Chapter One

The moment she stepped into the basement of the frat-house, the hot air and loud music hit her like a train. All around her people were dancing up and down to the mix of hip hop and techno – strange people dressed as fairies, superheroes, and any scandalous thing in-between. But this was college, and this was Halloween night. Jenna wouldn't expect anything else. At this moment, she didn't want anything else.

With three friends following close behind, Jenna steered her way past Little Red-Riding Hood – who looked like the wolf had taken a big bite out of her clothing – and some guy dressed up as Jafar from Aladdin. She was meeting up with some other friends from her dorm hall who had left the previous party before them. This is what they did on Halloween weekend – party hopped.

"Jen!" shouted a friend – Anna who was dressed up as a lady bug – over the music, waving for her through the crowd. "Get over here, girl!"

Anna had a bright – too bright – smile on her face, and was dancing with some guy Jenna was quite sure Anna didn't know. But Anna was daring like that, and all the guys loved it.

"What are you supposed to be?" asked Anna, as the guy started moving so close that Jenna nearly felt she had to look away. Instead, she looked down at her made-shift outfit: denim shorts with some over-sized poet shirt she had bought from a gypsy at the county fair.

Jenna smirked, knowing her costume would only confuse her friends. Playfulness – and perhaps a bit of alcohol - sparkled in her eyes as she winked at her friend.

"I'm hot, that's what."

And then she began to dance.

Dancing was an act of passion – a particular passion that Jenna was quite skilled at. While calm and studious during the week, she could release herself in her motions, moving in ways that went beyond the typical college swaying and bopping. It was the one moment she could command the spotlight, and become unspeakably raw.

But she only danced by herself now-a-days. She learned during her freshman year that dancing with boys was awkward and forced. They were rarely good at it, either standing too close or too far away – moving too fast or too slow.

So naturally, when Jenna felt a pair of hands land on her hips, she stiffened and awkward feelings settled in her stomach. She tilted her head slightly, looking to see who had invaded her space. When she saw the intruder, her heart jerked, and she wished she could just disappear on the spot. She was not drunk enough for this.

"Hey, Jen," said Dan, as he swayed stiffly, unsure of whether or not to take the lead in their forced dance.

"Hey, what's up?" Jen replied, bringing a friendly smile to her face. She didn't have a problem with Dan, but it wasn't a very well-kept secret that he had an ungrounded infatuation for her. He was an all-around nice, good-looking guy, albeit a bit nerdy, so she had given herself a chance to fall for him too. He had taken her on one or two lunch dates and they had studied for biology together. But at the end of each day, Jenna couldn't find any part of her that felt more than a mild friendship for him.

Dan gave a reply, but Jen missed it over the roar of the music. Instead, she faced forward, cringing with each sway. She didn't like this. She needed to get away.

"What's your costume?"

Jen seized the opportunity. She turned around to face him, and took a step back to show him the entirely of the outfit.

"I'm just a character from an old storybook of my mom's," she explained. An old storybook she was apparently never supposed to read. She had found it tucked away in a box in the attic, but the wear-and-tear on the pages suggested it had been well loved and cherished. The title, Labyrinth, had been intriguing and exciting, so she had quickly curled up in her bed to read the short novella.

Her mother had caught her when she was in the middle of reading about the nameless heroine befriending the orange beast. Jen had never seen her mother look so horrified as she quickly snatched away the book, and scolded her severely about finding it in the first place.

And then she laid down the most important rule in the household: to never ever speak the words.

Jenna still wasn't quite sure which words were the words, but she had a pretty darn good idea. But it puzzled her as to why her mother, a perfectly – almost excruciatingly - practical grownup, would be so frazzled about a children's book.

"Really?" came Dan's voice, bringing Jen out of her thoughts. "What was it about?"

"Goblins," stated Jenna, bluntly. The powerful and intimidating king of said goblins to be exact, but those were details…

Dan's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Are you supposed to be a goblin?"

Jenna was really tempted to say 'yes' and be done with it. Her mother had instilled in her that the book was not to be discussed with anyone. Going out with this particular costume had been her own private secret, an indulgence; after all, she had always dreamed about going on the heroine's adventure.

"No, the main character is just a girl."

"You're not just a girl, you know."

Jen was pretty sure that was intended to be a pick-up line.

"Naw," she denied it, shaking her head. He was moving in again to dance, his hands reaching for her hips. In her mind flashed possible excuses, and the quickest one she could find passed through her lips.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she said, sidestepping out of the way. "I'll be back."

She didn't look back to see if he could see through her blatant lie. To see the confusion and embarrassment in his face would have shamed her, making her feel guilty.

I'll tell him, she reasoned with herself. I'll tell him I don't have feelings for him. Just not right now. Not surrounded by people. Not when they were both tipsy.

To her credit, she did head up to the bathroom – she just didn't make it there. A nice, quiet hall to the left of the bathroom seemed much more appealing at the movement, and Jen slid down the cold wall to curl her arms around her legs. Now that she had settled down, the world slightly spun in an almost comforting fashion.

"As the world falls down," she sighed mindlessly, leaning her head against the wall. She closed her eyes, letting the worry momentary vanish. Telling Dan she didn't like him would be hard and awkward, but it was for the best…and she could be free of him.

"Hey, are you ok?"

It was a guy's voice she didn't recognize. Jen opened her eyes, and saw a group of three guys looking down the hall – perhaps a bit afraid to get too close. They probably thought she was drunk or high to the point of sickness – but Jen had never let herself get to that point. And she was nowhere near that tonight.

"I'm fine, just resting," she replied, politely, flashing a reassuring smile. They nodded, their worries at ease, and began to stroll away. Jen closed her eyes and began to sink into her zone, but not before catching the first strands of the boys' conversation.

"Is Dan heading out with us?"

They knew Dan?

"Not sure. Is Jenna here?"

Her stomach twisted.

"Who's Jenna?"

Crap.

"Dan's girl."

No.

She was no one's girl, and especially not his. Is that what he was telling people? He was making this ridiculously more complicated than it had to be. Some rebellious part flared up in her, overwhelming her mind and body. For a moment she felt sick with worry, shame, and guilt. Swear words that rarely passed her lips danced in her mind, and she pressed her head against the wall as she let out the most selfish words she had ever spoken in her life.

"I wish the goblins would come and take him away."

There was noise down the hall, some ridiculous chatter and whispering. But she didn't pay it any mind: she had gone this far, she might as well keep going.

"Right now."

Had Jen been in a more observant mood, she would have realized that the whispering had stopped, and the frat house had become free of chatter of all kind. But she was preoccupied with her own worries right now: the embarrassment both her and Dan would suffer on Monday when she broke the news, and the sick little feeling in her stomach that she got whenever she did something her mother would disapprove of. In fact, she was quite sure Sarah Williams would disapprove of her entire night all around. Between subtly leading Dan on, to the alcohol, to the words…this is what Jenna would classify as a sham of a night.

Come on, now. Time to be brave.

Jenna was quite sure that was her better half speaking right now: the better half that had conveniently taken a vacation for the past hour. But out of the sheer desire to appear strong, she stood up and began to make her way to the dance floor. She would just tell Dan that she didn't want to dance with guys tonight. Either that or she could just avoid him. Or both.

She wasn't quite sure what song the DJ was playing now – it was something softer than normal but no-less wild. She pushed her way into the dark room full of dancing bodies in fairy-tale costumes, keeping her eyes open for her friends. She would hide in the middle of their circle, and avoid all her troubles until Monday morning.

She searched the back corner where she had left her friends first. But all she could see were a couple of guys with detailed masks on. They wore hairy hats with long, sharp-looking horns on their heads, and their masks made them look like real monsters. The effect was chilly, so she turned away to look into another corner.

In that corner danced a quartet of barely-clad women. That in itself wasn't so odd, but their costumes were. Vines – just vines – twisted around their bodies, and leaves fell from their hair, as if they were living trees. And their faces – painfully beautiful faces twisted into child-like expressions. Their eyes were black and soulless as they smiled at her.

Danger… whispered something inside of her, but she wasn't so sure it was just her better half. Something old and instinctive warned her to step back and look away. Her body began to react accordingly – her heart sped up, her senses heightened. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. She had to get away.

"Leaving so soon?"

No voice should sound so clear in that loud, crowded room, yet Jen heard it as strongly as if it had called out to her in deserted field. It was rich, mocking, and playful all at the same time. It was dangerous.

"I'd be so disappointed if you didn't stay for my little party," continued the voice, wrapping around and capturing her ears. "After all, I threw it just for you."

Jen turned around cautiously, knowing she had no other alternative. Her eyes found the speaker instantly – she knew it could be no other person. He was lounging on the elevated dance-platform, sitting on some throne that seemed to be made of the very vines that slid and danced around the girls in the corner. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes occupied with the shimmering orbs that fells in his hands, and Jen took the opportunity to get a good look at this strange creature. For he was a creature – he was not human. Not with those long locks styled in the most bizarrely natural way. Not with those falcon-eyes, and wicked smirk. No. He was not human.

"You…" Jen whispered, half terrified but half intrigued. "You're the Goblin King, aren't you?"

"Perhaps," he said, turning his eyes on her for the first time. They were shocking in their authority and mesmerizing in their wickedness. Jen wasn't quite sure if she should feel more at ease or more terrified as he raised an eyebrow jokingly. "Do I look like a goblin to you?"

"You are not just a man," Jen whispered, stepping back slightly.

"How observant." His chuckle was dark, and it sent shivers of fear down her spine. Her mind danced with alarms, and in her brief moment of sense, she turned to escape. But the vine-girls were around her, spinning and twirling. Jen cried out as the vines became to wrap around her legs…her waist…her arms, forcing her to twirl with them in some twisted dance.

"What the heck is going on?" she pleaded, as the music began to drown her senses, and she feared her cry was lost to the atmosphere. She heard his dark laughter somewhere, and she struggled with the vines and the confusion that clouded her vision. Had he drugged her? "Where am I?"

"Does it matter?" his voice spoke. It had taken on a sing-song quality, and it floated all around her, chilling her to the bone. "Enjoy your party, darling Jenna…"

The vine-girls giggled, stroking her skin and playing games with her hair. They kissed her cheeks, whispered silliness into her ears, and all the while the world turned and fell down and down and down…

"Stop!" Jenna screamed, pushing against the nearest vine-girl, expecting to hurt the willowy monster. But the twig-like girls were stronger, harder than they looked, and Jenna found herself falling to the floor in a mess of their vines. They began to scold her, calling her awful names in their most child-like voices. It was so wrong…so morphed – that Jenna let out of soft sob of terror.

But it became quiet all of the sudden; painstakingly quiet after the loud confusion. The strange, addicting music died out, and the girls ceased their mocking calls. Jenna lifted her head from the floor as a hand lightly touched her on the shoulder. At that touch, the vines loosened and slid away from her body, leaving her sore yet feeling exposed. After she was sure they were gone, Jen looked up at her silent savior, and for once the jerks in her heart were not caused by uncontrollable terror.

He was eternally beautiful – with golden hair falling in curls and comforting eyes that were no color yet all the colors at once. Perfectly indescribable. Jen could feel safety melt into her as he stroked the hair out of face, looking at her as if he would destroy the world to keep her safe…and his.

Jen would have kept staring at him till the end of time had the goblin king's mocking voice not rung through the room at that very instant.

"Does this boy meet your satisfaction? I assure you…he is quite an improvement from that spineless goat you picked up before."

Dan.

She had wished him away.

To the goblins.

Shit.

"Where's Dan?" Jen's voice rang out stronger than she expected it to. Hearing the strength in her voice made her mind more willful. She dragged her eyes away from the mesmerizing boy, and pushed herself to her feet. She had enough of making a fool out of herself. No more. She had to find Dan.

"Dan…" the king seemed to ponder as he tapped a riding crop against his shoe. "Now who could that be, I wonder…"

"I bet you know full well who it is," snapped Jen. Her voice was returning to its full force, and she felt her mother's legendary stubbornness slip into her will. Enough with this trickery…this seduction.

The king's amused laugh rang through the air.

"Forget about the boy," he sang, and suddenly appeared standing before her. Jen stiffened as he strolled around her, tossing a crystal orb up and down in the air. "He was nothing but a babe. But I could offer you your dreams."

He was gone, suddenly, and it was just her and the young, mesmerizing man. He was staring at her, almost sadly, as Jen heard the king's voice whisper into her ear, "Look at what I am offering you. One of my very own…in exchange for that pathetic excuse of a male."

"But…" Jen whispered, turning around. The king was there, staring her down as he juggled the orbs in his hands.

"Do you not want him?" he asked, raising an eyebrow calmly.

Oh but she did. Her very soul seemed to cry out for the young man who stood behind her. Happiness and pleasure rolled through her as he touched her shoulder, but it was seduction…all seduction…

"It…wouldn't be right…" Jen whispered, painfully. She forced herself to step away from the man, and closer to the king of the goblins. She knew instinctively that she was making the right decision. "I want Dan back. Please."

The king tutted, shaking his head. "Dan could not possibly please such a blossoming young lady."

"Oh, but he's not mine," pleaded Jen, getting sick of her mind-games. "But if I wished him away, it's only right that I get him back."

She knew what that would entail. She knew the story by heart, knew its every scene – its every line. She knew she would have to fight her way to the goblin castle to rescue the…child she had stolen.

"Tell me, Jenna," said the Goblin King. His voice was low and dangerous once more. "Would it be fair to allow you a chance to win back your bonny-young lad?"

He was mocking her, but Jenna didn't care. She had already accepted this.

"Yes."