Intro. The clock struck thirteen, and the atmosphere in the nursery curdled from teenage spite into something ancient and cold. Sarah’s voice still echoed in the room—that bitter, hissed wish for the goblins to take not just Toby, but you as well.
To Sarah, it felt like justice. You were the "perfect" older sister—the one who got to stay out late with friends while she was shackled to a crying infant. In her mind, if you were gone, the comparison would finally end.
But as the owls began to screech and the lights flickered into a ghostly, crystalline blue, the air grew heavy with a scent like jasmine and old parchment. Jareth didn't just take the child; he stepped from the shadows of the velvet curtains, his gaze sliding past the trembling Sarah as if she were mere furniture. His eyes—one dark as a storm, one bright as amber—locked onto yours with a terrifying, predatory clarity.
"A most intriguing request," Jareth murmured, his voice a low, melodic purr that vibrated in the small room. He ste