cold. Hundreds of possibilities in causing the young mare pain ran through his mind, many of them causing him to keep his distance else he was to actually beat the crap out of her.

"Well then if you aren't so happy with being here, leave. I assure you, no one in this world would possibly miss your delightfully annoying self."

Walking past her with his auds just slightly flicked back, he couldn't help but snap at her side, whether it was a harsh bite at her flesh or a tear at the wings, he was quite intent on tearing part of her away. What was once considered at least pretty, was now considered a hideous nag....

"No need to constantly grace us with your presence. Now, if you could be so kind as to concentrate a little better as to why your here. Since you haven't been forced here..."

Ivories were bared in a snarl as black rimmed audda flinted back at his snap towards my bay side; a sable feathered hoof slightly raised to throw a kick in response, but I knew very well that I was trespassing anyways - and that if I did throw a good kick out, I'd probably get flushed out into the open. The last place I really needed to be right now.
"Well, I suppose that's your bad luck then, m'dear," I reply nonchalantly, my tiara turning so that both sickly green occuli watched him, whch caused the dull silver locket around my neck to thump listlessly against my narrow chest.

"I won't be leaving until I know why I Saw what I did, or until it happens," I continued airily, though as I realized that I'd just given away something vital, I hid the subtle surprise that dawned onto me. Thick black curls of my tassel flicked from side to side to show my continued displeasure at the snap towards my side, as well as through pinned audda and slightly narrowed occuli. Pillars shifted, leaving my side out of target - so that if if he decided to snap against he'd take it out from my shoulder or my chest. Not that it mattered anyways, because I could slink off once we were done chatting and heal them.

Underneath his expressionless face, the king had a large smirk. He was quiet please that he had ticked her off, at least enough to cause her to flick her own auds back and glower at him. Hehehe, like staring him down with a glare was going to do anything. But he didn't let him show it, instead, flicked his ears towards her with curiousity of her last comment.

"A seer, eh?"

He asked, not really towards her, but more of a spoken thought. Jareth had only met a couple of them before, some of them kind of eerie with knowing what could happen or what has happened before.

"Well if you tell me what it was you saw, perhaps I could help explain it."

/Since you obviously can't figure it out yourself.../ He thought to himself, flicking his dark tassle against his own flank. Not that he could do any better by telling her his opinion, but it'd be better than nothing.

"And since your so keen on staying here until whatever happens, then I ask you kindly to tell me what your vision was. If it is to happen in my kingdom, or if it is about something that will happen to my kingdom, I would like to be aware of it."

'Wouldn't you like to know?'
That was what I thought, and what almost came out of my charred maw in response. But luckily, I caught it early enough. The amusement to my retrained reactions showed subtly through his own actions to hide it, and through odd occuli. That would be the very last thing I'd let out that was personal, for now. Though I doubt I'd get close enough to anyone here while I waited out my vision to leak out a few personal details about myself.

"Unfortunately, my vision is personal," I reply cooly, audda still remained pinned. It was, infact, very personal indeed - since it revealed to me that I would live here long enough to either find a mate, or be raped, and bear a child. However, my vision didn't reveal minor details...Which, in a case like this, made explaining it difficult.
"Let's just say that I'll be here for a while, to wait it out. Though in due time, I'm quite sure I'll have a few more - some might have to do with your wellbeing, your kingdom's, or someone else's."

"Ah, so you plan to wait here until your personal issues are solved?" Jareth smirked, not having so much of a problem with her not telling him. If she wanted to stay and use his lands as a therapy session, it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to stop her easily. Too much work to keep a mare out of his labyrinth, there were bigger tasks at hand.

"Well if you plan to stay here for a length of time, you should expect to be treated as a herdmember. As I should expect to be treated as the King. It'll be better treatment than to be a tresspasser that refuses to leave."

If she decided to stay simply as an unwanted guest, as though she was some sort of household pest, Jareth was going to be sure she would be unhappy. If she decided to agree with him to be simply a member of the herd of the Underground, than he would treat her the same as he would any other herd member, so long as she respected him as well.

A grimance was set firmly onto my features, as vicious forest green occuli remained on him.
"Fine," I replied stiffly, audda still pinned back, as my diadem swung around. The locket around my neck swung with my diadem as well, before thumping uselessly against my chest once more. The locket and the bands around the upper portion of my front left leg may of seemed useless and rather silly, but they had sedinmental value. The locket was my mother's, who I enver met, and the bands were my father's; both were given to me from my father before he died. It was only right that I would wear them, to remember and for keepsakes. Who knew, maybe I would See something from them one day?

[x] Sorry for the shortness. D: I can't find the song I had for Mura, due to losing everything Sunday night. [/x]

The King smirked as Draco approached him, a welcome relief compared to more snappy remarks with Mura. Jareth was pleased with the time it took the dragon-horse to reach his castle, no changes would be needed, not any time soon at least. "Welcome Draco." He greeted, raising a brow as the brute studied Mura.

"This is Mura, Mura this is Draco." Jareth introduced the two, flicking his tail with slight boredom. "So, how'd you enjoy the labyrinth?" He asked, a small smile on his muzzle while he asked Drago his question.

My thin, golden opaque hued wings fluttered in aggitation, though an audda flickered forward as Jareth's attention it turned away from me. 'Finally,' came the thought, emerald hues turning their vision of the grey King away to try and look at something else.

Though, audda caught another voice, masculine by the baritones. Pools of dark green flickered back over to the King, only to see him conversing with a sable brute that had dragonlike wings. Interesting, to say the least. And the fact that his gaze was on me. I frown slightly at Jareth's introduction of myself, pale gold tassels swung from side to side as my frown disappeared, my emerald stare watching the sable brute from underneath pale gold curls.
"A pleasure, Draco," came my soft remark, turning my diadem awy as Jareth continued to speak with the brute.

The Goblin King chuckled inside, though his expression was merely a small smirk. “Well then I thank you, had you gotten here too early, I would have to do a lot of work and change the labyrinth.” He paused for a few seconds, auds flicking back at the sound of something. Bringing his attention back to the two, he excused himself.

“I’ll let you two get acquainted, I will be back shortly.” With a dip of his muzzle to the pair, he turned away from them to the direction of where he heard the sound. As the noise became more clear, it was the sound of hoofsteps and…crying? Quickening his pace, Jareth soon reached a young buckskin mare with tears staining her face. Black tresses streaked with gold were quite flattering against her pale gold coat. He stopped in his tracks as she noticed him, having a wild guess at what was wrong with her. She was pregnant, barely noticeable, but she was. And judging by the tears from her eyes, it wasn’t a welcomed pregnancy either.


With a sigh, he introduced himself. “No need to fear miss, I am the leader of these lands. I am Jareth.”
~~~~~~~~

I froze at the site of another brute, also larger than me but a tad bit shorter than the black stallion that forced me into my situation. He held a presence around him too, though kind instead of haunting, and I couldn’t see anyone else. Perhaps like a protector? A guardian of some sort… I dipped my muzzle respectfully, before speaking as well.

“My name is Melinda, I am hear to ask for a home. And with your permission safety….”


~~~~~~~~

The pair talked for a bit longer before Jareth offered to take her back to the castle, while expecting a foal, it’d take the poor mare a week to trek the labyrinth. It’d kill her before she reached the end. Touching his muzzle to her shoulder, he repeated what he had down when he had left Draco, only this time taking Melinda with him. Reappearing before the castle grounds, he looked up to the evening sky. “There are three others in these lands, Sophie, Mura and Draco. They shouldn’t give you much of a problem.”

~~~~~~~~


Ugh, I felt so nauseous now. That whole transporting thing could make anyone’s stomach flip, didn’t help that I was carrying that rotten brute’s foal. I thanked the King before he headed inside the wide castle doors, left to explore on my own. I began trotting for a little while, before I saw a pair of others up ahead. I tilted by crown to the side, rather surprised to see a brute with large dragon-like wings, and an odd colored mare with dragonfly wings. Nervously, I took a deep-breath before approaching them. “Um, hi…” Oh nice, off to a great start.

My brows arched slightly, in interest, as the filly spoke out. So young, yet so provacitive. Something I'd love to see in a foal of my own, when that day came. Green audda caught every word that was spoken, from Jareth's mouth and from the filly's, even if my emerald stare wasn't on either of them. It was fixed on the filly's mother, who seemed uneasy about the filly's mental matureness.

My attention returns to the filly briefly so that I reply, mostly to the mother, "Mythical or not, she's certainly a delight. It's been aeons since I've heard a foal with a strong voice and confidence as they spoke. I'm Malleus Maleficarum, or Mura."

She sighed heavily, and then looked once more up towards him. "What about you?" she asked hopefully. "What do /you/ do all day? This looks like such an interesting place, but yet it seems so empty. Tell me about yourself or /something/!" She was desperate for something to do or someone to talk to, but she didn't want to bother him, so she added, "Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'm just a silly mare, anyway. You should probably just ignore me . . ." She sighed once more and gazed at her slightly green hooves.
She had always been a wanderer. Maybe /that's/ what she could do. She could go on the run again! No, she was tired of running. She should simply stay here. It was just that she was so lonely. But, then again, wasn't that what her life was all about, anyway?

Green-rimmed eyes scanned the herd as the exotic mare sighed heavily. It wasn't necessarily that she was too /bored/, it was just that she didn't want to know that all she had to look forward to in life was wasting away in these lands. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.
She wandered off to a secluded corner where she knew that no one would bother her, and lay down quietly. She didn't know if this was going to work, but it was worth a shot. She closed her eyes and slowly lulled herself into a deep sleep. However, it was no normal sleep. It was hard to explain what Elphaba was able to do. It was as if part of her brain was awake, and the other half was dreaming. However, these were no normal dreams. They were wispy images of a time other than the present. Sometimes she could view the past, and sometimes blurry images of the future would flash before her closed eyes. She could never control it, however, and the images she had were never clear. Sometimes it was even hard to tell if it was her own past, or if it was something to come.
Long ago, she had decided to never use these powers of hers again. For years she had slept in fear - afraid that her unwilling mind would see an image that would trouble her thoughts for days. However, she decided that in these circumstances, she would at least try to train her mind on the future and see what these lands held for her.
Images swirled through her mind and she entire body tensed in anticipation. She could hear murmuring voices, but they weren't distinct. Suddenly, a large, lovely stallion appeared before her, smiling and perfect in every way. "Hello again, Elphie," he whispered, his voice echoing in her ears.
Fieyro?
"Yes, it's me." His twinkled as he watched her with that unblinking stare that she could still recall by heart. However, his faded almost instantly as he continued, "I've missed you, Elphie. But you can't blame yourself for what happened to me. It's not your fault."
"Fieyro!" Elphaba called out, her actual voice ringing off of the stone walls around her. "Please, just come back! I'm sorry!"
The stallion shook his head. "Time was stolen from us," he muttered. "But we cannot gain it back, no matter how hard you try, love. You must learn how to move on. I'll still be with you, I promise." And with that, the image of the stallion began to blur and fade away.
"Fieyro!" she called again. "Please! Come back! I need you!"
His image was almost gone now, but she could hear a slight whisper in her ear. "I'll always love you. I'm right here."
And with that, Elphaba was jolted from her dream and kicked unmercifully back into the real world. "No!" she cried. "No! Come back!" Her dark eyes were desperate, and she felt - for the first time in her life - like crying. But no tears would imerge from her black orbs. She could feel her heart physically tearing, and yet she could still show no emotion.
"Why?" she muttered to herself, her voice fading. "Why, why, why? It's not fair." She hung her head in defeat. She had come here to see a vision of the future - a promising hope, maybe. And instead, all she had recieved was a haunting image from her past that was now going to plauge her once more.
It just wasn't fair.