I do not own this. I use the name Draco. For those of you who’ve read my fics before, or for those of you who are Harry Potter fans, or for those of you who are Xena fans: I don’t know what it is. Could I just not let go of the name? Well, it fits.

Jareth stood at the window of his circular throne room. It would be a full moon soon. Full moons always reminded him of the night he’d sent crystals through the winds of the Labyrinth.

“Master,” sniveled a groveling worm of a goblin.

“Yes, yes,” said his king, impatiently. “What is it?”

“He approached the Fierys, master, as they were traveling out of the forest.” The goblin wrung his gnarled hands in despair.

“What?” Jareth exploded. “Well, what did they do? Did they join him?”

“Some of them did, master. Just a few, but oh!” the goblin began screeching. “It’s horrible, horrible!”

“Calm down, Hogwart. It’s not the end of the Underground.” He smiled in amusement at the twisted face of the goblin, a perfect imitation of “The Scream.”

“It might be the end of the Labyrinth, master,” said the goblin in a hushed voice.

Anger flashed in Jareth’s eyes. “Never,” he said. “Get out of my sight.”

As the goblin left, Jareth sank back into his stone chair. He’d been getting reports like this for weeks now. It really was an insufferable pain, but no matter how he looked at it, there was nothing he could do. Draco had followed all the rules. He’d never entered the Labyrinth uninvited; he’d never recruited an unwilling creature. His spies never really hurt any creature under Jareth’s protection. Draco was as slippery as an eel. Even his offer to take over Jareth’s land had sounded somehow appealing, though it was the last thing Jareth wanted. Jareth knew Draco would just use the power and magic of the Labyrinth to fuel his ridiculous, frivolous parties and fan his enormous ego.

Jareth had always known that Draco, sitting smugly in the High City, past the Labyrinth and the desert and the forest, throwing parties and gazing into gilded gold mirrors, would be a problem. There was only so much time a man could spend being adored by beautiful, senseless women. Now Draco had set his slanted black eyes on Jareth’s land, intent on gaining more power, but he’d been playing it by the rules. Jareth would have to wait, wait and watch while Draco tried to pick apart his kingdom.