Labyrinth 1. Forgotten memories

**So this is my first fanfiction ever but would love to hear your guys opinions on it. I do not own labyrinth and all that jazz, it's rated M so that I have room to manouver but i will put up a warning if any graphic scenes are coming up in a chapter, otherwise, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

The thundering clouds boomed overhead, announcing to everyone unfortunate enough to be underneath them that anarchy was about to break loose across the sky. Sarah, taking heed to the warning, removed her red six inch heels which (although very sexy and worth the pain) had been torturing her feet for the entire night and set off at sprinting pace to get to her front door in time. Luck was not on her side today though, as she had already found out, and the rain began to pour just as she reached her front door. In the time it took to remove the keys from her jeans pocket, unlock the door, stumble inside and lock it again she pinned up style it had dutifully kept all night and arranged itself in a mass of hairspray and clips around her shoulders.

Panting from the exertion Sarah started to fumble around for the light switch which was situated, she knew, somewhere on the wall to her left. Once located she flicked it and bathed the hallway in the dim glow of the energy saving bulb.

She had moved into the house several years ago, but had only just sorted out the stuff that she was going to keep with her in the house and the stuff which was going to get thrown away. The only things that were still in cardboard boxes were items that she intended to give to a charity shop as she had no need of it and her step mother refused to have anything that could be classed as clutter in her house.

She had to admit that at the age of twenty-five it was good to be in her own house and financially independent with a job that was going somewhere. Not to mention being on a five year visa to England for the job and having the opportunity to see England fully for the first time. Sarah had taken a research post at Leicester University looking into cell-signalling and embryonic research; it was government research as well, so she didn't have to pay council tax. On top of it all her parents, as a birthday present to her had bought her a small house and paid for it all, so she had no mortgage to think of, although she had thought it odd that her parents had bought her a house in England, maybe her step-mother was hoping she would find a "nice English man" to settle down with before the five years were up. It was odd that her mother seemed to WANT her to emigrate, but she didn't mind, Sarah wanted to be as far away as possible from any place which he may come back to...

The only problem Sarah had at the moment was the two-timing scumbag she was unfortunate enough to give the title of ex-fiancé to. Samuel Smith. She had been in England for two years now and had met Sam in a club one night and from there you could pave out the entire story from start to finish without much difficulty.

The reason she was so unlucky tonight was that he had been in the night club she and her mates had chosen to go into, looking for a good time. They had gone through the bitter break-up over two months ago and after Sarah had gotten over the initial shock, anger and resentment of the betrayal, she had discovered that he hadn't been an essential part of her life. Furthermore, despite the fact that he had been her fiancé, she had also discovered how little he had actively taken part in her everyday life. Just went to show how unready for the commitment she had been and how it would have ended in disaster had she not caught him in the act and gone through with the wedding (luckily the engagement had only just been announced so there wasn't an incredible loss of money).

Carefully placing her new favourite pair of shoes in line with the others under the coat stand she started to dwell on the words which had passed between them that night. Then removing her leather jacket and hanging it on its designated peg she turned off the hallway light and started to climb the stairs. As Sarah started to replay the incident which had occurred in the bar in her head over and over she said a silent thank you to whatever had made her decide not to drink.

She was still replaying the scene as she got dressed in her pyjamas and brushed her teeth. Even when she got into bed his words haunted her.

_"I love you, I want you back. I...I made a terrible mistake that day and it's been a source of constant regret to me, I wasn't ready when I asked you to marry me, but the thing is you weren't either! We could try it again, y'know, take it slower than we did. Just let things work and see where they go? What dya say? Could we give it a try again?"_

She had told him that it would never work between them after that much trust had been lost, but Sarah got the feeling that this would not be the last time she would see him. If she knew one thing about Sam, it was that he wouldn't give up if he really wanted something.

Glancing at her bedside clock Sarah sighed heavily as she read the figures 1:43am, she had been tossing for almost an hour. Flinging the covers back in frustration she wandered over to the window seat which took up most of the left hand side of her bedroom and surveyed the storm's growing ferocity. She never slept with her curtains closed, an odd habit she had picked up a very long time ago; she just liked to be able to look outside when she went to sleep and when she woke up. It used to drive Sam crazy, waking up to sunshine; he used to call her a solar panel, because she always needed the sun to charge up and move in the morning. She laughed fondly at the memory before a weight settled itself in her stomach. She had to admit, despite how little they had taken part in each other's lives, she still missed those moments. She still missed him.

CRACK!

A flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder caused Sarah to jump with surprise and immediately dragged her attention away from the current thought process. Thunder storms always put her in a funny mood as well. _It's just like the night I first saw him_. She thought to herself absent mindedly. It had been nine years since Sarah had accepted the challenge of the labyrinth and fought through the goblin city to save her half brother Toby, and she could no longer remember if it had been a real event, or a conjured up fairy tale from her old stories. She could remember certain characters from it as well, such as Hoggle, the goblin...or maybe the dwarf, who had helped her through the labyrinth, along with a great big bear called something like Mylo and a fox who was a knight, riding on a dog. But the person who she could always remember most clearly, every time, was Jareth. His face was like an imprint on her memory; she could remember every feature, every harsh line, and every sly look. If he was simply a dream, he had been a powerful one, if he had been real, why had she chosen to forget? Sarah could say that it was probably in favour of a normal life. She had never told anyone about the Labyrinth; it had stayed her memory...or her dream. It was frustrating that she could no longer remember which. Or remember significant details about it. There was also something about an owl, she was pretty sure that owls were important to it all, but again the information was sat right before her, just out of her reach. The only indication she got that it hadn't been a dream was that Toby sometimes had nightmares where he spoke of Goblins, being kidnapped and a room full of stairs. Then again, Sarah didn't know what she would do if it hadn't been a dream, what could she do? Growling in frustration she got up and headed for her bed, it had been a long day.

What she had failed to notice though, was that she was being watched. Watched by an owl sat on the tree branch outside, sheltering from the storm.

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><p>The next day passed pretty uneventfully for Sarah. Saturday was her chore day where she cleaned the house and made the meals that she could freeze and eat throughout the week. Much cheaper and healthier than take-out in her opinion when she got back late from her job and was too tired to cook.<p>

Fortunately for her, completing these tasks took up almost half the day and afterwards she was free to do as she pleased. After weighing up her options she decided that settling down on the sofa and watching a chick flick would be a good mellow activity, but when she was half way through her mind was dragged back to Sam again. She had decided to go home after her brief encounter with him at the bar, much to her friends distaste, but she had no longer been in the mood to go out and party. His last words still echoed round her head. "I'll always wait for you, even if you don't want me to, I will." She needed to talk to him.

No more than twenty minutes after this decision had been made Sarah was locking her door and setting off in the direction of where he lived. The journey took half an hour by bus, so she had time to go over what she had to say to him. She definitely needed to say it would take a while for her to trust him again, and maybe she should say that she missed him? The situation was just too confusing right now.

The time flew by quicker than she expected and, half an hour later, she was stood in front of his door, hand raised to the knocker. Too late to turn back Sarah thought to herself, and, with a shaking fist knocked on the sickly yellow door three times. After no more than twenty seconds (not even giving her time to realise that he might not be in) the door flung open to reveal a nervous looking Sam.

He was just how she remembered him, meticulously kept black hair, brown eyes, dominant chin, small bit of stubble, but today it was evident that he didn't want her here. "What are you doing here?" He asked, attempting a smile but only achieving more of a nervous frown. His attitude confused her as he had only been singing her praises no more than twenty-four hours ago in a bar. What was with the 180 turn around? She hadn't expected or planned for this, never the less she would push through.

"I wanted to talk about what you said last night." She congratulated herself for how firm she sounded as she spoke this sentence considering the reception she was receiving.

"Can't we talk about this some other time?" He spoke in a low voice, as if he was scared of someone overhearing. Taken aback Sarah felt her anger flare up and instantly retorted "My apologies for wanting to talk about what happened last night, but evidently as I suspected, you were drunk and really just don't give a shit." She turned and began to walk away until a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Who is it Sam?"

That; was the unmistakable tone of a woman who had been unhappily disturbed. Sarah knew what it meant instantly but still, very gradually turned her head to have her suspicions confirmed, and sure enough a blonde bombshell had appeared at the door. Clearly this woman wasn't an idiot though, as she instantly narrowed her eyes at the woman with the raven black hair and casually draped an arm over Sam's shoulders. "Is there anything we can help you with?" She asked with a smile. "No, that's alright." Sarah said casually "I just wanted to talk to him about him declaring his undying love to me in a bar last night, but that can wait until a more convenient time." And with this she flashed the stunned woman a quick empty smile turned around and walked away, but not before she caught the mask of anger on Sam's face. Score she thought to herself.

After watching this scene unravel before him from the safety of his guise (magic was a wonderful thing) Jareth smiled to himself broadly. The opportunity was too golden and the situation was too perfect to pass up. It was time to put his plan in motion.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it! Please rate and comment!<strong>


	2. An Uncanny acquaintance

**An uncanny acquaintance**

Jareth prided himself in knowing almost every aspect of Sarah's life. He knew where she went shopping, he knew what she liked to eat, and he knew when she was most likely to go running. It had been a necessity to know everything, to make sure that the plan he had formulated in his head over a year ago went as smoothly as possible. However, the most important information he would need tonight, was the pubs and clubs she was likely to hit, to drown her sorrows and maybe pick up a guy along the way. One thing was for certain, on a night like the one she was preparing for, Sarah always started off at the Tooth and Claw with Janice and Sophie. He knew what she was going to do because the second she had got on the bus the phone was out and her fingers made mincemeat of the keypad they were in such a hurry. It was a night for condolence, wild romance and drink; to make her forget the insult she had been dealt and possibly erase some of the pain now brewing in her heart. Eventually throughout the night, that pain would turn to anger, even hate, then resentfulness. Human emotions were so predictable. Musing over this topic the Goblin king began to analyse his own emotions throughout the whole ordeal. They had followed a similar path, but it had taken nine years, not hours, and now that resentfulness had turned into wants of revenge.

His hands clenched into fists and his knuckles turned white as Jareth fought to control his emotions, _soon_ he told himself…_soon_.

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><p>Sarah had dressed herself up in the most alluring outfit she had in her possession, preparing for the night ahead.<p>

She had curled her black hair and sprayed it with glitter to keep it in place and make it sparkle when she was out on the dance floor with the strobe lighting. She wore a black corset with red lace which tied up at the back and a pair of dark skinny jeans which hugged her in all the right places. She would take her red heels again, just because of the signal they seemed to give off and paint her nails a darker red in contrast. She was always careful with make-up, it was hard to find any foundation pale enough to match her natural skin tone which didn't make her look like a ghost, so she could only apply very small amounts. However the principle was the same with eye and lip make-up as well, keep it simple and don't look like you cake yourself in it every day.

Janice and Sophie had answered her texts pleading to go out tonight almost immediately. Each of them knowing the gravity of the situation for Sarah to ask for a piss-up night at such short notice. It was clear to both of them that something had gone down, now all three of them stood together by the grime covered wall in the Tooth and Claw nightclub, drinks in hand, sharing what had occurred to them recently. Of course, Sophie and Janice were just waiting for the reason as to why the night had been arranged, but, if they were honest, they already had a fair idea.

Sighing, Sarah started the story. "So, when I went out with the biology lot yesterday," They both nodded, knowing that she meant some of the people in her department that she had made friends with. "Well...Sam was, kind of, in one of the bars we went into..." Sophie and Janice waited patiently with silent anticipation as Sarah took a swig of good quality cider from the pint glass she was drinking out of. "So, I'm having a good laugh just dancing with this guy and Sam comes up, at first I tried to ignore him, but then he grabs my hand and yanks me to the side of the room. Then he had a go at me, asking why I hadn't returned his calls, calling me insensitive, and then..." Another swig of the foul smelling snake bite in her hand. "He just proclaims his undying love to me in front of everyone there and states that there will never be anyone else." There was subsequently a sharp hiss from Sophie and a muttering of something that sounded like "Twat." From Janice.

They both knew of Sam's activities in the past and the amount of pain he had caused Sarah in the time that they had been dating. Janice had developed a particularly open hatred for him whereas Sophie had adopted the evil eye policy. Either way, they both hated him.

However, it was now Janice's turn to speak. "So you walked away right? You left him without a backwards glance?" Sarah glanced at her scarlet feet and let the awkwardness of the question surround her. As much as she hated to say it Sarah still liked if not loved Sam, even through everything, and it would be all too easy to give the relationship another try. Even if she knew in her heart it was doomed to fail. "No, I left actually." The women on either side of her breathed synchronised sighs of relief. Then the inevitable question came "So why did you organise a drinks night tonight then?" Surprisingly though this time the words came from Sophie, but her curious eyes gave instant explanation. She knew there was more to it.

"Well..." She began nervously, ashamed or her own stupidity. "He said something that kind of got to me..."

"Which was?" Janice questioned carefully.

"I'll always wait for you, even if you don't want me to." Sarah quoted.

"You didn't believe him did you?" Sophie asked with an unreadable look. She has every right to be disappointed in me thought Sarah. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, started the fan club and burnt down the factory and I STILL repeat the same mistake.

"No, I knew he was lying, but I went round today to his house to talk to him about it, clear the air you know." Sophie shook her head in disbelief.

"What happened?" Janice spoke bluntly; she was looking for a straight answer.

"I went over and he was with a blonde bombshell and I realised that I'm an idiot and I need to move on, so I called a meeting tonight to see if I could find myself a guy who I could maybe take home and ravish after getting hammered." She finished this sentence with a deep breath and waited for her friends to berate her foolishness. Instead she was met with squeals of joy as both Sophie and Janice hugged her at the same time.

"That's awesome!" Sophie cried excitedly while Janice started planning.

"Okay, we're gonna get another round then hit the dance floor, if you don't like any of the guys here we'll move on to our usual selection, that sound good?" They didn't wait for Sarah to answer as she was mercilessly dragged off towards the bar.

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><p>Sarah lost count of the number of shots she downed before they hit the dance floor. The only estimation she had was a lot, considering her depth perception and balance were exceptionally below par. She didn't care though, it was good to get out and be free again. Currently a guy with mousey brown hair was dancing with her, or more precisely beside her, holding her waist so that she didn't fall over while she waved her hands uncoordinatedly in the air. Sarah couldn't be sure if he was fit or not, and if he was honest she didn't care. Sophie and Janice were keeping an eye on things but all in all leaving Sarah to have a good time on her own. This night was about making her feel better, which she obviously did. It would just be how she felt the next day that wouldn't be so great.<p>

When the song ended Sophie decided that Sarah was going to end up making a bad decision in the night if she carried on and so went to collect her from the guy she was dancing with. Sarah drunkenly waved and smiled at her approaching friend, too intoxicated to approach her independently. Sophie smiled sweetly at the man holding Sarah and said

"I think I should take her now if you don't mind, otherwise, no offense but she may be getting to know you a little too well." Seemingly disappointed the man reluctantly handed Sarah over to Sophie after seeing the look on Janice's face in the background, not wanting to stir up any trouble this early in the night. Sophie held Sarah by the waist and kept her upright as they made their way to the bar again. Once there against her better judgement Sarah ordered another round of vodka shots, although before she could pay for them a voice cut through.

"I'll get these if you like." The three women turned to observe the man who had spoken. He was sat beside them on a bar stool dressed in loose jeans, a shirt and a leather jacket. His hair was a naturally bright blonde, layered so that it was short at the top and got longer further down. Facially he was not bad looking: his features were pointed and defined but the structure was pleasing and it was evident from the first two buttons undone on his shirt that he had muscles on him, and defined ones at that. His clothes were a little old-fashioned and the hair cut left a lot to be desired, yet both strangely suited him, all in all Sarah could do a lot worse and Janice and Sophie glanced at each other, not needing to say a word to concoct a plan.

Sarah didn't notice the glance her friends shared though, she was too busy analysing the stranger. He looked like Jareth. No, he didn't just look like Jareth, at first glance he WAS Jareth, it was uncanny.

Running through the possibilities in her mind Sarah could draw no conclusion that was based upon feasible grounds, especially with her alcohol inhibited mind. She simply just could not process or address the situation. It was impossible for her to accept that the man only a couple of metres away was not the guy who haunted her memories, sometimes as dreams, sometimes as nightmares. Each time was a different situation with only one constant.

"Not at all." Janice's confident, enthusiastic voice cut through Sarah's thought track and brought her back to reality. The stranger smiled in response and passed a £20 note to the non-phased barman, then turning back he let his gaze settle on the raven haired beauty before him and drank in her look of curiosity. If she didn't remember him she certainly remembered what he looked like. It was then that Jareth recalled the experiment he needed to try out, this was the perfect place to test its effectiveness.

Feeling for the bond of magic that tied them together Jareth closed his eyes and gave it a firm tug. The result was instantaneous. Sarah felt a sudden insatiable need to be closer to the newcomer; it was so sudden and so powerful that she nearly fell off of her stool. However, Janice and Sophie were there to catch her and the three of them began giggling putting it down to drunkenness rather than anything else. When the initial shock had been overcome Sarah managed to act on the impulse, (and with the help of Janice and Sophie) get up off of her seat and walk with measured steps to the blonde man in leather, giving the illusion that she was more sober than she really was as she went. Sliding down into the seat next to him Sarah arranged herself so that their elbows were touching and flashed him one of her smiles. Enough for now she thought to herself.

It was 4:00am by the time the group of four exited the now almost completely deserted night club all of them laughing hysterically. One round of drinks had turned into several and Janice and Sophie were only just capable of standing. Sarah on the other hand had sobered up considerably, too much of her attention had been focused on the new comer and the questions she was asking him to bother to carry on drinking. The blonde man, seemingly unaffected despite the amount of alcohol he had consumed, took out a pen from what appeared to be nowhere and scrawled his number on Sarah's arm before pecking her on the cheek and telling her to call. It was just as they were turning away and waving goodbye that Sarah remembered an important question she couldn't believe she hadn't asked him.

"Hey!" She called after him. "What's your name?"

The man looked back giving them all a sly smile before saying "Jareth, look at your arm." And with that he turned down a side street and flash of blonde hair was seen before he became engulfed by the darkness. Sarah stared after him. Jareth? Unable to accept the information which had just been handed to her Sarah did the only thing she could think of to do. Pass out and deal with it in the morning.

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><p>Sunlight hit Sarah's eyelids with all the force of a volley of fire arrows causing her to groan in agony before rolling over and burying her face in the feather pillow. She slowly became aware of another presence in the room and as curiosity got the better of her Sarah turned to face the person next to her, only to meet a mass of hair. Her eyes snapped open and she was met with the site of Janice's mass of brunette hair before the burning sunlight forced them to close again. Her head felt like it had been smacked against a heavy wooden door several times and the birds twittering sounded like air horns.<p>

With her head buried in the covers Sarah thought about the night before and tried to organise her thoughts on it. She had all her memories up until about the fourth shot and after that things got blurry. Although she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was missing something really important, a key piece of information that shouldn't be overlooked. Shaking her head in frustration Sarah attempted to sit up and get a grasp of the situation, but did it too vast and a wave of nausea overcame her before she fell back onto the pillow. Opening her eyes a slither at a time she allowed herself to gradually get used to the all too bright sunshine which was dominant in her room. She was still dressed in the outfit she had worn last night, heels and all, _no wonder I felt so awful I slept in a god damn corset_ she thought to herself. Janice on the bed next to her was in the same condition but had managed to kick her heels off. Sophie, who seemed to have drawn the short straw, was sprawled out in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position on the blue chair in the corner by the window; her back was going to hurt later. Sarah's room looked as if a hurricane had swept through it and the path of the carnage could almost be mapped out from the nights' events. Sophie and Janice must have jointly carried her to her bedroom, flung open the door. It looked then like Sophie had stumbled and fallen half onto the pine desk and then onto the floor, taking most of Sarah's research papers with her. Then Janice, clearly having lost balance must have fallen forwards, tripped over the rug and landed (all be it very luckily) on the bed where she passed out. Sophie must have then stumbled forwards until she got to the chair, then decided that that was a good place to camp and left it there.

Sarah smiled in gratitude to the both of them; it was great that she friends who were willing to put themselves through all of this for her benefit, and now a lesson had been learned, well and truly. She would cook them a big breakfast and they could ride out their hangovers in front of some movies, which seemed like a good idea.

Hopefully she was shot of Sam for good now and she could get on with her life, as this thought crossed her mind she decided a shower was much needed as she probably didn't look all that great or smell it either, she certainly didn't feel it. Gradually this time, Sarah sat up, removed her heels, manoeuvred herself off the bed and around Sophie, took some clothes from the chest of drawers and silently headed towards the shower.

Taking off the corset was a relief she hadn't known existed as her vital organs expanded again, taking advantage of the new found space they had. The bathroom seemed to have escaped the carnage of last night as it looked pretty clean and did not smell of anything ominous. Thank goodness for small mercies Sarah thought to herself as she stripped off the rest of the disgusting clothes she had slept in, stepped into the shower and prepared herself for the onslaught of water. It was merciless at first, each droplet like a pin on the scalp but soon the water worked its magic, Sarah's headache abated and she felt something close to human. She then set about washing herself with cranberry body gel which Sarah had received as a birthday present a while ago; the pattern was always the same, hands, arms, torso, hips, legs and then face. Except as she reached her arms she saw a phone number and confusion immediately filled her and she worked through her memories with a new force. _Something important, something important, something important...but what_? Filled with frustration Sarah began doing mini paces in her confined shower space searching through the ocean of memories lost to her. She must have met a guy; that much was obvious, but how could she find out who he was? The answer came to her instantly, flick through her camera images, if she met a guy he was bound to be in there. It was the fastest recovery shower Sarah had ever taken after that.

Her phone faithfully came on with the usual welcoming sounds and vibrations, showing Sarah that it had sustained no damage from her heavy night of drinking. Janice and Sophie were still both unconscious in her room, which didn't make a lot of sense to Sarah considering that she had drunk more than they had, but then again there was no way of knowing what had taken place in the blank patches of her memory. It was possible that those patches were lost to her forever and if there was no photographic evidence that anything out of the ordinary happened last night, all she had to go on was the phone number of a stranger. Although Sarah felt human now, her brain also felt like it was systematically pulsing against her skull; each pulse was a fresh pain. However, her stomach seemed to deem itself capable of digestion now as it started to rumble, requesting sustenance. Sighing to herself Sarah picked up her phone and headed downstairs, she could look at the pictures over breakfast.

It was green jelly, her ideal hangover cure that breakfast consisted of. Green jelly in a specific green plastic bowl with a very specific spoon. Every time. If she had this as a hangover breakfast she could get through the day. That was until she scrolled through the pictures and saw something so shocking it made her instantaneously drop her spoon. _Jareth._


	3. Relief and Dreams

**Relief and Dreams**

After thirty minutes of staring at the same photo not bothering to even try and swallow the jelly in front of her Sarah came to three conclusions. Well, four actually, but two were just slight variations.

Conclusion one: Everything that she barely remembered had actually happened, she HAD wished away her brother to the Goblin King, ran the Labyrinth and won him back. Jareth had subsequently returned from the underground to seek revenge for the scorn she had dealt him.

Conclusion two: All of the above had happened but Jareth really did love her and had returned to win her affections.

Conclusion three: She had dreamt the whole thing and her subconscious had conjured up her true love and placed her in a magical dream with him so that she would know who to look for in the future.

Conclusion 4: Didn't happen and pure coincidence.

Analysing each one in turn Sarah couldn't come to a solution she was happy with. She couldn't bring herself to accept that everything had happened, she was a scientist, by principle she couldn't believe that there was a magical kingdom called the underground and that Fae and goblins existed. Yet there was this faded memory, it took part in her dreams and nightmares equally; something that had fulfilled her childhood fantasies and haunted her adult life every waking second in the background. Could she have really come up with all that on her own? Then there was also Toby.

Toby (in theory) had only been a baby when it happened but he kept waking up, sometimes screaming, saying that he had had a nightmare about a blonde man capturing him, taking him away with small people and that Sarah saved him. She had to decide now whether it had been a dream or not.

Doing the only thing she knew how to do Sarah began analysing the evidence she had at her disposal. First of all there were the dreams her and Toby jointly shared, if she had made it all up as part of a fantasy would Toby share them as well?

Secondly there was Jareth, a man who she could envisage perfectly like an imprint on the mind and the blonde man who Toby claimed kidnapped him. Coincidence? Or were they one and the same? However, there was still her inability to accept that a magical underground world existed; it was a physical impossibility in her mind. How could such a thing as the underworld exist? Then again, how could she have dreamt all that up? Goblins, magic, Labyrinths, how could stories of them come about if not based on truth?

Groaning Sarah let her head smack into the table top and regretted her decision instantly as her headache flared again, worse than before. _Well,_ Sarah decided, _I've already spent one night with him and as far as I'm aware I haven't been cursed with magic or anything., It also couldn't hurt to go on a date with him, if he is this all powerful being then me saying no is hardly going to be much of a hindrance, couldn't hurt to go on a date either, prove to myself and to Sam that I am moving on._ The only problem was that she didn't trust Jareth, not in the slightest. The fact that she couldn't make up her mind whether he was a normal guy or a Fae goblin king from a magical world that was out to get her was not a good basis to start a relationship on. _But…_ Sarah thought to herself, _As before, if he is out to get me, he will have a back-up plan if I refuse him._ The old saying popped into her head _Keep your friends close, but your enemies' closer._ That seemed to be an appropriate statement right now. And, if it so happened that he was here to win her affections or that he was just an ordinary guy, it couldn't hurt to date him.

"All right" She said to herself out loud. "I'll ring him." With this decided Sarah sat down to enjoy the rest of her hung over breakfast, however, it was at this point that her brain chose to hand several pieces of information to her uninvited. Hoggle was a dwarf, Ludo was a rock caller and Sir Diddymus was a fox who rode on a white, hairy dog named Ambrosias. Most importantly, they used to be friends.

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><p>Meanwhile in the Goblin Kingdom Jareth was perched at his favourite window which had a view of the entire Labyrinth, although, it meant nothing to him as he gazed at Sarah's beauty through the crystal ball. When he heard her reach the decision a malicious smile overcame his whole face, and, with a practised hand threw the crystal up into the air where it vanished in a swift movement. When this experienced act was done he turned to observe his kingdom from the window, a look of triumph clear on his face. Allowing the feeling of progression and anticipation to overcome him Jareth started planning ahead, thinking about the moves he would make and how he would dance his way into her affections. His revenge would be soon now, very soon. Nevertheless looking out over the Labyrinth his smile soon faded. Something had been wrong with his kingdom recently, it seemed darker, there was no laughter from resulting pranks, no loud Goblins making noise and starting fights for no reason. The kingdom was quiet, it was a funny situation, considering there had been days where Jareth would have given anything for it to be quiet, yet now it was gone he missed the noise. How strange?<p>

Turning away from the window in one majestic sweep the Goblin King's cape billowed behind him as he resolutely marched through the castle with a stride telling every passing goblin to get out of the way or risk his wrath, until he came to an imposing solid oak door. It would have taken a normal man an incredible amount of strength to move the door before him, but Jareth could flick through it with one finger if he wished. True, it had taken a very long time to learn how to control the Fae strength bestowed on him, but now that he could everything was easy, and just to prove this fact to himself; Jareth extended his index finger, pressed the tip of it against the door and pushed it open. He almost stumbled back in surprise at the site that met his eyes. The goblins were working! Twelve goblins hunched round a cauldron discussing what ingredients needed to be added. No mess had been made, no insults thrown, no loud misunderstandings, they were all there working quietly. A dozen pairs of gleaming eyes looked up towards him in pure fear. Had they used to look at him like that?

Masking his bewilderment Jareth spoke simply and to the point "There will be no need for plan B."

"Plan A worked?" A squeaky voice full of anticipation asked. Its owner was a very small goblin with very few yellow teeth present in its mouth. The weird thing was that every other goblin seemed surprised that that goblin had dared even open its mouth. It was as if he was waking for a dream where someone else had been ruler for nine years who the goblins were terribly afraid of.

"Plan A has worked better than I could have imagined." Replied Jareth curtly, flashing them all a smile which promised mischief. In response to this the goblins went haywire, or maybe they just returned to normal, jumping about, dancing, prancing and arguing, some all at the same time. Still, there was one constant statement which was discernible. "Must tell others! Must tell others!" Then they were all running off down the hall at a speed he didn't know they could reach. Grabbing one before it could get away he asked pointedly "Must tell the others what?" The Goblin's beady eyes looked up into his and it gargled with excitement "Kingy smiled! Kingy smiled!" Taking advantage of his loosened grip the goblin worked itself free and ran off down the hall, leaving Jareth to contemplate this news. Had it really been that long since he last smiled?

* * *

><p><em>She was in a magnificent grand chamber. Solid, heavy oak doors with intricate carvings surrounded her, promising all the wonders she could explore behind them. Each one called to her turn, enticing her with the possibilities of adventure, she need only choose one. A mosaic covered the floor, Sarah could not make out what it was; she would have to glimpse it from above to even guess what it was about, there were fantastic colours in it whatever.<em>

_Her musings were interrupted by the sound of music. It started quietly but it seemed to build in the chamber, as if the walls amplified the sound and now she could hear it, it wasn't music, but singing. Closing her eyes Sarah listened as hard as she could and began to circle the chamber, speculating as to which door kept secret the identity of the beautiful singer._

_The voice was rich like honey and almost mesmerised her as she diligently searched for its source, it was all she could focus on. Finally Sarah selected one of the doors, it was twice her size and adorned with a gargoyle which had a knocker through its ears, it only took one knock for the door to open with an eerie amount of silence. Sarah had feared that the person would have stopped singing upon hearing the door open but the melodic voice continued as if nothing had changed, breathing a sigh of relief, Sarah stepped through the door. _

_She was met with a room full of staircases. So many staircases, some of them going upside down, and it was normal. Sarah walked those staircases without batting an eyelid they were so familiar, her only goal was the voice. The song seemed to be reaching its peak, she could hear the emotion in the voice, it was a song of sorrow, betrayal and yet there was hope within there, a hope of something worth saving. A sudden thought occurred to her. What if they stop singing before I find them?_

_Sarah ran at a fast pace now, desperate to find the singing man, for she was sure it was a man now. Although the words still passed her by, they slipped through her ears like water, the overall melody of love and sorrow heard but the exact meaning bypassed. So enveloped was she in the need to find the source that Sarah almost collided with a door before she even knew there was one there. Taking a small amount of time to listen she became certain that he was behind this door. It was black oak with a menacing aura surrounding it, and suddenly Sarah was afraid, and yet she felt herself forced to continue. Sighing in an attempt to lift the dark emotion which had surrounded her heart Sarah placed a hand on the black and door and prayed its opening was as quiet as the last time. _

_In answer to her prayers it opened as silently as the last and her breath was taken when Sarah saw what she could only describe as an angel. A man with angular features and peroxide blonde hair sat at a windowsill directly in front of her gazing out over a kingdom. Sunlight came in at the perfect angle to frame his face and give him an other-worldly appearance added to by the enchantment of his singing. Other than the man on the windowsill the room was empty, made of stone as before, but it wouldn't have mattered if the room had been adorned with items, she only had eyes for the man in front of her._

_The blonde haired man, although clearly aware of her presence didn't acknowledge her until he had finished singing, and when he did it seemed like silence had descended upon the world, it was too empty, too barren._

"_Please, keep singing!" Sarah blurted out, only half voluntarily._

_Giving a wry smile the figure lifted himself from the window ledge and walked towards her._

"_And what right do you have to make such a request of me? Do you DESERVE to be sung to?" There was definitely malice in that voice._

_Again Sarah noticed the fear curling up within her chest, constricting her courage, preventing her from answering, all she could do was drop her head in an attempt to hide the emotion. Scoffing the man began to circle her like a vulture, his eyes drinking in everything about her and committing it to memory; after about two and a half circles the blonde-haired man whispered into her ear: _

"_I would have sung to you every day if you had stayed." She did not understand the words but they made sense to her heart which began to weep, bringing forth tears to Sarah's eyes._

"_I came back." _

"_I had to come looking first." Was the instantaneous reply. _

_Tears began to flow freely now, the confusion and the pain were too much to understand, too much to comprehend. As if sensing her need the blonde-haired man sighed, drew her into his arms and began stroking her hair._

"_I don't understand, it's like... it's like a dam wall holding a sea of memories, some spill over but the rest are forbidden and locked away."_

"_Come to the bed." Sarah looked over to see that a bed had miraculously appeared out of thin air and never thought to question it, the most illogical thing seemed logical here. _

_She did as he asked and allowed herself to be guided over to the four poster bed where he took her face in both of his hands and kissed her passionately, a kiss which was returned with equal force. Breaking away breathlessly Sarah repeated the words in her mind._

"_I still don't understand."_

_The man beside her sighed again, pressing his forehead against hers before whispering._

"_You will do in time."_


	4. Communication issues

**Communication issues**

Sarah woke up with such a start that she fell over backwards off the stool on which she had been precariously perched resulting in a painful crash on the floor and a hilarious slap stick comedy moment if anyone had actually been watching at the time (for which she was certainly thankful that there wasn't). She cursed everything she could think of silently under her breath and rubbed the numbness from her cheek which had been placed there by the kiss of the cold marble imitated kitchen counter surface. The jelly, spoon and camera were still there, showing that neither Janice nor Sophie had risen in the time that her mind had lapsed once again into the abyss that was sleep.

Too much had happened in her life recently to keep up with; she really didn't want her very sanity in question at the moment, couldn't her life be calm and stress free? Checking the camera photos again she was certain, it wasn't all a bad dream, this was happening again. No matter how much she wanted it to go away, it wasn't; she was just going to have to face it head on. The sound of groaning and clumsy movement from overhead brought Sarah out of her pit of self-pity and forced her to focus on the days tasks. Janice and Sophie were awake.

* * *

><p>Two hours later Janice, Sophie and Sarah had sank into the tan leather sofa in front of a chick flick coming to the final scene. Sarah had tried to pay attention to it but the dream kept echoing around her mind over and over, it was the sort of dream which made you scared to go to sleep for fear what might happen next time. It hadn't been scary, just plain weird and a little too close to what had been going on in her head recently for comfort, she couldn't remember the man's face but she could state a 90% certainty on who it was.<p>

Unconsciously a sigh escaped Sarah's lips causing the two women who looked a little worse for wear to glance at her with curiosity on their faces. No questions needed to be voiced, Janice was worried that the sigh was over Sam and Sophie being the hopeless romantic hoped it was over the guy she had met last night. Ironically combine the two and you weren't far from the truth.

After a lapse of silence which had gone on for more than the recommended time for not being uncomfortable stated, Janice sighed herself and asked:

"Please, tell me after everything we went through last night and this morning that you are not thinking about the colossal prick we bitched about for at least a solid hour last night."

"Alternatively tell us about the guy you DID meet last night! Don't lie, I distinctly remember a blonde haired man buying us, but more specifically YOU lots of drinks." Sophie piped in with her round eyes and widening at the prospect of blossoming love. Was it any wonder that this woman was still single?

"Why do I not remember this?" Janice asked with a little more ferocity than was probably intended causing Sophie to back away from her.

"You don't remember? He challenged you to a shot run! Remember, the blonde guy in black leather with deep pockets and an amazing ability to pack away alcohol. Really cocky and stubborn, doesn't like to lose."

Janice's face was transformed as memory and realisation coincided to create a vivid picture of the man they had indeed met last night. "Oh yeah! He gave you his number! You are going to call him right? You have to!"

"Why do I have to? I don't even know if I like him that much." _An entirely true statement. _

Janice made several exasperated hand gestures towards Sarah as she battled the frustration and wish to shout at their seemingly inept friend.

"Fine! I'll ring him." Before Sarah could even wonder whether Janice had meant what she said, Janice had swiped the phone from the table and was running upstairs. Sarah set off to follow her but was rugby tackled by Sophie who was surprisingly strong for her petite structure coupled with her hung-over state. Or Sarah could just be more hung over than originally thought. Janice called from the top of the stairs "Sophie, I need the number!" Using what seemed to be inhuman strength Sophie manoeuvred herself so that she had pinned out Sarah's arm and forced her jumper sleeve off to reveal the number.

She then shouted each number in turn with difficulty as she battled Sarah, attempting to keep the number on her arm visible.

Eventually the full number was obtained and Janice dialled the phone quickly placing it to her ear praying for it to ring and not to go to answer phone. As the sound of dialling clicked in Janice realised with a shock that it was Sarah who needed to answer the phone and with a burst of adrenaline ran down the stairs and threw the phone into the hands of Sarah who Sophie had just released from the wrestling position. Unusual to form Sarah caught the projectile and pressed it to her ear just in time for the dial tone to cut off signalling an answer.

Sarah gave Janice and Sophie a look of pure poison and murmured "I am going to fucking kill both of you!" To which she got innocent smiles in reply.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

_Shit_. "Hi, Jareth, it's Sarah, you know, from the bar last night..." She could feel her gut sink lower in her body, as if it was on a one track course straight to her feet.

"Sarah! How are you? I hope you've recovered from last night's venture."

"Uh, yeah, yeah I am thanks, how about you?"

"Yes, I am perfectly rejuvenated thank you." An uncomfortable silence descended like a shroud over both of them, suffocating any chance of a redeeming comment.

Janice and Sophie wrote something down on a piece of paper and showed it to her, and for lack of anything better to say Sarah read it out loud.

"Do you want to go out at some point this week?"

"That sounds like an immensely profitable way to spend time, I would love to. Do you have a specific venue in mind?" The gears in Sarah's mind started turning quickly. A public place was required; you could still have an incredibly private conversation within a public place. No alcohol as well. Definitely no alcohol.

"Would you like to meet at the park just down from the tooth and claw?" The place had come to her on the spur of the moment, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense.

"Perfect, shall we say Wednesday lunchtime?"

"Uhhh...yeah, sure, sounds good to me, meet by the memorial tree?"

"Excellent, see you Wednesday, goodbye." Sarah was left listening to blank dial tone while staring blankly at Janice and Sophie in disbelief. Could it really be blind luck that the lunchtime he had chosen was the only one in which she had time to do anything? However that thought was erased as Janice and Sophie took two sheepish steps back misinterpreting Sarah's blank face as incomprehensible anger towards them. Ironically the gesture reminded Sarah of the playful anger she was meant to be showing and she was only too happy to oblige.

"I swear neither of you will leave this house without _something_ hurting!"

Sarah dived towards the both of them from her position but Janice and Sophie were already running into the hall way. Sophie ran for the kitchen where as Janice bounded up the stairs merrily singing "Sarah and Jareth sitting in a tree, K, I, S, S, I, N, G!" The choice was easy. Janice first.

_Five minutes earlier..._

Jareth analysed the black pebble like object in his hand with a mixture of wonder and bewilderment. Apparently this device allowed you to contact people all over the human world, and quite by accident the Fae had discovered that they worked across the worlds as well when a Fae had stolen a human child who had had a mobile phone in their pocket at the time. The afore mentioned Fae thought it was an exploding device of some description when the child's parents had tried to ring them.

Human technology really was amazing; the only problem was that he did not have any idea as to how to use it. He had gone in to a human store to buy one and had come out with the strangest looking contraption he had ever seen, it didn't even have a "keypad" as the salesman had put it, who, consequently, seemed to have a heart attack when he realised Jareth hadn't even known what one of those was. The salesman had also said something about it being a "touch screen" which had meant absolutely nothing to Jareth and quite frankly he had stopped listening at that point, all he wanted was a phone, was that too much to ask?

He had managed to leave the human store with a piece of technology which had probably cost too much for what it was and was too confusing even to contemplate giving a try for the time being. He had memorised the number he needed to give Sarah and figured out how to put a number into his phone…and that was it.

Now he was faced with the dilemma of the phone "locking" itself and he had no idea how to "unlock" it considering there wasn't a padlock or key in sight. These thing were meant to be simple and quite frankly they were anything but, it was a miracle that the humans had figured out how to use them. Every time he pressed the screen it lit up and said "slide to unlock" but he couldn't slide it open, no matter how many times he tried it he just couldn't do it.

Not that he had a guarantee that Sarah would call him, it was possible that she wouldn't go for the bait, not that it mattered; he had a multitude of back-up plans if this one failed. However, he just got a feeling that this one was the most likely to work whether she remembered him or not, she was always too curious for her own good.

The echoing sound of a shutting door alerted Jareth to the fact that he was no longer alone in the room, and sure enough before his very eyes he saw a tiny goblin hand appear over the top of the table and sneak its way towards the black pebble.

Quietly Jareth struck like a cobra, grabbing the young goblins wrist and wrenching the trembling creature up to his eye level, oh how he loved to be intimidating. "What in the name of stars do you think you are doing? Sneaking in to a Royal chamber without permission, trying to steal from the property of the king himself! You have a vast amount of audacity." To his surprise however, the goblin wasn't trembling with fear, but rather trying to stifle it's laughter by shaking and pressing its entire fist into its mouth. A look of confusion washed over Jareth's face before being replaced instantaneously by realisation and surprise. Turning to face the table his suspicions where confirmed as he saw a goblin running towards the door with the phone in hand. They had actually concocted some form of a plan…and he had fallen for it! Growling with anger Jareth through the goblin in his hand across the chamber and started chanting a magic spell which he directed towards the thief in question. The goblin was frozen in space giving Jareth all the time he needed to calmly approach the goblin and take the phone from its hand which, to his amazement the goblin had managed to unlock. Releasing the spell Jareth grabbed the squirming goblin and maliciously asked "How did you unlock it?"

The goblin refused to meet his eyes, instead it focussed on the floor below its feet and sheepishly muttered "Black thing said slide to unlock, that's what we did."

"And how long did it take you to come up with such a plan?"

"Three days." The goblin said looking directly at him with a wide eyed grin. Clearly it was very proud of itself for it.

Sighing Jareth began to think of a way he could punish the goblin, because he had to admit, he was impressed that a goblin had even managed to devise such a scheme. This was clearly one of the brighter ones in his kingdom. However, his thoughts were interrupted as the phone started buzzing and shaking with weird sounds protruding from all ends, it was as if it had been hit by the twitch spell. Reading the screen bright letters flashed "Incoming Call, Sarah Mobile." Staring at the machine in astonishment and horror Jareth resembled a deer in headlights, he hadn't expected her to call him this soon! "How do I answer it?" Jareth asked the goblin in his grasp with a sense of urgency he didn't know it was capable of in his voice. Blankly the goblin stared at him and a place on the screen which said 'Answer.'

"Simples." The goblin said with a smile. Letting the goblin go Jareth hesitantly pressed the device to his ear. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

* * *

><p>Toby had learnt how to use skype as soon as he had discovered that he could talk to Sarah face to face using it while she was on another continent. Sarah had always felt very close to Toby and he had cried for days when he had been dutifully informed by his mother that Sarah was going away for a very long time and that he wouldn't be able to see her every week. As a result to cease the tears Sarah had agreed that while she was in England she would talk to Toby for an hour every Sunday between 11am and 12pm which made it very early morning in America (Toby didn't seem to believe in sleep during daylight hours). Sarah was exhausted but desperately needed to talk to Toby, as much for the promise sake as for the whole Labyrinth situation.<p>

He was already online when she signed in and started a conversation with numerous questions in rapid fire as 10 year olds are known to do. "Hey Sarah! How are you? This past week has been sooooo much fun, we went on a field trip to the zoo and I got to pet a lion!"

"You touched a lion?" Sarah asked sceptically.

"No…not exactly, but I was the bravest one there and I got very close!"

Sarah couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure you were."

"And then we saw the hugest eagle in the world! And Miss Hoober said that we could have one as a pet if we got a licence and I really want one! But mum says I can't, can you talk to her for me? Pleeeeeeeeeease?" At this announcement Toby used his puppy dog eyes, which he had spent a lot of time perfecting over the years and a look most natural mothers would melt at, unfortunately for Toby, Sarah and his mother had become immune to it.

"Sorry Tobe, if mom said no then there's no way I'm ever going to be able to persuade her."

Toby's downcast look did however pull on one of her heartstrings and so she quickly changed the subject to the aim of the evening.

"Toby, do you remember a while ago you told me you were having dreams?"

At this Toby's demeanour completely changed and he tilted his eyes away from the screen. "Mommy says I'm not allowed to talk about them, she doesn't like them."

"Well I'm not mommy, so it's ok to talk about them hun." With this sentence Sarah used her reassuring smile and Toby seemed a little more encouraged to talk about them.

"There's always the tall blonde man there with the scary smile, and lots of little monsters running round, you're there too." Sarah didn't even know what she was aiming for or meant to be asking, she hadn't even thought this far ahead. She could have smacked herself for the lack of thought put into it.

"Toby, are they dreams, or…are they memories?" She was scared to even ask the question, but she needed to know.

"I dunno Sarah, it's not just that mummy doesn't like me talking about…"

Sarah shifted forward a little bit in her seat; she had never heard her mum say anything about this. "What is it Toby, I promise I won't get mad."

"I see monsters other people don't see. I see humans in the street who sparkle like diamonds and have green skin. They're mean and steal people, I'm scared of them Sarah."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this is taking so long to get up and running again, experiencing some technical issues which will hopefully be resolved soon, please enjoy in the mean time!<strong>


	5. Anger, Frustration and Sadness

**Anger, frustration and sadness**

_Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave. You have no power over me_. Those words still poured salt over a deep wound in his heart and pride. Jareth's hand balled into a fist at the memory as he struggled to control his anger, magic came to him unbidden and the air in the room went still.

How could she have rejected him so? He could have given her everything and she had thrown it all away for a human child? How could that one child be so precious to her? Next to him that child was nothing. Roaring in frustration Jareth drew one of the golden hilted daggers from his shirt and launched it at the mirror behind him, shattering the delicate accessory into thousands of pieces on the floor.

Breathing heavily Jareth became aware of another presence in the room, but when he saw it was the council messenger he didn't even bother to react, he really didn't want to deal with the council tonight.

The council messenger was a pure blood Fae bound by no alliance or treaty of the under realm, therefore being entirely neutral she could apparate into any city unchecked and deliver messages from the council quickly. It was a rare gift and few had the privilege of such a gift bestowed upon them, which just went to show how high up the council messenger was in the pecking order. The Fae's real name was Liquid Silver because of her mass of silver hair and how fluid she looked when she moved, however for ease she was called Primrose. He didn't know why. Primrose's unnaturally melodic voice cut through the icy atmosphere as she spoke, stars he hated that voice.

"Not interrupting a self-pity party am I?"

"No, just anger management; come closer if you wish to participate. Maybe I could find something opportune to shove down your perfectly formed throat?"

"As long as you bear in mind what happened the last time you tried to attack me." Primrose chirped, smiling fondly at the memory.

"Why are you here Primrose?"

"The council requests an audience with your grace considering your terms of kingship."

Inwardly Jareth groaned, it was the same every hundred years, the council of the Fae called a meeting to challenge a kings right to rule his kingdom. If anyone wished to take the throne they would plead their case before the council, if their reasons were just then the current ruler could stand down or plead their case before the council to keep the throne. If they successfully pleaded their own case then the council would cast the final vote as to who would rule. Whatever the council decided went because they were the oldest, wisest, most powerful and most respected among the underworld creatures.

However, the reason the Goblin King found the task so monotonous and unnecessary was simple, no-one else wanted to become the Goblin King. Before Jareth had come to the throne it was rare for the goblin king/queen to make it past a term (25years) without wanting to give up the title and if a ruler wanted to give up without managing the full four terms then they could go to the council and beg for a replacement. At that time the Goblins had been out of control. Then Jareth took the seat of power, his cold heartedness, harsh punishments and love of laughter and pranks had made him the perfect dictator to bring the goblins to order, and now no-one dared usurp the king in case the goblins went back to the unruly pestilence they had been before. He hadn't even been asked to plead his case the last several times, he was happy where he was and so were the council. Yet he still had to turn up, no exceptions.

"When is the council being held?" He managed to spit out in an even tone.

"In a months time."

"Anything else?" Jareth asked curtly, not expecting the answer which was coming.

"Yes actually, the council wish to discuss your fitness to rule considering that ten years ago a mere mortal beat your Labyrinth and won back the wished away child, which coincides nicely with someone wishing to challenge you for the title of the Goblin king."

She vanished with a small squeal of surprised fright she would never live down as the glass of every window in the room shattered under the force of his anger.

* * *

><p>"So how did he take the news?" Primrose was knelt before the council in the oversized marble chamber where the booming voices of the council members were only magnified by the emptiness of the place and how much it echoed. She hated how much open space there was in the hall but she couldn't do anything about it, in the end she was only the messenger who was on the receiving end of the abuse. It was a distasteful profession with very few perks, yet she was only one of the few who could do it, and the pay was immense.<p>

"He was, forgive me for using mortal language, really pissed off." Upon saying this she bowed her head lower, causing the mass of pure silver hair to fall past her shoulders onto the floor like a mop. Quite an apt image she thought, being reminded of how she cleared up all of the council's bad choices and jobs for them. She didn't believe for one second that they could be the best Fae for the position, they just seemed too idiotic.

"That is of little consequence." The council was comprised of 8 members, each one had a cloak with a powerful masking charm to protect their identity; this helped guard against bribery and assassination so it was just useful to have. However it was very intimidating to have a meeting with all of the council there and you had no idea where to look because everyone was hidden and you had absolutely no idea where the voices were coming from in the echoes of the council chamber.

"What matters is that he will show up." Primrose couldn't help but sigh inwardly, what was she meant to do about it if Jareth didn't show up? If Jareth didn't show up it would be an abdication by his part and if he refused to give up the seat of power he would be forced out by the council. In a grand total she really could not care less about Jareth's actions; they made no impact on her.

"Jareth wouldn't disobey the council's summons, I'm sure of that."

"You're sure of that are you?" Primrose groaned inwardly. How was she meant to know?

"This is after all the Goblin King, someone who shouldn't be reliable on principle and we are challenging him his right to the throne! I do not believe he will show whatever he says." _So many voices._

Finally Primrose allowed her voice to be heard. "If the Goblin King does not turn up he will abdicate his throne automatically by the rules of the council, and the Goblin king is too proud to give up his throne without a fight." At this the council members seemed to reluctantly agree and finally silence filled the chamber, she hated having to explain every minor rule to them, if they were selected by the previous council members shouldn't they know all the rules back to front and inside out?

"You have done well Primrose, your services are no longer required for today. Leave us, we will call you when you are needed."

_Don't say thank you then_. Primrose thought icily before she vanished in a wisp of silver to a place she would rather be.

* * *

><p>There was one major advantage to Primrose's role as the council messenger and this was the ability to go wherever she liked whenever she liked regardless of boundaries, spells rules or regulations. When she apparated it left no trace which could be followed and tripped no sensors, which meant she could go to the human world without detection, an incredibly useful skill considering the number of human consorts she had throughout the human world.<p>

It wasn't unusual for Fae to take human consorts at one point or another for the fun of them, Primrose took on multiple humans at a time for her own amusement. Some male some female, even children occasionally, and she had been doing this for years. Her actions wouldn't be frowned upon by any of Fae society, but Primrose still preferred to keep her life with humans separate from her life with Fae, the two had crossed once with unsavoury results and an event which could not be undone. After that Primrose vowed to keep the two completely separate, AND to not get too attached, that rule was now a very important one.

It wasn't just for the amusement though that Primrose took human consorts; it was the relief that they provided as well. In the human world no-one knew who she was, and didn't regard her as a doormat and with incessant manners in equal measure. It was very hard to get close to someone when your very identity was the council lackey; any normal fae regarded her with suspicion less she report whatever they were doing back to the council like some snitch.

Tonight she was going to go see Melissa, a brunette she had become rather partial to due to the glossiness of her hair and her optimistic outlook on life. It was refreshing to be with a person who could see the good in everything and everyone. Primrose's glamour for the human world was very plain and basic, a face you could study for five minutes and afterwards not remember a single specific detail, it just made things easier when no-one could remember quite clearly.

Primrose had barely made two knocks on the incredibly fragile white plastic door in front of her before Melissa greeted her with the usual bright smile, reached out, grabbed her wrist and dragged her through the door before Primrose could even say hi.

Closing it behind her Melissa left Primrose stunned in the kitchen as she bounded up the stairs excitedly shouting "I have something to show you!"

Smiling at the enthusiasm Primrose delicately seated herself on one of the aged stools and pondered over what the news could be. Knowing Melissa it would probably be a pet kitten or something of that nature. The kitchen was still as messy as ever, but she supposed you couldn't expect much from a student house with two boys and two girls living in it, even so, it was rather worrying to detect several life forms within the dirty pans on the sink. She would have to dispatch them before she left in case they caused any illness.

The sound of bounding feet down the stairs alerted Primrose of Melissa's return and she turned to have a piece of paper shoved in front of her face while hearing a repetition of the words "I did it! I did it!" Sighing Primrose tried to gain some control on the situation by grabbing the piece of paper away from her face and asking:

"Calm down Gorgeous, now WHAT did you do?" Again she was greeted with a smile.

"I got accepted, I'm on the year in industry, I'm going to Japan!" At this she screamed unable to contain her excitement and started bounding around like a little girl who just got a puppy. Realisation hit Primrose like a slap in the face as she recalled a conversation she had had with Melissa a while ago over whether she should try for the course or not. She was happy that Melissa had got there, she had undoubtedly worked very hard for it, but it did mean that she was losing one of her favourite consorts. There was no lie Primrose could invent as a reason for her to appear in Japan speaking fluent Japanese which wouldn't seem suspicious, she would simply have to let Melissa go. It was a shame; she had really liked this one.

Flashing a broad smile Primrose threw herself disgracefully into Melissa's arms saying "Oh my gosh! I'm so proud of you, knew you could do it!"

The girls embraced in a massive hug which lasted at least five minutes before either of them moved, when she finally did pull back however she was dismayed to find Melissa crying.

"Why are you crying? This is brilliant news!"

Letting her face contort with sadness she managed to incoherently mumble "What about you? I'm going to miss you so much."

A pit formed in Primrose's stomach as she took Melissa's pale face in both her hands and whispered "No you won't." With these words spoken Primrose conjured magic to her fingertips and erased all memories Melissa had of her.

Staring at Melissa's sleeping form Primrose couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness within her and as a last moment of weakness kissed her on the lips for one final memory. To her surprise a tear managed to find its way out of her eye and on to her cheek, Primrose couldn't catch it before the metallic droplet landed on Melissa's face and sank in to her skin with a flurry of glitter. Sighing Primrose guessed she owed Melissa a guard against ill health for everything she had given her. Knowing it was time to leave Primrose disappeared out of the human world with one wistful thought.

_It was for the best, I was getting too attached again._


	6. Revelations

**Revelations**

"Sarah? Come in Sarah. Earth to Sarah, come in!"

Sarah was shocked out of her reverie to find her friend staring at her with a worried look plastered across his face. Jamie had been a good friend to her ever since her arrival in England, he was 6ft 1inch, slender build with toned muscles, natural fiery red hair, brilliant sense of humour and was as gay as they came. He was fantastic for a girly chat and had been the one to gossip with Sarah through her angered state when she broke off the engagement with Sam. It had been great to finally let off some steam and rant about all the things that Sam had done wrong, and Jamie had only been too happy to listen.

So now that Sarah was spending most of her time in her own thoughts after the revelation from Toby that Sunday, Jamie had gotten increasingly troubled by Sarah's absentmindedness throughout the week, but now that Wednesday, the day of the date came, it was worse than ever.

"Sorry Jamie, I'm just a bit off focus this week."

"Well I'd noticed that much. Come on hun, the last time you were this out of it you'd broken up with Sam, so my guess is that you have gotten some bad news, OR you've met a guy. Am I close? You can tell Auntie Jamie." At this he pulled his famous puppy dog eyes impression that he spent years perfecting. It was perfect in situations like these where he wanted to know all the juicy details.

_Oh if only you knew how much I couldn't tell you_. "Well, the truth is I've met a guy." This certainly got his attention.

"Ooooh? What's he like? Tall? Dark? Roguish? Oh my god, is he Spanish?" At the last question his eyes widened in awe and wonder and despite everything Sarah couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm to the whole situation. Jamie really had a thing for Spanish guys.

"He's...someone I knew a long time ago who wants to get back in touch, but I don't know if I should. I'm supposed to be meeting him today at the memorial for lunch." Again not entirely false, but Sarah really hated lying about the whole situation, but who could she tell?

"Ah, rekindling an old romance? It can always go either way, but... if you don't try you'll never know." He sang at the top of his voice throughout the whole lab, quoting one of his favourite lines from the musical wicked, again causing Sarah to burst out into hysterics. She tried to regain some self-control as one of the other PhD students who Sarah hadn't taken a liking to stared at them with disgust over the clutter which comprised everyone's workstation. It was a basic fact, it's impossible to keep a lab workstation tidy.

Breathing deeply Sarah managed to stop herself giggling for long enough to pose the question "Do you mind if I leave for lunch early?"

"Absolutely no problem, with how much work you do normally you're several weeks ahead of where you should be anyway. But you have to promise me that if he's Spanish and it doesn't work out that you'll introduce me to him." There was one thought in Sarah's mind as she left. She LOVED her boss.

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><p>The park had three main entrances to it which corresponded to three main sections; the grassy area for sports and games, the pond for pedal boats and romantic walks (if you were into that sort of thing) and the woods. The war memorial was right in the middle of the park where all three of the sections met and was a popular meeting place for anyone spending the day there. Sarah came in through the wooded entrance (the one closest to the university she was working at) and headed for the memorial. She was going to be early at this rate, a rare occurrence even at the best of times. But Sarah figured that being early for this couldn't be a bad thing due to the circumstances. It wouldn't mar her consistently late record.<p>

A little girl with princess curls ran past her, a beaming smile of excitement plastered over her face as the green dress she wore flew behind her and the white ruffles danced over her shoulders, and, true to form, a disgruntled mother followed in quick succession imploring her daughter to be careful of tripping. Smiling to herself; Sarah placed a hand over her stomach and marvelled at how different things could have been if Sam hadn't cheated, but she soon swatted the thoughts away before she came close to what could have been regret.

Sarah arrived underneath the memorial at 11:50am and sat down on the iron bench to wait and prepare for what could be the scariest conversation she had ever had.

At twelve noon Jareth stepped out from one of the portals he had created in the densest part of the woods and prepared for what he anticipated to be a normal date. Immediately the stench of iron hit him and he had to actively stop himself from retching before proceeding forward, surely this was a very bleak and dark world. Focussing on one step, then another Jareth began to block out the unsavoury metal, in normal circumstances he could spend twelve hours in the human world no problem; however, with all these iron benches and iron railings two hours was the maximum amount he wanted to risk.

To his surprise Sarah was already there, sat underneath the memorial on a hefty iron bench (it was as if she did it on purpose) evidently wrapped in her own thoughts. He couldn't sit on the bench, it would hurt too much, he would have to try and draw her to the grass.

Striding forward Jareth let his shadow fall over her to claim her attention and bowed his head slightly before taking her hand and kissing it delicately. "May I say you look lovely, even on a work day?" To this he was met with a smile and the response "And may I say that you are lucky in your choice of days, any other and I wouldn't have been able to come."

"That's true to form, I'm a lucky person." He replied flawlessly. "Would you like to take a walk around the grassy area? It's a beautiful day."

An idea flared up in Sarah's mind so quickly that it barely had chance to form before she was executing it. She was still unsure of how true everything going on in her mind was, if he couldn't touch a bench with his bare skin she could be certain and go from there.

"Well I've always enjoyed the view here in the sun as everyone walks past, can't we sit here for a few minutes?" They both knew that Jareth couldn't give a response which wasn't gentlemanly or polite so with great reluctance Jareth hesitantly sat down on the bench already feeling the iron burn through the jeans he was wearing.

"You must work close to here then? I assume you are on your lunch as well?" Sarah asked with a delicate smile, seemingly oblivious to the agony she was fairly sure she was putting him through. "Yes, I don't work too far away from here." It was so hard to concentrate, all he could think about was burning. "What do you do as a job then? I can't remember whether you told me what you did or not." It was all Jareth could do to stop himself crying. "Ummmm...I, sorry I have to," and with that Jareth pushed himself of the bench with his bare hands and stumbled up towards the grass, as far away from the iron as possible.

Sarah was following him in quick succession and grabbed one of his arms so that she could observe the angry red mark already appearing on his hand from where he touched the iron. "I fucking knew it." She declared with a sense of pride for figuring it out fear that this really was Jareth the goblin king stood before her, what did he want? What was his intention?

Her musings were interrupted as Sarah realised he was staring at her with wide eyes as he struggled to hide his astonishment. "You remember? The Labyrinth, the goblins, what you said, you remember it all?" Keeping her gaze locked with his Sarah was able to give a distinguished nod towards him for his answer.

"You knew and you just made me sit through several minutes of fucking torture? Are you a masochist? Because I certainly am not!"

"I wasn't sure! I didn't want to run in guns blazing if it was all in my head! How much of a lunatic would that make me look like?"

Jareth didn't have a reply for that, he was still getting over the fact that Sarah remembered. "I just can't believe it, you remember?" He was paler than usual.

"I never forgot! …it just became more dreamlike with each passing day, as I managed to convince myself that it never really happened, I knew otherwise of course, it just became easier." Jareth's short lived elevation gave way to anger; she had purposefully tried to forget him. How dare she? She had purposefully tried to forget because it had been "easier." He couldn't help but curl his hand into a fist as he evenly said the words "Did it all mean so little to you? So insignificant that you could just forget it all on a whim?" The tone in his voice caused her to glance up and her eyes narrowed, face twisted in disgust, she now as angry as he was. "How fucking dare you? You took me to a world of magic, forced me to run for my brother who I didn't even want wished away in the first place, to offer me something I didn't even understand to leave me in this empty world?" She began breathing heavily at this point, her chest clearly expanding to full capacity in an attempt to vent some of her anger.

"Don't forget that you wished the child away, not me, I simply responded to the rules of magic." He replied as calmly as he could. The problem was that Jareth couldn't think of anything to say to the last bit, if he offered her it again would she take it? Did she miss the Labyrinth?

"As if you didn't say words of power when you were young and naive just to see if they would work! You just wanted to spite me by taking the child away didn't you?" The words hurt more than Jareth would have anticipated and for an instant he faltered.

"You complained about him so much, I thought I was helping by taking him away."

This caused Sarah to hesitate as well, she knew this was the closest she would ever get to him saying sorry for taking Toby, and it kind of unnerved her that he had just almost said sorry.

"But how could you offer everything that you did to a child of human years? It took me years to understand the meaning of what you offered, and yet..." He understood her meaning.

"Even if you had you would have still chosen the child?" He felt his heart crack, only to give way to more burning anger, how could she choose such an insignificant child over him? Even when she hadn't understood everything he had offered. "Why was that child so much more important than me? I could have given you everything and you still chose him." Jareth managed to growl underneath his shaky voice.

Shooting him a look of venom Sarah answered steadily "Is your own sense of self importance that great? My god is it any fucking wonder that they put you in charge of a kingdom basically filled with children? Do you honestly think I could have accepted your offer and not thought about Toby every day for the rest of my life? And even then I had a family to think of, I can't just go vanishing into thin air.

"No matter how much I complained about him, Toby was still my flesh and blood. If I didn't get him back I would never have been able to go home and look my father in the eye again, and I would have spent the rest of my life resenting you for it."

Finally, after so many years, Jareth began to understand Sarah's choice, maybe not fully, but the initial understanding was there and it made Jareth speechless.

"I never truly forgot you." Her whispered words sounded so heartfelt that he almost believed her, but he couldn't. _Liar_. Was the most dominant thought that came to his mind, she said she never truly forgot him and yet she had given herself to another, he would never forgive her for that. How could she let another man... The thought filled him with disgust.

"Then why didn't you call? You knew you could have and yet not once did you try, why?"

_Because I'd rather have kept a dream alive and never known the answer than risk it shattering before my eyes_. "You never came back! I assumed that you had had your fun and nothing else mattered so I carried on, always waiting for you to come back though never expecting it." Again with the lies Jareth thought dryly, but he had to be patient, his revenge would come soon enough, it was within reach now. There was also a hint of sadness in him that Jareth couldn't deny, Sarah wasn't like she used to be; she wasn't as strong or as stubborn. She had actually matured a lot, calculating the best course of action as opposed to arguing. He thought he would have preferred her this way, but now that Jareth saw her like it, he didn't.

So with a lack of anything better to do Jareth took her by the chin and kissed her whole heartedly. Sarah returned it eagerly but he broke away to whisper the words "I'm back now." Before returning to her lips to continue the activity.

He couldn't deny that he had missed Sarah's laugh and her outlook on life. She may have grown more mature, but she was still the little girl he remembered underneath, the smallest magic still fascinated and delighted her and she found joy in nearly everything she did. Scratch the surface and her stubbornness was still there too.

"Jareth?"

"Yes Sarah?"

"Why did Hoggle, Sir didymus and Ludo stop coming?"

Jareth hid his discomfort. _I forbade them to come..._

"I honestly don't know, the magic barrier between my world and your room may have started to break down, after a while it may not have been possible for them to hear your call at all."

"That's a shame, I would like to see them all again."

"I'm fairly sure that could be arranged if you wanted." He was rewarded by Sarah's beaming smile and her unreserved hug around his shoulders with multiple mutterings of gratitude in quick succession.

Sarah didn't fully trust Jareth still, but it would be worth her while to see how this turned out, if she could go back to the Labyrinth, oh how wonderful that would be!

Unfortunately her dazed dreaming was interrupted as she glanced at her watch and realised she should have been back at her work ten minutes ago. Panicking Sarah quickly turned to Jareth and spurted out in rapid succession "I'm sorry but I have to go, I'm so late. Listen, umm ring me or something, but I have to go!" Sarah turned to begin a mad dash back to the lab only to be caught by Jareth who drew her into a close embrace and kissed her passionately on the lips one last time before placing a crystal in her hand.

"If you want to talk to me, call me on this. All you have to do is say my name." Jareth winked at her as she pulled away, flashing him a quick smile, before running off down the path at break neck speed.

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><p>Smiling Jareth watched her until she vanished into the woodland and then set out on a quest of his own, another Fae had been watching them, he was sure of it. He wasn't worried about Sarah, it was broad daylight with many people around and the Fae was probably just curious about him with a human consort, but it didn't hurt to check. After a ten minute hunt around the woods Jareth found the magic trace on a tree which had a hand mark indentation in it. It was as if a Fae had tried to control their anger while watching him and Sarah around the park...but why would anyone be angry?<p>

Swatting those thoughts aside Jareth headed back to the portal and his own kingdom, he had other things to worry about than a jealous Fae.


	7. Pieces in Play

**Hey guys! Again many apologies for how long it has been, all the updated chapters are now up though and as I have finally figured the storyline out I can finish this story! So please bare with me a little longer!****  
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><p><strong><span>Pieces In Play<span>**

That night Sarah lay on her unmade bed staring at the white wash ceiling blankly trying to process all the information she had had to take on today. She was thrilled that Jareth had come back, but this changed her whole perception of the world, this normal life she had built around herself like a fortress had come crashing down around her feet within three days. Fae now existed in her mind as solid and dangerous beings to be feared and avoided at all costs... and yet she had somehow managed to end up basically dating one of them. Pulling the crystal out of her pocket Sarah turned the perfect orb around in her hand and marvelled at how quickly things could change. She admitted that she had let herself get carried away in the park, she had been really excited at whole prospect, really up for it. However, now she realised she didn't even trust Jareth completely; her gut (and common sense) said that it didn't fit for him to come back after all this time just when she had convinced herself that it all wasn't real and just want to rekindle a now slightly possible relationship.

Worrying about it was useless of course, if Jareth wanted her there was very little she could do, with a wave of his hand she could be back in the labyrinth or worse. Sarah couldn't deny the trapped feeling she had, yes she liked Jareth and had always wanted a second chance, but this wasn't her choice, it was his. She felt completely powerless in the whole situation. She felt like what she was, _a weak insignificant human_.

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><p>Jareth lay on his newly made four poster bed staring up at the silk green overhang which was held in a tent shape between the four wooden poles brooding over the events of the day before. The goblins had done well with making him a new bed at such short notice, especially with the level of grandeur and detail they had paid to it. The intricate carvings on the wood reminded him of spiralling flames, forever continuing onwards and upwards, consuming everything in its path, they looked so real that he wouldn't have been surprised if the contrasting emerald sheets had caught on fire.<p>

The bed was so soft that it almost threatened to engulf anyone who laid on it: Jareth couldn't believe they had volunteered to make him such a luxury at such short notice after he had destroyed the last one on a fit of rage like the mirror. Initially he had been suspicious, wondering if it had been booby trapped, or whether the four poster carvings would have had erect members carved into it like his first bed had been when he had begun his rule as king of the goblins. As punishment he had made the carvers suck each one of the perverse, yet meticulously crafted sculptures. That light hearted yet seemingly cruel and embarrassing punishment had guaranteed his place as king because, for once, they had a king who delighted in the same practical jokes that they did.

Yet, now everything he had worked for was now under threat. There was no-one in the entire of the court who could keep the goblin kingdom in order and peace as he had without resorting to dictatorship or enslavement. There were those in the court who did wish to enslave the goblins, they were stupid, uncoordinated and most of all childlike, making perfect servants and were easy to control. But there was another side to the goblins as well, they were loyal once you had earned their respect and had the capability of gentleness and empathy which was lost on most Fae and seen as weakness. In addition they had a fondness of music and festivals; you could go to a Goblin party and be guaranteed a good time.

Looking at it they resembled human children a lot. It was for these reasons that he had carried on as goblin king, to protect these stupid well-meaning creatures he had become so mysteriously attached to. Had Sarah jeopardised all that?

Letting out a sigh Jareth rolled over and pondered about what to do now. His most important priority was to prove to the council that he was still capable of leadership. Sarah had had help through the labyrinth, but he couldn't blame her success on the goblins, he was meant to be their king. He could say that he allowed Sarah to win, as an experiment, but would the council buy that as a reason? Or class it as weakness?

He had to prove that he was still fit to rule, but how? It was possible that the council had finally given in to corruption and the winds were beginning to change. Place a dictator in charge of the goblin kingdom to get a ready supply of slaves and possibly warriors if they were desperate, place someone else in charge of the ogres and you would have warriors, after that if you had co-operation from the dragons and possibly the giants you could conquer the whole underworld within a year. That would also make the council obsolete, not that they weren't already. The last Great War had occurred nearly seven hundred years ago when Jareth had been very young, and in the times immediately afterwards the council had kept peace well, but now it was as if they had given up caring, letting tensions between boarders remain unsolved and dictators become more unreasonable in their demands without being checked. These last ten years it was as if they had given into corruption completely, it was as if they were looking to start a war, the problem was that this one would savage the land...

Have we really become too much like humans?

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><p><em>How dare he? How fucking dare he?<em> After all the effort they had put in with Sarah how could Jareth just swoop in and fuck everything up again? Twice! It had been hard enough to repair the damage caused by taking Sarah to the labyrinth the first time, what would happen if Sarah was fully exposed to magic again? They shuddered at the thought of the consequences. Something had to be done. And fast.

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><p>Two days after the incident in the park Sarah used the crystal to talk to Jareth for the first time. She was relaxing in front of something she wasn't really paying attention to on the television with a glass of red wine in one hand. It had been an excruciatingly painful day at the lab with none of her experiments working or producing the necessary results she required and Jamie still grilling for details about what had happened in the park. He had been laughing so much when she turned up late that it didn't take long to click on to what he thought had happened while she was there and had been pestering her for the past two days to confirm his theory. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but with all the worry and stress Sarah was facing he was starting to tread on nerves.<p>

_Sarah..._ Unsure if it was in her head or not she glanced round the room until her eyes rested on the seemingly ordinary crystal Jareth had given her. Except now it was quite the opposite of ordinary, it was glowing gold in the centre with fabulous colours framing it from all sides. She had placed it in her living room as a decorative feature but it was now evident that she would have to rethink its open positioning in the house. Cautiously Sarah rose from the chair and slinked over to it as if she was trying to sneak up on it, Jareth had said it would allow her to contact him but she still didn't like or trust magic, for all she knew this thing could explode with a touch.

Tentatively she reached out and tapped the top of the crystal with an extended finger causing blue swirls to descend throughout the orb like ripples in water. Deciding that it was not going to spontaneously combust Sarah crouched in front of it and stared into the centre where she realised a face was forming through the ripples going down the orb, when it was a whole sphere once more Jareth's face was framed perfectly in the centre. This was bizarre even by her standards.

"Hello Sarah." Jareth was as confident and cocky as always, the suspicious smile plastered over his face was clear to see even through such a strange form of communication. "I trust that you are coming to grips with crystal communication as you managed to answer it."

"Now that wasn't a sarcastic comment was it Jareth? Because we both know how I react to those." Sarah replied confidently now on familiar ground and getting used to seeing Jareth's face through a crystal ball.

"Yes we do." He replied with a rueful smile. "Anyway I was wondering if you would consent to join me for some traditional English cuisine tomorrow night? My treat? I do believe that's the thing new couples do in this world."

Sarah smiled at Jareth's forwardness but couldn't fight off the knot which had now nestled itself in her stomach anew. It wasn't that she wanted to say no, it was the fact that she knew she didn't have the option to say no.

"I think we can indulge you in traditional human courtship if you want, what time would be suitable?" She tried her best to put a full smile across her face but it wouldn't come bidden and it became clear to Jareth that something was wrong.

"Would you prefer another occupation tomorrow night?" She could feel her stomach sink lower and lower as the knot grew to an incomprehensible size.

"No, it sounds fine Jareth, honestly." Since when had she become this bad a liar?

Sarah heard a despairing sigh and the muttered words of hang on before the crystal in her hand returned to its ordinary outwards appearance as if nothing had happened at all. With a confused look Sarah set the crystal back to its rightful place and glanced around wondering what the hell she was meant to be waiting for.

"Now, that went a lot smoother than expected." Sarah jumped up so fast from the voice behind her that she tripped over her own feet and went tumbling to the floor again, only to find herself caught at the last minute in Jareth's arms staring into his face which wore a humoured smile. "I didn't think you were THAT clumsy."

Standing on her own feet to escape his grip Sarah gaped at Jareth's all too solid form stood in her living room as if it was the most normal thing in the world just to appear there. Staring at her in confusion Jareth asked the only questions he could. "What?"

"What do you mean what? You just appeared in my living room! What the...How the hell did you get in here?" Her face seemed to have just chosen surprised as her facial expression for the evening.

"Oh, I created a portal as a direct link between my castle in the goblin kingdom and your front room; I thought it would make things a bit easier now that we were together again. Hope you don't mind." How could he be so casual?

"Hope I don't mind? Hope I don't mind? Jareth you've just created a magical portal between my living room and the Fae world! How could I not mind?" She was reaching hysteria. "Jareth I only just accepted that this whole world existed two days ago and now you're putting portals in my front living room? Do you really want to torment me that much? Why don't you just transport me off to the fucking goblin kingdom which is what you really want to do and cut out the middle man? Why do you insist on tormenting me with this whole I want to court you act? I don't understand why you bother will all that crap!" At the end of her rants Sarah's chest was heaving and she was close to tears, she hated being this powerless. The sadness she could feel curdling in her chest made her look up to see Jareth who had a genuinely hurt expression on his face, and that cut her even deeper.

"Do you really think that I just want to take you away to the Labyrinth? You think that low of me? Sarah if I wanted to take you to the Labyrinth I'd want that to be by your own choice, not because of my forcing you. I'm here to genuinely court you; if you have that little trust in me then my being here is pointless." At this Jareth turned to leave but at the last minute turned around and growled "If it makes you feel any better to know, humans have to wish themselves away for Fae to transport them permanently to the other world. I couldn't have taken you even if I wanted to." With this said he did turn to go and guilt wedged itself into Sarah's stomach. I can't let him leave on these terms. Rushing to him Sarah grabbed the goblin king's arm but couldn't meet his gaze, she couldn't believe she was about to say this.

"I'm sorry; I had no right to think of you like that, this past week has destroyed all my views and concepts about the world and what's possible, now I have to re-write them anew. I allowed stress to get the better of me and I vented my anger at you." When Jareth continued to stare at her blankly Sarah mumbled a final. "So yeah, I'm sorry."

_Wow, she really has grown up._ Was all Jareth could think in his mind, so again, with a lack of anything to do Jareth gracefully pirouetted around so that he was facing her, cupped her chin and murmured "Apology accepted." Before his lips met hers in another flurry of passion.

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><p>Hoggle observed the clearing with an aura of dismay around him. It was chaos. Absolute chaos. It was like a tavern brawl in the time of the civil war. (This had started over a coin). He had asked the goblins to come here away from the castle to discuss what was happening with the council and the possibility that Jareth could lose the thrown. As much as he disliked Jareth, he had been the best king that the goblins had ever had and the idea that he may be replaced created a knot of fear in his stomach. He couldn't explain it, it was just a gut instinct he had. Jareth must remain king. However, as with any Goblin gathering, if they weren't organised it descended into madness, shouting, fighting, even screaming on some occasions. Turning to Ludo, Hoggle asked "Would you mind?" In response Ludo yelled higher and louder than the rest of them causing silence to fall for once. Seeing his queue, Hoggle stepped forward.<p>

"Now, you all know why we're here. The court have threatened Jareth, stating that he may lose his kingship and be placed with another Fae." Still the goblins remained silent; he hadn't seen so many of them this interested and serious since...ever.

"Now, I know that Jareth has been... distant recently AND more cruel than usual, but he's the best king we've ever had and has managed to maintain peace in this kingdom for five hundred years. In that time only one runner was ever successful and that was Sarah who had help from myself and other creatures along the way. So, the question is how do we help Jareth stay on the throne?" Because he had been meant with silence Hoggle assumed it was a unanimous agreement that they wanted Jareth to stay.

There was a hushed silence and Hoggle's heart fell, when it came to Goblins, ideas really weren't their forte. Then there was a small movement in the crowd, a tiny female Goblin raised her hand and in a meek voice spoke. "I think I have an idea."

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><p><strong>Hoping to get the next chapter up in the week, hope you've enjoyed it, even if it has taken me forever! Feel free to comment, review and complain at me. And a special thank you to Rachel Rose who reminded me why I started writing it in the first place :)<strong>

**Fingers crossed next chapter by tuesday!  
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	8. Undercurrents

**OK so not quite tuesday but close enough! Hope you enjoy it. Next scene by monday!  
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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

It was the third time that Sarah had visited the goblin kingdom and she still couldn't believe that she was really there. All that she had remembered of the goblin kingdom was the stone walls of the labyrinth maze, the dark clouds of impending doom looming above, and the horror of the silent castle with its long continuous corridors, winding staircases and eerie sounds which could have easily landed it a place in any half decent horror movie.

But that was only what the runners' saw. The goblin kingdom took on a special appearance when a human ran for a loved one in the maze, so that every goblin would know that there was a human in the kingdom. Jareth had explained to her, that at all other times it possessed a beauty that easily rivalled anything in the human world. It was a place where green wasn't just green, it was as vibrant as any emerald in the human world, and a rose wasn't just a rose, it was a perfection that artists would t spend their lives trying to achieve without coming close to it.

Jareth had suggested that they conduct their 'courtship' as he called it, in the goblin kingdom, mainly due to the fact that if Jareth spent a few hours on a date in the human world he lost several days in his own. As well as this his extreme aversion to iron which, (as Sarah was beginning to discover) was in practically anything made of metal made things rather difficult.

Sarah had all but jumped at the chance; she got to go back to the goblin city! She got to see everyone again! The first time she had come back through the portal and her foot had landed heavily on foreign soil her jaw had decided to fix itself into a permanent gawping position and had resolutely stayed there as Jareth had taken her around the castle gardens, showing her the wonders of their world which had made hers seem dull in comparison. They had spent many hours walking and conversing and much to her surprise Sarah had been disappointed when she had had to leave back to her own world. That night she had even dreamt about the wonders of the labyrinth.

The second time she had been allowed to meet Sir Didymus, Ambrosias, Hoggle and Ludo again, Jareth had even left them alone for several hours which allowed everyone to relax and reminisce about the old times. The only uncomfortable time had been when she'd asked why they had stopped coming to see her when she had called. After a series of uncomfortable glances Hoggle had said that the portals had started to close as they always did after a runner had come through the labyrinth and they daren't ask Jareth to open a new one for obvious reasons. The answer seemed fair but Sarah couldn't help but feel that there was something more to it, but that thought was soon forgotten and the rest of the evening spent in merriment.

This third time Sarah had heard an odd sound coming from the kitchen, and at the risk of being the greatest horror movie stereotype in history had armed herself with a cricket bat and gone to investigate. The sounds as it turned out had been Jareth (wearing human clothes unusually enough) filling up water in the kettle and preparing two cups of tea. He had discovered the drink in one of the many times he randomly decided to just walk into her front living room and taken quite a liking to it. As a result he had demanded to know how to make this magnificent drink and every time he came over to her house now, a cup of tea was the first thing on the schedule. Setting the cricket bat by the fridge she walked in and hugged him around the waist nestling her head into his back murmuring

"We're going to have to find a system of letting me know when you arrive in the house now. I almost took you out with a cricket bat this time." Hearing his snort Sarah could almost guess the reply.

"The bat would break before you even bruised me." At this he turned round so that they could share a close embrace after such a long time apart (at least for Jareth it was, for Sarah it was about four days).

"hmm that seems almost like a challenge, would you mind if I tried it?" Sarah moved back from the hug so that she could give Jareth an endearing yet (she hoped) cheeky look. Jareth appeared to contemplate this suggestion before giving her a sly smile, leaning in and asking "What would I get in return for allowing you to try and beat me senseless?"

"What do you want?" Sarah kept her gaze confident but a pit formed in her stomach from the moment she said it. That was a truly idiotic thing to do, she was about to make a deal with the Goblin King and had asked what he wanted?! _Moron._

With a smile that was borderline malicious Jareth leaned in so that his lips were barely millimetres from hers and answered very calmly "I can offer you a very reasonable deal, providing my end is upheld first." Jareth kissed her. Gently at first but the heat was quickly turned up as his hands drifted up to her face and held her locked in place while his tongue explored her mouth and met with hers almost like a dance. Sarah had considered pulling back at first but was quickly swept away with the passion that she couldn't find the wish or the will to stop even if she hadn't steadily started falling in love with Jareth all over again. Mistrust aside of course.

Soon his hands left her face and started drifting down her body as both of them relaxed into the embrace and clearly unhappy with the set up they currently had Jareth scooped her up as if she were a doll and broke the kiss for a time to take her to the sofa situated in the living room. Placing her down carefully Jareth then kneeled over Sarah and smiled, clearly enjoying the position of power that he was in currently as his limbs formed an iron cage around her. Sarah, still breathing hard from the kiss in the kitchen could feel her heart beating in her ribcage; whether out of fear or excitement she couldn't tell.

Letting his hand slip down the back of her neck, Jareth again pulled her lips up to his as if she was weightless, and sank into yet another passionate kiss while his other started to make its way under her shirt and up to her bra. Sarah's hands, which had been engaged rubbing him back now moved, quickly in human reflex time, to catch the hand under her shirt and placed the other one on his ribcage to let Jareth know there was a problem. Slowly drawing back, clearly annoyed and frustrated Jareth gave her a quizzical look, making it clear that he wanted a very good reason.

The feeling that she was powerless against whatever Jareth wanted returned with a flash of anger and Sarah had to suppress the urge to kick him off her as she said "We are in front of an open window you know?" At this Jareth seemed to consider whether laughing at his own foolishness or ignoring it would be the better action, and to his credit, he chose the first option.

Getting up from the sofa he sighed and with an overly dramatized voice said

"What sort of a gentleman would I be if I seduced the lady before the date, especially in front of an open window?" At this he kneeled before her and offered her his hand. "May I please give my humblest apology and still be allowed to take you out this fine evening?"

Sarah looked down at what she was wearing, basic jeans and t-shirt, hardly dating material to say the least, but if she was going to the labyrinth practicality usually beat fashion where the labyrinth was concerned. Giving an exasperated sigh Sarah took Jareth's hand, pulled him to his feet, kissed him quickly on the lips and dashed into the hallways shouting

"Let me just get my trainers!"

* * *

><p>Here she was again, for the third time, standing in the most glorious garden she had ever seen; Sarah enjoyed brilliant weather, unsure of how much of it was real and how much was Jareth's magic making it look beautiful.<p>

In the clearing just ahead of them her friends sat in a semi-circle chatting. Jareth had given them special rights to the castle garden whenever Sarah came over so that they could talk undisturbed after the last time she had arrived. It wasn't the fact that the goblins hated her, it was the opposite problem, the goblins loved her, they wanted to be around her consistently and competed for her attention. He had to take her into the castle gardens so that she was able to spend time with the four friends she had made in the Labyrinth. _She would make a great Goblin Queen. _Jareth soon swatted the thought away; his revenge plan had no space for making her his queen only for her pain and loneliness. He wouldn't be able to believe that she would want to take time out from seeing him to also see those four commoners, but he could tell from her emotions that she wanted to. The bond that the two of them shared as a result of her eating the fruit was still there and growing stronger each time they met. He could feel all of her emotions across it, her frustration, her anger, her sadness, and her growing love for him…

A part of him wanted to let his love reach out and touch hers, to let their hearts become intertwined into one, but he couldn't let himself, he would lose his position of current control if he did, something he couldn't afford to do.

Bringing his mind back to the present Jareth pulled Sarah into him and whispered in her ear 'I'll come and collect you in two hours, have fun.' Giving her a peck on the lips he walked off and let them be alone, he would have the whole of tonight.

* * *

><p>Sarah found herself laughing harder than she had for a very long time, at the moment, life was perfect. She wanted to freeze time right here right now and not move on from this moment.<p>

"My lady?" Shocked out of her reverie Sarah turned towards Sir Didymus and gave him a smile. "Sorry Didymus, what did you say?" With a gentle smile the old fox repeated the question.

"I was commenting on how cheerful my fair lady has been looking recently, but pray tell, were you contemplating just then?"

"Ah, I was just thinking about how perfect life was at this moment, I'd like to stop time just here."

"But that is not the way you should live life my lady!" Exclaimed the old fox loudly, causing the other two members of the group to take an interest.

"My Lady, each moment is precious, and some moments are perfect, but you should never wish to spend the rest of your life in one of them. If you did you may never fight the battle which would lead to a more perfect moment! Remember it in the hardest of fights dear maiden but don't stay in it. Life is still waiting there to be grabbed, so don't remain in one moment and not bother to grab another." This earned him stares from the entire group as they looked on in wonder.

"Wow Sir Didymus, thanks for the wise words." Sarah forced out, still partially suffering from shock.

"When did you become a philosopher?" Hoggle asked begrudgingly, annoyed because he felt as if Sir Didymus had told Sarah that she shouldn't stay with them.

"Good Sir, I am not a philosopher! I am a courageous knight! And so is my Lady! If my lady were to never enter another battle she could never win another battle and say she had won over a hundred but laugh, the concept of her fighting another battle like the one she had fought in the Goblin Kingdom seemed so remote that impossible was a more reachable goal.

"Sarah not fight. Fight not good." Fixing her eyes on the big lovable monster in front of her, Sarah went over and hugged him.

"It's alright Ludo, I don't think I'll be fighting anymore." Sir Didymus seemed ready to open his mouth to argue the point but exactly at that moment Jareth appeared and offered her his hand.

"I'm sorry to break up the party, but Sarah's dinner awaits." The mischievous smile was there again.

Casting an apologetic glance to the rest of her friends Sarah made her goodbyes and allowed Jareth to take her hand and lead her into the goblin castle.

* * *

><p>Primrose stepped on to the dangerous streets of America with the intention of seeing Felix this week; he was a sports jockey who talked about sex, football, and video games. That was his world. Primrose didn't care for him, but he was perfect for the mood she was in. Primrose had broken her own rule and indulged in memories that should have remained behind closed doors, she knew better than to give in to such fantasies of what could have been. She didn't know why today she had, but she had, and now she needed a sexual relation that she could take part in which was meaningless on both sides. In truth the reason why she took so many consorts was to fill the gap in her heart that he had left. How a human could have left such a mark on her Primrose would never know, but her consorts helped fill the hole, to an extent anyway, but on a day like today she needed emptiness to combat longing.<p>

Holding back tears she strode purposefully across the road, only realising that she hadn't put her glamour on just before she knocked on the door. It hadn't taken a lot of inspiration to choose the kind of girl that Felix would go for, peroxide blonde, fake tanned and D-cup breasts. Just as she was about to knock Primrose realised that there were Fae around other than herself. She was being targeted. Cursing her own stupidity for being so enthralled in her own emotion Primrose jumped backwards away from the door and took up a fighting stance in the middle of the street senses on alert. Most Fae wouldn't attack in this world, too close to breaking rule number one, but even so it couldn't hurt to be on her guard. It was unlikely that they were tracking her for innocent reasons.

It was then that a Goblin head appeared from one of the bushes where she had stepped out and then let its whole body step out with its arms up in a supposed sign of peace. Perplexed Primrose watched as four more joined it, all looking at her with a mixture of fear, wonder and pure curiosity. Now suitably confused Primrose cautiously walked towards the Goblins and gave them a quizzical look.

"Is Jareth now sending his lap dogs to come and get me now? What do you want?" Primrose watched with growing impatience as all five of them stared at their feet and shuffled from one foot to another clearly uncomfortable with what they were about to say. Just as she was about to yell at them for wasting her time the other four pushed one of them forward and he began to speak, if a little timidly.

"We need your help." Primrose stared at them wide-eyed.

"Did Jareth send you here?"

"Kingy doesn't know." Now Primrose was more confused than ever.

"What do you want help with?" Primrose felt very vulnerable asking such a loaded question for reasons she couldn't really put her finger on.

"We want help to save kingy from the bad people. We want kingy to be king." Primrose stared at them open mouthed, in wonder. This was the first time she had been asked for help since…

What did she do now?

* * *

><p>Dinner was served on a small but grand table which was a wood similar to mahogany with intricate carvings bordering the entire table and winding down the legs, she almost expected it to carry on into the floor it seemed so life-like.<p>

"Who made the table?" Jareth seemed to be surprised at the question but replied

"The goblins did, we have people of many trades among us even if we are deemed from the outside as useless and incompetent." There was a trace of contempt in his voice and Sarah could understand it, if there were goblins that had such gifting but ignored because of a stereotype, how could they advance? Admittedly the Goblins were stupid, but they were capable of many other things as well, such as compassion, empathy, diligence and most of all what she was beginning to understand was that they had personalities just like people did.

It felt as if she was seated in a place of honour to be on such a small table with Jareth, where she could lean in and kiss him on a whim. This view was only enforced when the first course arrived with a very big glass of wine which was carried in on silver trays by the most beautifully behaved Goblins in the world. She was certain that Jareth must have offered them something invaluable to get them to behave so well. When the first course was sat in front of them Sarah was about to start when she realised the goblin who had served her was staring at her with wide eyes, looking hopeful. Unsure of what action to take she leaned down and patted the goblin on the head and said in a brief unsure tone "Thank you." This seemed to do the trick as the goblin burst into an enormous smile and ran off to the kitchen at a fast pace.

"They love you, you know." Sarah glanced back to see Jareth staring at her with searching blue eyes.

"Why? What did I do?" She was rewarded with one of Jareth's rare affectionate smiles as he replied

"Sometimes all you have to do is earn their respect and be considerate of them, and they would move the world for you."

"When did I earn their respect?" Jareth's smile returned to his usual incredulous one and questioned

"Do you really have to ask?" Sarah giggled at her own silliness.

"Guess not…" And with a lack of anything else to do she placed her fork into the unidentifiable dish in front of her and hesitantly raised it to her lips. All misgivings soon vanished as the she munched the food over in her mouth and was rewarded with a variety of tastes, none of which she could identify but yet all mingled in her mouth leaving the most satisfying experience she could have believed possibly. Glancing up wide-eyed at Jareth she saw that he was observing her with humour.

"What were you expecting? Rotting snails?"

"No! Not rotting snails…. But I didn't expect something so, delicious!"

"If we are capable of the skill and craftsmanship to make this table, wouldn't you believe us capable of something with just as fine a taste in the culinary section?"

"Very true, but I wouldn't expect that human and Goblin tastes were very similar."

"Well now you know." Smiling at each other they spent the remainder of the first course in silence.

* * *

><p>Two courses and several glasses of wine later Sarah and Jareth were laughing like old friends, mainly about the differences between humans and Fae and how their own side was better.<p>

"At least humans aren't scared of metal! We can sit on a park bench without injuring ourselves!"

"I'm still holding that against you." Jareth shot back. "And that is just about the only thing you humans have over us, we have magic, we have super speed, we have super strength AND most of all, we have infinitely better dress sense than you."

At this Sarah almost choked on the wine she was taking a sip of. "Better dress sense?! What on earth are you talking about? You dress like a gay jockey!"

"As opposed to dressing like a commoner?" Jareth replied looking Sarah's form up and down in her jeans and t-shirt.

"If you gave me warning, I would dress appropriately! Besides, how fast ARE you? I've never seen you move faster than the average obese human."

Sarah was sure that she didn't blink, certain in fact, but she hadn't seen Jareth move and yet he was behind her breathing in her ear.

"This fast."


	9. Exploration and surprises

**Chapter 9  
><strong>

Jareth awoke to the rising sun's rays touching his eyelids with a gentle caress, telling the goblin King that dawn had been and gone. Beneath the castle you could hear the regular sounds of a sleepy city waking up. Carts were beginning to move up and down the cobbled streets and goblins were beginning to produce and manufacture goods which could be sold throughout the kingdom. As more of his senses returned Jareth became aware of the fact that he had his arm around something warm which was breathing lightly.

Opening his eyes Jareth drank in the form that was Sarah sleeping naked next to him. It was rare for a Fae to hit such beauty, let alone a human, yet this mere woman managed to hit perfection in a way that most female Fae couldn't achieve. As the events of last night came back to him Jareth couldn't wipe the smirk off his face as he remembered how he had been able to possess Sarah. Last night she had been his and his alone, bending to his will as her sexual desires had overcome all other aspects of her personality that would never have allowed it otherwise. He had given her a pleasure that she had never known, and through it all, finally, Sarah had been completely his. How long he had dreamed for that moment!

The bond had grown stronger as well; the close contact and emotion involved in last night had only served to increase its strength. If he wasn't careful Sarah would start being able to identify it too, which he would have to be careful of. It was a good thing though, his plan depended on it.

Aware of the pair of eyes on her Sarah stirred from her position in his arms and looked around wide-eyed as she realised she was in Jareth's personal bed chamber. When her eyes met Jareth's she relaxed a little and nudged closer into his embrace before settling down again, thus giving her silent consent to be wrapped in his arms and drawn next to his warm body. Happy with the contact Jareth closed his eyes and allowed himself some comfort before he moved from his bed, he didn't want to have to face the questions that would now be posed to him today about everything.

Try as he might though, there were things now which nagged him, an uncertainty in his heart which refused to let him rest completely, because now Jareth faced a dilemma. He had finally got what he wanted (and felt he should have had all along). Sarah was now his, but his heart wavered between his desire to love her and his desire for revenge. He wanted to give his complete and utter love and devotion to Sarah, he wanted to let himself truly love her as he wanted to, but the past held him back. She had refused him, dealt him an insult which could not be undone. He should have been her first time, her one and only. Yet she had thrown everything he had offered back in his face and left him to save one insignificant mortal boy and to add insult to injury given herself to a scum of a man who shouldn't have been fit to touch her shoes. These were crimes he could never forgive her for.

He wanted to punish her so dearly that she begged for his mercy, which he would of course give_…after a time_. Jareth also knew that part of his anger came from the fact that she was partially to blame for the current crisis he was now facing with the council. Sarah had thrown his world into complete turmoil.

However, above everything else, the ultimate thought that had refused to leave him night or day whenever he was conscious, regardless of all things, Sarah was mortal. Sarah's life was finite. Ever since Jareth met her she had been his world, his life, his all. She had filled the empty space which had occupied his heart for centuries, whether it was with love, anger, hatred, sadness or hope. She filled it. The thing that Jareth feared the most was to be in a world where her presence wasn't obtainable. What Jareth wished for, more than anything else in this world was for Sarah to be Fae, to be immortal. Because how could he live if she wasn't there? How could he have let himself become so dependent on this _one damn human_! She was under his skin, like a virus he couldn't get rid of. How could the death of a human be the scariest concept he ever faced? Even scarier than losing his kingdom. His kingdom he could get back, once Sarah passed beyond his reach, no matter what he tried he knew. No form of magic could ever bring someone back from the dead.

Shaking his head Jareth tried to actively swat away the thoughts; he had to be focussing on today. Today he was going to face the council.

* * *

><p>Sarah returned to her world late Saturday night. Jareth had insisted on seeing her back through the portal although it was highly unnecessary, she knew the process now, besides she could tell that there was business he had to deal with today. They had re-entered her front room and kissed gently before Jareth quickly departed back to his own world. Only when she was sure he was gone did Sarah sink to the floral pattern carpet on the floor in despair. <em>I just don't know. <em>Her emotions felt as if a rake had been pulled across them, tearing them up, disturbing the air; it was all unsettled, it was all _wrong. _

Her emotions, views, concepts were all at war, a war which was threatening to consume her insides completely. She was falling for Jareth, and she was falling for him badly. But there was a part of him which hated her, which wanted to see her suffer; burn and beg. She knew it, she would have to be an idiot not to see it. The odd sarcastic remark, the scathing glance, the silent darkness of contempt moving behind his eyes, it let her know that there were some wounds in Jareth which hadn't been healed. Whether that was because they couldn't or because Jareth wouldn't let them she didn't know. A part of her wanted to run away, far, far away and hide in a hole, it would be useless of course, Jareth would come after her, find her and then lock her in a place where she couldn't escape. That was the most daunting concept of all, she had no choice in it. It was only luck that she felt a similar way. How could she not though? At all other times Jareth was devoted to her, he teased her, challenged her, enraged her, frustrated her and most of all cared for her. If she genuinely asked for it with all her heart Sarah was fairly sure that if it was within his power Jareth would grant it. Last night had been a catalyst though, last night had changed everything. She had felt how much Jareth loved her for the first time, and she didn't know how she knew, but she knew. She was certain. But, now he would regard her as his and his alone, she was now his human, challenging anyone who touched her. That would make it much harder to run away if she stopped loving him, or had no wish to be involved with the Fae world anymore, Jareth would follow her like blood hounds after a fox.

Not that she particularly wanted to run away at this moment, last night definitely made best night of her life and she didn't want to have to give way to all the thoughts churning round in her head like a cement mixer, but some she couldn't ignore. What if Jareth's need for revenge outweighed his love for her? What if she grew to hate him but when the revenge was over he insisted on making her his queen? All these 'What ifs?' The thing that worried Sarah the most now was that she couldn't run away, even if she tried, she was Jareth's pet. When things had gotten bad with Sam Sarah had run away, she couldn't do that now. But was that a bad thing? It was if Jareth cheated.

And most of all, the thought that kept nagging and nagging at her, always there, never satiated. She was mortal. Jareth was immortal. They stood on two sides of a line. If she did stay with Jareth she would grow old and eventually perish, he would stay still, frozen in time. How long would it be before Jareth exchanged her in for a newer model? Or for an immortal? How much pain would that cause her? Would she be able to bare it? Could she get out now even if she wanted? The brutal fact of the matter was that Sarah had no interest in living forever. And that was the only concept that Jareth faced. Besides, no magic in the world could change a human into a Fae. It was written in the genes.

Wiping the tears from her eyes Sarah stood up resolutely and sighed. In truth there was nothing she could do, this was one of those times where nature had to take its course and you had to pray the final destination was somewhere good. _And_ hopefully the ride wasn't too bumpy.

* * *

><p>The council manor was as grand as Jareth remembered: the meeting chamber with its hollow dome like quality and twelve seats in a semicircle where they discussed business and met with Primrose. The conference room which again contained twelve seats in a semicircle but this time with one individual seat bravely stood alone facing them all. It was an intimidation technique for anyone being interrogated by the council (it worked) and finally the only other room of the manor he had seen, the council chamber.<p>

By far the grandest room he had ever seen it seated over one hundred Fae (spectators and Jurists alike) in benches all facing diagonally one after the other on either side to the centre of the room. The benches formed an aisle in the middle of them, a walk of fame if you would, or a walk of shame. In the centre of the room there was a mosaic of fire with three places to stand. The three points formed an equilateral triangle with the top point standing directly in front of the twelve seated semicircle which signified the council seats. The two bottom points stood parallel to each other two metres away from the original. If there was no-one who wished to challenge you for your kingship, you justified yourself on the first point. If someone challenged you, you stood on the left of the two parallel points, signifying you as the current ruler. The person who the council decided in favour of to rule would then step forward to the original point. There were also two waiting rooms, one on either side of the chamber, the only rooms in the building which had doors to prevent people from listening in. When the jury was deciding which way they would vote (anonymously of course) the king and the challenger would wait in these cold marble rooms for the final decision on ruler.

This would be the first time in almost a century that Jareth would have to stand on the left point, and the idea didn't settle well with him. Taking a deep breath Jareth went through what he was going to say, he HAD to get this right. The shining marble glimmered back almost as if it was taunting him, it was the same earth marble in every room, it made up the chairs, the walls, the archways, literally everything. The thing that made it shine was the number of spells and runes placed on it to allow absolute secrecy of the manor location and what went on inside it. In human terms this place was fort nox, right down to the number of powerful Fae guards surrounding it.

Jareth had entered the manor via an invitation scroll as he had done many times before. When his presence was required the scroll would appear in front of him, wherever he was, and then he would place his thumb over the seal, insert his magic signature and if the two collaborated he was transported to the manor, if not…well it wasn't a savoury outcome.

Jareth stood at the end of the aisle, two hundred eyes on him and his challenger next to him. Twelve cloaks formed a ring of darkness at the end of the passageway and Jareth found himself praying to whichever stars were listening for his success. His challenger stood on his right but Jareth didn't look at them, he would find out who wanted his throne soon enough.

"The next item on the agenda is the matter with regards to the ruler of the goblin kingdom. The defending king and current ruler Jareth will defend his title against a challenger for the throne. He is charged with weakness in his kingdom by letting a human female through and thus his suitability to rule is in question." This was Jareth's signal to walk toward his position in front of the council and take his place in the point of fire.

"Jareth's challenger is Erunaye, a young noble from the Fae citadel, his home is situated around the northern border." Jareth puzzled over the name, he didn't know it so he would have to look at this character to eye him up. When he heard the challenger take his place upon the point parallel to him they turned to face each other. Jareth was dismayed to say the least.

This Fae was not goblin king material, he was meek, the worst thing you could be. His whole persona was based around making himself smaller and less noticeable in a room; his appearance was insignificant by human standards with mousey brown hair, a plain face and petite physique. It was probably his power hungry Fae mother who put him up to it, regardless though, this Fae would not last ten minutes in the goblin kingdom.

"Jareth, you may begin your defence." Jareth took a deep breath in preparation, thinking of how he needed to come across in his speech, cocky and confident definitely, but what he needed to do, above all, was avoid insulting the council.

"Honourable council members, good members of the jury." With this Jareth gave a sweeping bow to each of them in turn, humility was the best approach to take at the beginning.

"I come before you to prove my worthiness of continuing as King over the Goblin Kingdom. The first item I am charged with is the fact that a mere human mortal, a _girl_ managed to beat the labyrinth and I let her go free of charge. The second being that Fae are starting to believe this feeble Fae standing to my side would be a better ruler than I. I assure that both accounts are false." This caused a ripple of murmurs among the Jury. "Yes, a mere _girl_ did get through the labyrinth, but did she beat it? Certainly not. You see the human girl running the Labyrinth at the time had help to get through the labyrinth. You see she had the ability, as most human girls do to wrap _lesser_ beings around her finger and bid them to do her will. Thus she employed the help of four very idiotic creatures in the kingdom to guide her through, and succeeded in winning back the child that was taken. Admittedly I could have stopped her at any point, but when I realised that she had a chance of getting through curiosity overcame me. I wanted to know what would happen if she won. So I kept a careful watch over her in the measly human activities which she partook in and discovered that the magic she had been subjected to in the labyrinth had no effect on her at all with regards to memory or physical capability." This appealed to the scientists who studied human behaviour in the jury; it was a finding they would have spent ears agonizing over.

"I considered killing the girl after she went back to her own world, but have decided to let her live for as long as she is of scientific value and will report my findings when the final interesting details of her behaviour have been categorised." There was again another ripple from the jury but this sounded like one of approval. Not wanting to lose the advantage he had just gained Jareth continued quickly.

"Now as for me being challenged for kingship by…" Jareth paused for affect as he looked the Fae up and down who seemed to be trying to make himself smaller and smaller with each passing second.

"…Erunaye here. To rule the goblins you need to have a firm hand, you need to not hesitate in anything that you would do, any punishment you would dish out. You need to know how to get the best out of them; many of you will have furniture or medicines made from the goblins in my kingdom."

_Best not mention the spy network. _

"But most of all, what the goblins need is a master that they _respect. _Someone who will prank them back. Someone who will make quick decisions. Someone who can keep the kingdom together when everything else has gone to stars." Jareth finished his speech in a booming voice with final sentence. "The Fae you see in front of you today is not someone who can carry out that role. Whereas _I_ have already proved that I can." Taking a deep breath Jareth returned to his position on the fire mosaic. It was possibly the best speech he had ever made.

"Thank you Jareth, Erunaye due to popular opinion you will not be required to make a speech today, we will now retire to allow the jury to reach a conclusion." Jareth couldn't help but let his jaw drop, he had been counting on a bad speech by Erunaye to prove his point. No-one had ever been denied a speech by popular opinion before; he didn't know it was possible. There was even an unsatisfied mutter through the jury as this decision was announced. It may have been that what Erunaye said would have made no difference to their opinions, but it made Jareth very uncomfortable. Unable to argue with the council he retired to an isolated waiting room to his left while Erunaye retired to the one on the right. Why did Jareth feel he was about to take a long walk before the firing squad?

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it! Pleasee comment and review, next chapter by friday!<strong>


	10. Honesty

**Chapter 10**

Jareth stood before the twelve black cloaks with an immense feeling of foreboding settled deep within the pit of his stomach. Whichever way this went he was now absolutely certain that it would not be as easy as the initial path would suggest, the council were up to something, and he didn't know what he could do about it. After analysing the decisions of the councils in the past century Jareth was starting to see a pattern, the decisions they made wouldn't ever be classed as idiotic or wrong, but they always seemed to choose the way which wouldn't be the best for peace. They had done it so subtly for so long that it was only as he faced the loss and ruination of his kingdom that he realised what was going on. They were like domino pieces being set up in this one big picture, and when everything was in place, all it would need was one push. But what were they doing? What was the ultimate aim? He couldn't be sure. The council still had to abide by the jury vote, so Jareth in theory could still reclaim kingship, but then he would have to be walking on eggshells, watching the shadows. Alternatively if he lost the crown he would be able to move beneath the radar, he wouldn't be being watched… He would have to see what fate the stars handed him.

He wasn't alone in this feeling of foreboding apparently as he realised that there was a vibration coming through the floor from Erunaye who was trembling in fear. Jareth could understand the anxiety, pawn pieces were very easy to kill and replace without notice.

The deep voice that seemed to represent doomsday then began to speak. "Jareth, after careful discussion and close analysis of your argument on the rights to kingship, and taking the Jury's votes into account we have decided…" Jareth closed his eyes in preparation for what was to come, he was about to lose his crown. Instead of defeat his ears were met with the sound of murmuring and argument and as Jareth opened his eyes and turned around he took in the site which was Primrose stood there in her true form with five goblins at her heels.

* * *

><p>Jareth stared in shock and fear as the only thought he could come up with is <em>This is a dream, PLEASE let it be a dream, Oh stars if you grant me anything today please grant me this one wish that there aren't goblins in the council chamber.<em>

Their arrival had caused an eruption among the Jury members; no council meeting had ever been interrupted in such a way and by goblins of all things, no-one knew how to react, should they be thrown out? Primrose had brought them in, hadn't she swore allegiance to the council?

"Primrose." The monotonous voice of the council spoke out. "What is the meaning of this?" Even though the council voices were enchanted to sound completely monotonous you could sense the anger that was coming from the semi-circle.

The smirk Primrose wore was one of triumph, the air around her shimmered and her hair had literally become liquid silver. Her skin had paled to white snow and she took strides up the aisle so long that the goblins literally had to run to keep up with her. When she spoke her voice took on an unnaturally high quality and everything around her oozed authority. If she had called the Jury members to rally to her they would have.

"Dear members of the council." Her voice dripped with contempt. "I am abiding by code 34 Chapter 23 of the book of the law which _states _that any member of the kingdom of which the defending King is from may appear before the court to testify how good the old King was and decide whether the new king would be better suited for the role." This sentence was met with silence. "Furthermore in a situation such as this the anonymous vote is overruled and the Jury launch a new vote in full view of the council. It was a law put in place by the old council so that any person as part of a kingdom could have a say, but it has been forgotten over the years. However I am sure the council and several members of the Jury are all aware of this rule." At this there were nods of agreement throughout the Fae sitting on the benches. "Now may the first goblin come to make his speech at the triangle centre; please address the Jury." No-one dared move, no-one dared contradict her, she was abiding by council law so there was no reason to arrest her, all the council could do was stand back and watch with increasing fury.

Jareth and Erunaye stared opened mouth unabashedly as the first goblin, one he knew from the carpentry industry hesitantly moved forward to take the circle and defend Jareth. The little goblin with a rat like face and plump body plodded to the centre of the triangle sand slumped down to face the Jury. Jareth cursed himself for not having taught his goblins a little court etiquette; in his defence he had never thought there would be a need to. After nervously tugging the tattered scarf around his neck the goblin began.

"Kingy, has always been very mean and very ruthless king. Many harsh punishments." Jareth resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. _Whose side were they on?_ "But because kingy is ruthless goblins obey. Less crime, less chaos, more fun, more laughter. He knows everyone by looking at them, and I now can make wooden carvings. Get to sell them." The goblin said this with a big smile and Jareth was in danger of becoming sentimental at this moment; a goblin had just defended him in the high court. This was the weirdest day of his life.

The next one to come up was Hoggle much to his surprise, but as he passed Hoggle whispered "For Sarah, not for you." Then subsequently took his position in the centre of the triangle.

"Now Jareth aint the most compassionate king we've had, neither is he the most fun, but he's a good king. And this weasel over here wouldn't last three seconds in the goblin kingdom, they'd eat him!" Erunaye seemed ready to faint he was so scared. "And yeah a girl got through the labyrinth, and I helped her. She was my friend." Jareth tensed, waiting for the courts reaction, to be friends with a human girl? Most Fae would see that as being friends with a rat, not socially acceptable or agreeable, but they seemed more intent on hearing what Hoggle had to say. "I was scared of Jareth, and even left her a few times because of it, but she got through the labyrinth because she had something none of the others had. Courage, and smarts, it would have only taken somebody like her to get through the labyrinth, someone who had the _right_ to win." At this Hoggle removed himself from the centre and took his place by the other goblins. He had always been blunt and straight to the point.

The three other goblins came up and said their piece one by one, they had obviously been chosen for how well they could behave and how brave they were as they would have to talk to the jury. One thing Jareth couldn't understand though; was what Primrose was doing. Why was she helping them?

When the last Goblin had returned to his position by Primrose, everyone turned to look at the council waiting for what they would do.

They were stuck and everyone knew it. Primrose had obeyed according to the Law to turn it completely to a Jury vote, without their input, they couldn't overrule the Jury because there would be an uproar but Primrose had just undermined their authority. It didn't matter if they had been going to decide in Jareth's favour, because now it had been taken out of their hands.

Eventually the council spoke. "In accordance with Code 34 members of the Jury please rise." Everyone rose. "Those of you who wish for the Old King Jareth to remain in the Goblin Kingdom with the same title raise your hand." Every Jury members hand rose.

"It is decided, Jareth, you will remain Goblin King until the next council meeting where you may be challenged again." It was a loaded statement. "Erunaye, you will return home until the next council meeting where you may try again for the Kingship." The boy almost seemed to sag in relief when he realised he was going home. What was that Fae doing here? The both of them bowed, exited the triangle and began to walk up the aisle. Before Jareth stepped through the portal he turned back and bowed his head to Primrose, he couldn't deny that he owed her one. He also motioned for the Goblins to follow him through; a celebration would be in order when they got home. To _his _kingdom.

* * *

><p>The council chamber was empty except for Primrose and the twelve council members in those hooded cloaks she so hated. In truth something had snapped in Primrose, something that had been very tender and very thin and under a lot of strain had snapped. Her family came from a history of serving the council; they had all had servant hearts and lived to work for the council. But she had hated it. She hated being ordered around by Fae more ignorant than herself, she hated being the councils lackey and mop; her position had used to be respected and sort after, now it was reviled and ridiculed. That was because the council had lost the respect, their decisions were no longer the right ones, but who could change the council? The election was so secret and no normal Fae even knew when a change over occurred, but Primrose felt that it was time to change. The system was starting to fail. The final straw had been what had been asked of her twenty-five years ago, the wound hadn't become any less fresh; every time she remembered that day she cried. She hated the council with every fibre of her being.<p>

"Primrose, would you care to explain your act of treason to us today?"

"Act of treason? I was abiding by the Old law written by _your_ elders, how can such a thing be an act of treason?"

"You directly went against the council's wishes; that was one of the Old laws, yes, but we wanted it written out from history, it has no place in the new world."

"So the voices of the creatures of each kingdom have no right to be heard? That chapter was put in place to prevent council corruption at times such as these."

"Be careful with your tongue servant."

"No! I will not be an obedient lap dog to a corrupt system."

"Perhaps we should pay a visit to your mistake? That would make you more obedient."

"I will not let any of you go within 5miles of her, and I will use any force necessary."

Silence emanated throughout the whole chamber and Primrose's guard instantaneously went up, magic was being used, this was turning into a fight. And although it was true that no normal Fae could use magic in the building, council members and Fae linked with the council had complete freedom from this rule.

Primrose drew her own magic to her, letting it flow through her muscles and her silver hair as it began to shine white hot with pure energy. _One Vs. twelve. Not great odds. _Then the fight began.

* * *

><p>When Jareth had gotten back there had been kingdom wide rejoicing. The goblins had related the tale of how they had wanted to keep Jareth on the throne and one of the goblins who had read up on the old law (Coincidentally a book stolen from his library) had read up on chapter 23, so they had gone in search of Primrose. As it turned out one of his more inquisitive goblins who had been running around the human world had seen Primrose change into glamour and go to a human. As a result they had waited at that humans' house for her to appear and then asked for her help as it was required by law to do so. Overall this had taken a month of planning and blind luck to come into fruition, and Jareth couldn't help but feel indebted to his goblins, when a crisis had come they had stood together to help him stay on the throne. He had honoured the five goblins (or four and Hoggle depending on how you looked at it) each with a house in the most beautiful area of the city and had declared a kingdom wide holiday where no-one was allowed to be sober and all the drink came from the castle. Tonight everything was on Jareth.<p>

Music emanated from every part of the kingdom, and there was dancing. Even Kuna, his oldest friend had arrived for the party upon hearing his victory over the council.

Kuna was as tall as Jareth was, but with a stockier build and chopped black hair, he almost looked like a biker, in fact, dress him in leathers and he would be.

However Kuna's preferred outfit of choice was the most fantastic red shirt Jareth had ever seen plus black leggings fitting with his hair. Overall he looked like someone from strictly come dancing.

Jareth had been tempted to invite Sarah, but in the end decided against it, he wanted to spend time with Kuna to catch up and with his subjects which he hadn't done in too long.

The merriment lasted for well over 24hours human time and by the end only Jareth and Kuna were able to stand (and that was barely), so they stumbled back through the castle breaking nearly every door they came across while attempting to open it delicately and laughing about old times while hanging on to each other for support. Eventually they made it to Jareth's room and collapsed on his bed in fits of raucous laughter.

Taking a deep breath Kuna turned to Jareth. "Which human have you been sharing a bed with you dirty old Fae?" Jareth gave Kuna a sly smile and replied "Sarah if you must know, and I'm old in mind, not body." At this Jareth raised his eyebrows silently indicating to just how good he was in the bedroom, however he noticed that Kuna's eyes had narrowed.

"Not Sarah, Sarah? The one who got through the labyrinth, rejected you, made you look like an idiot, who you're connected to by magic even if she hasn't realised it and who you've been obsessing over for nine years now? That Sarah?" Jareth was insulted.

"I've not been obsessing over her for nine years! She's just a human, and I intend to punish her for the insult that she dealt me, I'm just having a bit of fun along the way." At this Kuna groaned and pulled himself off the bed.

"It's revenge every time with you isn't it? What insult has she dealt you?"

"She refused my hand and then went off with a rat of a human before I'd come back for her. That's the insult she dealt me!"

Kuna stared at Jareth in absolute disbelief as Jareth's true stubbornness, stupidity and childishness became incredibly apparent before him.

"You're punishing her, basically, because she didn't wait for you. That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it? She didn't wait for me. I was the most important thing to ever happen to her, I showed her this world, offered her everything and she denied it! Then to top it all she gives herself to a human scumbag! I have every right to seek revenge!" Jareth had growled out these words in absolute confidence but he was noticeably uncomfortable under Kuna's judging gaze.

"Jareth, she may have said the words which got her out of the kingdom, but that was to save her brother!"

"And how is her brother more important than I am?"

Holding in yet another groan of exasperation Kuna compensated by letting a touch of annoyance enter his voice. "Jareth if yours and Sarah's position were reversed and you were trying to save me, what would you have chosen?" And finally, finally, Jareth understood. Determined not to be completely made a fool of still continued the argument.

"She still left and never called for me again. She just completely forgot about it because it was easier for her, and on top of that she gave herself to a human!" This time Kuna did groan.

"For the love of stars Jareth! You dropped her back in the human world with no contact, no magic, and no evidence of any of it ever having happened. You even stopped the friends she had made here getting in touch with her. To have nothing to base it on in a disbelieving world is a lot to ask for even the most faithful of people in the human world!"

Jareth went to counter him but Kuna cut him off and carried on with his berating rant. "And as for her giving herself to a human, how long had she been in the human world with no closure? About ten to fifteen years? You do realise that's about fifteen per cent of a human's life span don't you? Would you honestly take a vow of celibacy for over fifteen per cent of your life on a dream which may not be real or come true?"

Jareth's fixed stare on the floor was all the answer he needed.

"Get a clue Jareth." And with that Kuna left the grand chamber to find a guest room of his own for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this took so long to get up, life got in the way, it will probably be another week before the next but I hope that the wait was worth it. Please comment and review!<strong>


	11. Shifts

**Chapter 11**

Primrose crouched in a battle stance in front of the semi-circle of twelve breathing heavily. The air was thick with tension and magic and the once grand council chamber was dilapidated from the number of spells that had been fired through the air. It had got to the point where each of the council members (and Primrose) had started using the rubble as projectiles and defence shields. She had even started using her hologram technique to avoid getting hit, and so far it had worked, but her strength was failing her. The battle had gone on for fifteen hours now and neither side had landed a proper blow. However, something that had worked to her advantage, and made this fight possible, was that only three of the council members were moving and attacking her, the rest had just stood there like statues. Primrose had an idea, all she had to do was land one blow and then run, and she would know if her theory was correct. Summoning her reserves she went for it. Making three holograms of herself Primrose then apparated at the same time, hoping that if she had done it with a fast enough speed the council wouldn't see her plan. The holograms were designed to dodge attacks, they would keep the council busy for the time period that she needed. She had teleported herself to behind one of the hooded black cloaks and slid her knife into his back (with a deep sense of satisfaction in the process), and was met with equal amounts of dismay and elevation as she realised that her theory was correct. No she hadn't stabbed a council member, she'd stabbed cloth and magic which now fell to the floor in a heap. There were less than twelve council members and if she'd got it right there were only three, the rest of the cloaks were only puppets.

It was short-lived, as a searing pain invaded her shoulder from one spell which had finally hit the mark. The council members must have been getting tired too judging by the fact that they had missed an open shot on her heart. Crying out in pain the holograms vanished and Primrose tried to move fast to avoid the next one hitting the mark, she couldn't go through a portal while they were close to her in case they followed her through.

Despite losing a vast amount of blood Primrose managed the feat of standing up and the even more impressive task of moving, keeping ahead of all the spells that the council were throwing at her, waiting for her shoulder to heal and for an opening to occur. Ten minutes later it came, with her shoulder almost fully healed Primrose decided it was time to take this fight up one more level, they were getting nowhere at this one. They were too evenly matched. Primrose wasn't an idiot the council weren't at full potential either; everyone was trying to avoid it. That's why this match had lasted nine hours, but it couldn't be helped. She pulled her enchanted Katana from her hair, (the real reason why she was called liquid silver), deflected the lighting strike, sliced through the next one, ducked under the third and thrust her sword through the stomach of the council member in front of her. This time sword connected with flesh and bone and there was a satisfying blood spurt as she hit two vital organs. The council member gargled and tried to pull themselves off the sword, but deciding to use it to her advantage Primrose twisted the blade, changing the angle, flipped around their side and caused the cloaked figure to take the force of the next spell aimed at her, knocking them out. Slipping back round to the other side she withdrew the sword from their belly, apparated to behind the next one and thrust the sword through his throat while working a paralysis poison into his back. As number two fell to the ground Primrose looked up to the third one with a feral expression, she was now covered with blood spatter and her Katana was thirsty for more, she could feel the blade quivering beneath her grip.

She started at a fast pace towards the third, Katana creating a groove along the floor where she was dragging it, letting the sound of steel on stone emanate throughout the chamber. The council member seemed to have lost his spine and started attempting to jump through a portal. However, not letting her prey escape that easily Primrose reached through, grabbed him and yanked him back so that he was on the floor before her. The Katana was at his throat before he could even start to scramble, slowly, she let the blade rip though his cloak dispelling any of the magic imbued in it. Before her was a Fae with cold green eyes, giving her a look of defiance. His hair seemed to have been dyed with blood and cut short with a sword stroke as opposed to any form of styling with scissors. "Bitch." He spat at her and again Primrose's sword found itself to her throat.

"I would _love _to kill you, you and the other two sorry assholes currently messing up the floor over there. BUT, this world can't be without a council and I can't run this alone. So make no mistake, you are only alive because I allow you to be."

She was about to walk away until she saw the look in his eyes, those cold green eyes gleaming with malice. "Have a parting gift from me." Primrose whispered before thrusting the katana into his right eye. Primrose walked out of a portal with the sounds of agony at her back. It was a shame she hadn't been able to kill any of them. She wasn't an idiot though, the only reason that had been so easy is because she had been too fast to let the other three power up to the next level, after all her Katana had only been out for sixteen seconds. She was walking away from the easiest chance she would ever have to kill them.

Primrose stepped out of the council chambers and into the conference room of the goblin kingdom, she let her sword become part of her hair again, changed back to her usual Fae form and collapsed.

It would take a while for her to recover from this.

* * *

><p><em>Two months later…<em>

Jareth and Kuna sat across from Primrose, all staring at each other with same intensity. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Excruciatingly slowly Jareth drew a card from his deck and placed it face up, everyone looked down. No match. The tension was instantly relaxed only to become strained again as Primrose went to draw a card from her deck, you couldn't break eye contact until the card was placed on the table, not even for a nanosecond. The card was placed on the table…everyone looked down. Primrose flinched and Jareth moved in response. No match, the cards were Kuna's. Kuna through the first card of his deck down and then it was Jareth's turn again. He drew the card while keeping eye contact, the card hit the table, they looked down, match. The two cards flared up and became the monster that they represented (in this case a mini orc), and started to run. Instantly everyone moved, Jareth drew his throwing dagger, Primrose drew a small shuriken and Kuna prepared a fireball. All of them threw their weapons at the same time but Jareth's hit its target first. As the monster shrank back in to its card form Jareth went over, pulled out his throwing knife and said "Snap" with an extreme sense of satisfaction.

* * *

><p>Primrose had taken up residency in Jareth's kingdom after the incident with the council had occurred. A nationwide search was taken up calling for her arrest and murder so she was now hiding out in the goblin kingdom, the last place the council would probably look for her. It didn't matter if they did come looking for her though, primrose could open and close a portal quicker than she could throw a shuriken. Common sense had dictated Jareth to wait for Primrose to wake up and hear her side of the story before he did turn her in, besides his court physicians had learnt a lot from studying Primrose's anatomy. Once Primrose had awoken Jareth had demanded an instantaneous explanation, which she gave in satisfactory detail. Instantly Jareth had contacted Kuna and the three of them had discussed the situation.<p>

They couldn't expose the council, the underground had been based on that system for way too long to have an overruling occur, everyone had unanimously gone along with the councils decisions, they were the strongest and the wisest. Except now they weren't.

"How has this even happened?" Asked Kuna sceptically when he had first heard the account.

"It has to have been in the times of the last war." Replied Primrose assuredly. "The twelve shod their cloaks, revealed their identities and joined the fight for peace; it was due to them joining the fight that this side won."

"So you are saying at the time of the last great war, the ENTIRE twelve council members were defeated and replaced?" Kuna remained cynical.

"Not necessarily, it could have been one council member defeated and replaced, and then they could run a series of assassinations and replacement of two council members secretly. After that you could surprise the rest of the council members in a three on one situation and it would be game over." Primrose nodded in satisfaction at this explanation.

"No, there are too many loop holes for that to have worked." This time it was Jareth. "For starters Primrose I am fairly sure you would notice a series of assassinations, the number of portals being used would have been, well…insane, and even in a three on one situation the council members could have easily held their own if they were imposters that jumped in. Maybe poison?" He looked at Primrose quizzically but she shook her head in response.

"The council members aren't meant to reveal themselves to each other; if they abided by that rule poisoning would be impossible without an enchanted blade or spell."

Jareth sat down with an exasperated sigh. "What do we do now then?" Silence emanated from the table, in truth, none of them knew. All they could do was wait and see what happened.

* * *

><p>Jareth gave himself one final glance over before stepping into the human world to go on a date with Sarah. As a treat they were going out in her world, and he was dressed in a suit and tie, a combination he found distinctly uncomfortable, but even Jareth admitted that he pulled off the look quite well.<p>

"You're insistent upon this aren't you?" Inwardly Jareth sighed, he didn't mind that primrose had currently taken up residence in his castle; she pulled her own weight and didn't get in the way of things. However she had developed an unhealthy obsession about his and Sarah's relationship and consistently questioned Jareth as to whether it was a good idea. By this time he was just finding it tiring.

"Yes I am."

"Even if she's mortal and will die soon?"

"Even though she's mortal yes."

"Jareth bad things will happen for both you and her if you let this continue, things that you can't comprehend."

Sighing outwardly Jareth turned to face Primrose. "If you have an exact reason as to why I should not court Sarah, or a very specific idea of what will happen please by all means let it be known to me, otherwise please keep your attention focussed on your own human concubines." He and Primrose stared at each other in fury.

"What is it about this relationship that irks you so? Makes you so angry? Do you want Sarah for yourself?" Again he was met with a cold stare.

"I'm going to be late." And after muttering this Jareth jumped through the portal.

Primrose let out a sigh. She couldn't reason with Jareth, she would have to try the only other route available to her.

* * *

><p>Dinner tasted very good for human food and it had been worth to take Sarah out to a fancy joint. Jareth had picked out a dress and sent it for her to wear specifically for tonight. She looked phenomenal in it. He had seen it in one of the goblin tailor shops along the high streets which accommodated the richer Fae who wanted very singular clothing. Jareth had instantly demanded it be bought packaged and sent to his castle where he could give it to her. Sarah had always looked fantastic in green and this dress complemented her figure perfectly using that exact colour. It was a long sleeved velvet material with a high collar on her neck and a V shape formed down her back. Every seam was lined with emeralds and the skirt bottom pooled along the floor accentuating and yet hiding her legs. Jareth had to admit that it felt great walking in with her and have every man stare at Sarah all the while knowing she was taking. Fae women could try every trick they liked in the book to make themselves more beautiful, none of them would ever come close to his Sarah.<p>

"Jareth?" Sarah's tone of voice made him snap out of his reverie and stop admiring her beautiful figure. His eyes found her face and he raised an inquisitive eyebrow, she wanted something.

"Would you be able to stay in the human world tonight?" Seeing the look of shock on his face Sarah tried a back footed approach. "Just 'til tomorrow morning. It would be nice to spend a night with you in this world." Jareth's shock hadn't been the thought of enduring the iron in this world for twenty-four hours. He could stay here for two days if required, it was the fact that Sarah had asked him, Sarah had just asked him to stay, his heart swelled with the feeling of how much he loved her. This could genuinely work, Jareth was starting to see a future with him and Sarah now; they could do it.

Flashing Sarah a cheeky smile his one reply was

"Sure." He could deny her nothing.

* * *

><p>The Goblin king propped himself up on one elbow to survey Sarah's sleeping form. She looked even more beautiful (if that was a possible feat for her) when she was asleep. An air of infectious peacefulness overcame her as well, it was the first time he had been this relaxed in a very long time. Audibly sighing Jareth thought about what he was going to do now.<p>

He thought he'd moved on from everything he had felt for her all those years ago when she had spoken the words of power and never bothered to call on him since. But, laid there, gazing at her now, he came to realise how foolish he had been. He felt everything he had for her before; if nothing else the emotions had been magnified. He had just buried them, under a sea of hatred and resentment, and had left them, praying for them to die away. Now as he sat there he realised that he could no more hurt her than he could himself or his kingdom. Besides with the bond that they shared meant that if he hurt Sarah he would feel the pain just as much himself, that stupid magical bond. What an idiotic idea.

The bond was still strong between them; he could feel it even now when she was unconscious. The bond that had been tied when she took a bite of the fateful peach all those years ago, a bond that allowed him to stay in the iron covered world just that little bit longer as there was magic to sustain him. A bond born of magic was hard to break to begin with, but now there was a physical and even an emotional attachment between them as well...if it carried on like this they might even be able to call to one another, communicate on a basic level.

This would require the formulating of a new plan. Falling back on the feather pillow Jareth stared at the white ceiling while analysing his options. The original plan had been to make a child with her and take it from her at birth. But that was out of the question now; he simply wouldn't be able to do it. Besides he didn't want any child of his to grow up without a mother, it wouldn't be fair.

If he could let Sarah love him as he loved her, then an eternity of happiness would be there forever. _Yet, it wouldn't be an eternity would it? _The words nagged him and Jareth understood their meaning. A mortal laid by his side, not half Fae bereft of magic, not any other form of mythical creature. She was mortal and that meant she wouldn't be around for an eternity. She wouldn't be around for a breath of his life and it killed him to know that there was nothing he could do about it, he couldn't change the stars; you could only hope that they smiled favourably upon you for a time. Even if there was a way to lengthen her life would she want it? Most humans didn't live past seventy and were happy to die at that age; many if given the chance of one extra day of life wouldn't take it.

Lifting his hand up Jareth traced his hand over Sarah's ivory white skin, taking a path from her shoulder down her ribcage, over her hip to her naked thigh and back again. To him every inch of her was perfect and inviting, then, just because he could Jareth kissed her throat affectionately, tracing her collarbone with his fingers. He had waited so long to be able to do that. He couldn't decide what would happen in the future, what mattered was that he enjoyed what happened now.

"Dream of me Sarah." He whispered in her ear before settling down beside her, one arm draped over her naked torso. He couldn't wait until morning when he got to wake up next to her again.

* * *

><p>Jareth and Sarah sat opposite each other at Sarah's dining room table two weeks later, using eye contact with the glaring intensity which would usually belong to two people playing Russian roulette. Two bowls occupied the space between them; one had been half way drained by Sarah before she had given up then endeavour, it was too horrible to eat anymore.<p>

_How did we get here? _Sarah thought to herself as Jareth reached for his own full bowl and began to place the unidentifiable mass in his mouth and swallow. Sarah could see him trying to keep a straight face as the full force of the taste hit the back of his throat. _Oh yeah, pride and competitiveness._

Jareth had tasted worse things in his time, before he'd found a Goblin cook which enjoyed cooking he had basically been served mud and worms every evening. It was in this period that he'd learnt how to cook, but he had decided to leave that little nugget of information out when he and Sarah had initially started the bet, besides it meant he was going to win something he wanted.

The second spoonful came and went and after number three Sarah realised that he might well win this bet, and so decided to make it harder with a bit of input from herself.

"Imagine the putrid slime clinging to your throat, sliding down and clogging your arteries."

Jareth smirked in reply. "Really? My arteries clean themselves out every two hours I believe."

"You believe?"

Jareth shrugged. "I never paid that much attention in Biology."

Then just to prove a point and speed up the process Jareth placed the spoon down, picked up the bowl and swallowed the rest of the foulness in one go. Sarah simply stared at him dumbstruck.

"Why are you so shocked? It's only Heinz Macaroni cheese!"

* * *

><p>Jareth got his reward that afternoon, two hours with Sarah just relaxing on the sofa and enjoying each other's company. He loved feeling her heartbeat next to his chest, but it was so rare to get extended moments like this when he ran a kingdom and Sarah took a PhD, time simply didn't allow it. So now with Sarah falling asleep on his chest with an arm around her waist, Jareth was completely content.<p>

Their perfect moment was ruined when there was a banging on the porch. Sarah jumped from fright and after giving Jareth a puzzled look she detached herself from his embrace on the sofa and went to answer it. To her very unpleasant surprise Sam was stood there a look of determination plastered across his face with a hint of discomfort. Of all the people Sarah did not want to see at her front door at that moment Sam was probably highest.

"Hi." His voice faltered as he saw the look on Sarah's face which said absolutely everything words couldn't and he hastily continued. "My behaviour and cordiality has been appalling to you and I have no right to ask your forgiveness, but if you remember, the date that we were supposed to get married on is coming up and I never cancelled any of it because I always knew we would get back together." He took a pause at this point to catch a breath as he had been talking so fast, but now he saw the opportunity to go slowly he did so. "And I was wondering if you wanted to give this whole thing a try." With this spoken softly he knelt down on Sarah's front porch and produced a delicate box from his jeans pocket which when opened contained the ring he had proposed to her with, so long ago. It hadn't changed, still a thin band of twenty-four carat gold with one diamond placed on it which was surrounded by a silver casing.

Before Sarah could even begin to build up the anger it would take to get Sam off his pathetic knees and off her property Jareth was beside her, one arm casually hung over her shoulders. A simple display of territory and ownership to any guy in the vicinity. Calmly, before either Sarah or Sam could react Jareth had plucked the box from her ex's fingertips and was inspecting the ring with such focus that neither of them dared break it. After about twenty seconds of intense scrutiny a wolfish smirk spread over his face before Jareth removed the ring, snapped the box shut and in one smooth motion and tossed it back to Sam, ring still in hand.

"Tell me, how much did this poor glass imitation cost you? The gold leaf which covers the copper band is very poorly done, the attempt to make iron look like silver is abysmal and glass simply does not shine like a diamond does." Sam was struck dumb with shock as this sentence was vocalised. He didn't even move as the Goblin King dropped the ring on the floor and stamped on it to shatter the glass, his point proven.

"You ask for her forgiveness but you don't even deserve it. You are the lowest of the low and belong in the sewers to share with the rats. It pains me to think that such a beauty was wasted for such a time on someone like you." Jareth spoke the last sentence with finality and triumph clearly present in his voice, and Sarah couldn't help but nod in agreement with him as he said it. She had been so much happier in the past month for which she had been with Jareth than she had ever been with Sam. The latter, getting over the initial surprise that not only did Sarah have a new man in her life, but this man had also embarrassed him in front of Sarah seemed to have found his voice and spat back a retort in full fury

"You're the best she could come up with?! Figures that the smarmy bitch would find someone that looks like he belongs in a freak show, I only came here 'cause I thought I could get a quick lay from the ugly skank, she'll spread her legs for any-" His last sentence was never finished, in a blinding movement Jareth had left Sarah's side and propelled his fist into Sam's cheek, sending him sprawling across the green lawn. Then striding over he grabbed Sam's collar and pulled him to face height before growling at him

"Be careful who you insult in my presence, I will hear no slight directed towards her and no wonder I was able to win her affections so easily, you were one of the easiest acts to follow imaginable." With these true words spoken Jareth dropped the twat and walked with a purposeful stride back towards the house and gave Sarah a reassuring smile. He didn't know why, it just felt appropriate for the occasion, it was possible that he was reassuring her, or maybe he was just looking for clarification that he had made the right assumption and done the right thing. Either way it made him worry inside to be looking for something like that from Sarah, he shouldn't care about her verdict on his actions.

As Jareth made his way across the threshold he also went out of his way to give Sarah a pointed look which she understood instantly. Any boyfriend would need confirmation that you were over an ex-boyfriend who came to the house to propose to you with a fake ring. So as Sam brought himself upright Sarah met his gaze with the full brunt of her fury and stated much more calmly than she felt "You have fifteen seconds to get off my property before I kick you off it."

"Sarah don't be ridic-"

"Fourteen."

"This is Fu-"

"Thirteen." She felt Jareth's reassuring presence behind her, backing her all the way.

"Twelve."

"Bu-"

"Eleven." She tried to put as much malice in her voice as possible but was unsure of how well she was pulling it off. Not that it really mattered; the message was getting clearly across.

"You'll fucking regret this." Sam muttered. He was off her lawn by nine and out of sight by six.

Breathing a sigh of relief Sarah leaned against the door frame and tried to calm down. She had just stood up to Sam, for the first time ever, and it felt good.

She was in such a state of euphoria that she jumped at Jareth's touch as he pulled her into the hallway and roughly pressed her against the wall.

"What th-" was all she could get in before Jareth started kissing her all over her face neck and collarbone.

"Stars, your sexy when your angry." Was his way of explanation.

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><p><strong>So apologies for how late this is, I hope the extra word count makes up for it. And also apologies for how much it jumps about, I found several old extracts and decided to put them in so hope you like them. Please enjoy and review! ^_^<strong>


	12. Shock and Fear

**Hey people! Sorry this took so long but i didn't want to put this chapter up until I could do the sequel within two weeks (You'll see why). Hope you enjoy it and that it was worth the wait!**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 12<span>  
><strong>

Jareth sat on his favourite windowsill and surveyed his kingdom with a sense of hope and glee which hadn't filled his heart in many years. Everything was _perfect_. His kingdom was at peace and the blanket of darkness, depression and recession had lifted like a fog to reveal a city bursting with life and colour. Below him was the sound of a market beginning to open, the sound of early morning bartering and good honest humour.

He closed his eyes to listen to Sarah's steady breathing from the sleeping form occupying the bed behind him. It didn't matter what anyone else thought, she was the most exquisite creature he had ever beheld and he would readily dual anyone who dared contradict him. There was currently a runner coming through the labyrinth as well, they had been in for two hours and hadn't even made it past the outer wall of the labyrinth yet, Jareth would have a new human child to give up for adoption to Fae who were unable to survive the gestation period of an actual child. It was remarkably easy to change a baby from a human to a Fae, when the cells were young they were more adaptable, more accepting of magic and able to accept the re-written DNA code that magic gave them. _It's a whole different story with human adults though… _at this thought Jareth's expression clouded. Any experiment to change human cells to Fae cells had failed, every test subject used had died. He couldn't deny that he had thought about trying to force Sarah's body to accept magic, but he knew it was foolishness, just a wish in the wind. Sarah could never be Fae.

It was this thought that had driven him out of the bed with her this morning, Sarah could never be fully his; it was as if the stars were teasing him. Placing something he wanted so much within his grasp and knowing that mortality could snatch it away just as easily.

He had had her placed under guard for several weeks now by his best spies and fighters, but it didn't take away this feeling of never ending dread which now chewed at every waking thought he had. One day, Jareth would lose her, a separation that not even his ability of magic could cross.

Trying to push those thoughts aside Jareth focussed on the current happier times, Sarah's birthday was arriving soon. He had to get things ready.

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><p>Sarah was dressed in her practical trainers, jeans and one of Jareth's shirts. She was trying to execute this as carefully and quietly as possible, which (considering she was rather clumsy at these sorts of things) was taking a lot of effort. For once Jareth had left her alone in his bed chamber with the door open, and she wanted to explore. Sarah's eyes narrowed, <em>without him watching my every move.<em>

Peeking around the heavy oak door Sarah checked to make sure that the coast was clear. Then hesitantly she placed one foot out from the carpet onto the cold stone floor, then the other. Everything was silent, no alarms, no-one appearing, no barraging, no onslaught of obvious questions. Sarah let out a breath she had subconsciously been holding in. _This is ridiculous, I feel like a naughty child. _It was what she had to do though, especially if she wanted to wander around without Jareth or his guards following her. _All the damn time. _Dating Jareth was great, but it did have major downsides, such as his over protectiveness.

Deciding to take the better lit right hand passage Sarah began her solitary and cautious, yet exhilarating exploration of the goblin castle, where she would see the good and the bad bits, not just what Jareth wanted her to see.

Tapestries adorned every wall, and after careful scrutinising Sarah realised that they depicted the goblin king's, every King that had ever sat on the throne had a tapestry. Once the initial novelty had worn off Sarah began looking for Jareth's tapestry with earnest, and what felt like several hours and generations later she found it. Jareth had four, each more glamorous than the last. The first tapestry must have been when Jareth was a lot younger; he seemed almost boyish in appearance.

His hair was still the peroxide blonde, but it looked like a normal human hair cut. Short layers at the front growing steadily longer as it reached the back, but it never went past his shoulders, he was depicted on a horse in this first tapestry, throwing knives in hand fighting a Minotaur. His expression was casual and cocky, like that of a teenage boy who just succeeded in getting a date. The horse was a fine chestnut stallion, looking as graceful and as powerful and his rider. _This must have been just as he became goblin king, before the pressures of a kingdom rule aged him. _

The next two tapestries where Jareth looking very similar to how he did now, sat on a throne adorned with glittering jewels and clothes.

The fourth one though, was one of the finest works of art she had seen. Jareth was leaning against a wall grinning at the artist, a smirk which promised malicious intent and victory. He was wearing his usual tights and white shirt, but this time the shirt hung open, revealing the most fantastic muscle definition in the world. His throwing knives hung on the left of the shirt just within view. Behind him stood the goblin kingdom in all its glory, the castle stood majestically, surrounded by glittering walls caught in the full light of the sun. But what caught Sarah's attention most of all was an array of bodies by his feet outside the city gates; blood, gore and knives depicted in a way which she never thought detail could get. _Had Jareth fought in a war?_

It was music which broke Sarah's thought pattern from that point. The most beautiful music she had ever heard, it was indescribable, melodramatic and yet…hopeful? The noise led her through a maze involving, turns, spirals, stairs and endless amounts of doubling back, but eventually Sarah reached a white ivory door (of remarkably good taste) where the sound was originating from. She didn't try to open the door; she didn't want to stop the singing and a lone rogue thought in the expanse dessert that had become her mind stood there, like a memory from a dream. If she opened the door the music would stop. The singing would stop. Instead Sarah nestled down outside and let herself become lost in the sound of magic.

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><p>Primrose opened her ivory door to stand faced with Sarah in a trance sat outside it, and for the first time in many centuries Primrose was gobsmacked. Her jaw was open and nothing responded. Sure she had watched Sarah from a distance, and occasionally brushed past her in the street.<p>

_But to be this close to her…_

Primrose choked and swallowed to hold the tears back. Sarah was currently lost in magic and it would take a Fae to bring her out, however, Primrose didn't want to yet. She crouched down and caressed Sarah's face, an action she had been longing to carry out for many years. Primrose sighed and savoured a moment she knew would be all too short. Sarah was right here in front of her, like she'd always wished they could be. Primrose took Sarah in her arms and watched her gentle face for a time, Primrose never thought she would have this moment. Not since that day…

Primrose sighed and forced herself into action. She had work to do and didn't have a lot of time to do it in. This would be the only time she would be able to see Sarah without Jareth beside her.

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><p>Jareth was beginning to worry. He had been trying to give Sarah a bit of freedom in the Goblin Castle, he had tracked her every movement, but left her to it. But then he'd gotten sloppy, Sarah had lost consciousness. What had happened for her to do that? Jareth debated with himself over whether he could intervene or not, he wanted to give Sarah freedom, but it was a dangerous place for a human after all. Stopping mid-track Jareth realised he would have to bite the bullet and accept he was a bit over-protective. Taking out a crystal Jareth whispered into it "Show me Sarah". There she was, outside Primrose's room, where Primrose was doing something to her. Ice-cold fear gripped him. By the time the crystal smashed to the floor he was already down three sets of corridors. For Jareth, running was the fastest way to travel.<p>

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><p>Primrose cursed as she felt Jareth move towards their position. She wasn't ready, she wasn't finished. Taking a split second decision Primrose picked Sarah up, created a portal and vanished through it, closing it behind them.<p>

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><p>Primrose was only just through the portal when she felt the hand enclose around her hair, dragging her and Sarah back through. <em>Was Jareth that fast?<em> Jareth's anger caused the air to not only shimmer but to form daggers around him, he saw red and nothing else. Even Primrose was afraid for her own life in this situation.

"Where in the name of stars do you think you are taking my Sarah?" It was a purring growl of anger, one that was close to boiling over with only one outlet in mind. Primrose had nothing to say, she couldn't. But neither did she want to start a fight with Jareth who had shown her such courtesy, especially after he had taken care of her in the time following the incident with the council.

Seeing that she would not answer him, he carefully removed Sarah from Primroses' arms (she made no attempt to resist) and laid her down gently on the cold stone floor. Then turning round he flung his fist at Primrose with the full force his strength, weight and magic could allow. Primrose did not even flinch. Again and again he hit her and hit her until his strength was spent. When all he had left was pain, confusion and fear inside him, he started roar.

"Get out! Remove yourself from my kingdom at once! GET OUT!"

And with that Primrose opened a portal, left through it and didn't look back, leaving a panting and afraid Jareth behind her. There was nothing she could do, it was in the fates hands now.

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><p>Sarah woke up on her three-seated sofa with Jareth's worried eyes bearing down on her own. He wore a worried expression on his countenance and a deeper emotion in his eyes which only reinforced her opinion that something was wrong and whatever he had to say she did not want to hear.<p>

"What happened?" Jareth's face contorted in discomfort.

"One of the Fae in the castle…kidnapped you."

"Why?"

"Why the stars should I know?!" Sarah hadn't realised how scared he'd been for her. It was almost endearing if it wasn't so fucking scary.

"Did…anything happen?" Sarah knew it was a loaded question but she didn't know what with. Had she been attacked? Magic wise? Physical wise? If he wanted a narrower question she wouldn't be able to give one. Luckily he knew what she meant.

"You've been checked over by the court physicians; you haven't been hurt physically, and magically…there doesn't seem to be anything done."

"What do you mean doesn't seem to be?" Sarah felt her heart racing.

"There were traces of magic in your system, as if magic was put into you."

"What would that do?"

"NOTHING! It would do the grand total of nothing. It would be like shoving someone full of adrenaline, maybe give them a kick, and potentially the illusion of having magic for a time, but it would do nothing else!" She could see his evident frustration as he got up from the settee and started pacing, mulling these thoughts over. "It's possible that they were trying to turn you into a Fae, but that would be stupid…and they were going about it the wrong way."

"Didn't you at least catch the person who did it? Ask them why?" She was met with an uncomfortable silence.

"I…beat them senseless, and now we can't get an answer out of them."

Sarah stared at him in open mouthed astonishment. "You _killed_ them?" How many things had Jareth killed?!

"NO! I didn't kill her, she left the castle and now we can't find her."

"_HER?!" _ This exclamation was again met with silence. They stared at each other for a time, unsure of what to say or do. Finally Jareth sat down beside her and pulled her into a crushing embrace.

"I was so worried about you." Jareth whispered into her hair and it was this sentence over the whole evening that scared her the most. Her proud, cocky, cool and calm Jareth was showing a weaker side of himself. How much trouble had she been in?

"Stay with me tonight." Sarah murmured into his ear and they spent the night downstairs in each other's embrace, pondering what the alternative results of this night could have been.

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><p><em>One month later…<em>

'Happy birthday!' The chorus around the table shouted at her. Eyes were peering over the unnecessarily large cake in front of her on the kitchen table while the fire from the candles created a heat wave distorting the facial features of the four beaming figures across the table.

Taking a deep breath Sarah attempted to blow out the mass of flame in front of her while contemplating how unfair the concept was that the older you got and the weaker your lungs became, the more candles you had to blow out.

Managing to get three-quarters of them out in one breath Sarah felt Jareth lend a secret helping hand with the rest. Doing a mental eye-roll Sarah stood to be met by cheers and claps.

"Was a cake this big _really_ necessary?" The response was wide smiles all round.

The cake was huge though, you could have comfortably fit a whole child in there. The three tier monster was surrounded by several inches of buttercream decorated with childish sweets and balloons. She had shamelessly gawped at it for a full minute before moving, drooling at the concept of eating it.

The kid-napping incident had long been forgotten and for her birthday Jareth had paid for a flight ticket to America to see her parents for a week who now believed she was dating an oil tycoon…and were thrilled. She had been thrilled to see her whole family again, mum, dad and Toby. But Toby would not stop staring at Jareth. It was as if he was expecting Jareth to turn evil any second, he hadn't left her alone with Jareth since they'd reached the house; he had been so fussy when it came to sleeping that she had slept in his bed to stop him crying. He still wouldn't say why he hated Jareth though.

Her mother and father were ecstatic that she'd found someone so courteous, generous and, well…rich. They had started joking of retirement plans for when her and Jareth were to get married causing Sarah to flush with embarrassment and apologise profusely to Jareth.

At least when they were eating cake her family couldn't be embarrassing.

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><p>Later on Sarah was washing up in the kitchen with Toby beside her while Jareth seemed to be seducing both her mother and her father, worryingly.<p>

"Saraaaaaah…" Toby's tone of voice gained her attention instantaneously. Toby's mood had been fluctuating like he was on drugs so Sarah had to be very careful of what she said.

"Yeah Toby?"

"Why were you kissing a monster?" Sarah nearly dropped the plate she was holding.

"Sorry Toby?" He stared at her blankly; apparently it was a very clear question.

"Why were you kissing a monster?" Toby repeated. This time his voice had taken on a more serious: almost admonishing tone.

Understanding what he was getting at Sarah sighed and put the plate down. "Jareth isn't a monster Toby."

"Yes he is!" Toby shouted at her, his eyes tearing up in frustration. "He is! He looks like _them_, he's a monster." They were starting to attract attention from the other room so Sarah tried to take control of the situation. Kneeling down on the floor so that she was Toby's height Sarah placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Not all monsters are evil Toby, just like not all humans are evil."

"But Sarah, he steals children." And for that Sarah had no answer, Toby was right. Jareth did steal children.

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><p>Jareth only stayed with the family two days; then he had to return to his 'business'. When he left the only conversation she ever got out of her mother was "When is the wedding?" and "That one's a keeper Sarah." Sarah was actually relieved when she got back home. But Jareth had done a really great thing for her, allowing her to see her family for a week when normally she would only have gone back to see them when her PhD was finished.<p>

Sarah was so jet lagged when she made it to her house that her stuff stayed in the hall-way, the door was locked and she fell asleep on the leather sofa, unaware of time.

The next thing Sarah knew she was being woken up by a knock at the door, she was unaware of time but it must have been mid-afternoon judging by the sun. Her first thought was that it was Jareth, but soon put a stop to that, he's just walk right in. Concluding that it was probably Sophie Sarah pulled herself to her feet and dragged her sleep deprived body to the door.

However when she opened Sarah felt her whole being deflate as she saw Sam stood there. _What now?_

"Can I help you?" Sarah asked curtly.

"Listen, I've been thinking about what you said to me a few weeks ago; and what I did to you with that ring in front of him and also what I called you..." He stopped at this point, obviously forming the words in his head before he continued. "And I'm sorry, the whole thing has been cancelled, the venue gone, I'm seeing someone actually," As he took in the confused look on Sarah's face Sam hastily continued. "You see, after all that stuff happened on your porch I thought about myself a lot and realised that I was a sex addict, so I'm seeing someone to get help with that and I've come here to properly ask you to give it a go, take it slow and see what happens." Sarah really felt like slamming her head several times against the frame just to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Was Sam really this stupid?

Jareth (who had always had impressive timing) chose this point to appear through the portal in the kitchen and heard what was going on outside. The second he saw Sam Jareth wanted to kick him straight off her garden and out of Sarah's life for good, although, just as he was about to inspiration came to him. _No, wait. _The Goblin king thought to himself; _let's see how this turns out_. So, still invisible to the pair having a stand-off on the porch, he came close enough to get a good view and clearly hear the drama that was unfolding.

"Sam..." She started, wondering how to phrase the next bit. "I would never leave Jareth for you. You were cheating on me behind my back when we were engaged, the morning after you tried to win me back in the club you were with a blonde bombshell and two weeks ago you proposed to me while he was there with a fake ring. What possible reasons could I have for leaving Jareth for you?" Surprising herself by how calmly she was speaking Sarah let the trueness of the words fill her up as a different reality dawned on her. She loved Jareth. She _loved _Jareth.

"The woman you saw me with when we were engaged was a drunken mistake! And I couldn't afford you a real ring so I bought you a replica that looked like something you deserved! I only want the best for you!"

"So why are you trying to be with me when you apparently can't afford the things you think I deserve?" Sarah replied rudely with a smirk on her face. She was going to rip him apart, well and truly. She was too tired for this shit.

"Because only I could love you!" Sam realised the mistake as the words left his mouth, he hadn't intended for it to sound like that, but it was too late now and wrath was building in Sarah's voice.

"Only you could love me? Only you?! Christ the only thing you love is yourself and even that's shaky! Just go back to that blonde slut, she seems best for you!"

"Please! I promise that it will only be you for me, she was just a one-time thing when I thought you weren't coming back!" Sarah's faced hardened and her voice was thunderous as she spat back her reply, Jareth loved seeing her being this strong. "Weren't coming back?! WEREN'T COMING BACK?! Christ you two faced back stabbing motherfucker!" Stars Jareth loved how she could curse like there was no tomorrow if she wanted to as well. "I left that bar saying I needed to think, and the second you realised I wasn't gonna give you sex, you piss-off to the next slut who would!" Adrenaline was pumping through her at this point, she was ready to simply put his lights out and have it done with. He however, was still maintaining his puppy dog facade. "It was just one night! Please, I promise it'll never happen again! Ever! I love y-"

"Oh will you please just take your bull-shit, shove it up your arse and then try to come out with some not, oh so fake cliché lies!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Your lips are moving, of course your lying!" She launched back. _Burn_, Jareth thought to himself humorously.

"But-"

"No! I don't want to hear it." Sarah cut in mercilessly. "You just want someone to always be there for you when you need sex and can't get it from other women!" Sam's puppy dog look faltered at this point and Jareth tensed. He had seen Sam's eyes flash from anger, he was certain, and it looked like Sarah had seen it as well because her on going tirade took a lower key. "Because that's all I was to you wasn't I? Someone you could use for sex whenever you wanted it?" Sarah fell quiet as she finished the last sentence. The truth was blindingly obvious to her now. That was all she had been to him. She had always been there for him no matter what, stood by him, supported him, and when had he been there for her? She had known Jareth for several months and he had already been there when she needed him. More to the point, it had taken two weeks for Sam to come and ask for her back after the wedding ring and kicking off the lawn incident. _What the fuck?!_

Her thought track was cut off as Sam crossed right into the personal space boundary and shoved Sarah in the shoulders so that her back was pushed against her door frame. "Listen up bitch!" Sam whispered, all the nicety had gone from his voice now. "You are mine. Simple as that; and you will always be mine. Now we are going to go upstairs and have make-up sex as a couple should after a fight they resolve." Sarah hesitated. He sounded insane, not only that, he sounded dangerous..._No_, she thought to herself. _I can't show weakness now. _

"Why don't you go back to your blonde bitch, or better yet go back to your house, call a prostitute and fuck her, I don't really care. One thing is sure though, there's no way I'm ever gonna let myself sink to fucking someone as low, ugly or conniving as you again!" The sound of a slap echoed through the air, and then silence descended. Sarah held her rapidly reddening face in one hand while looking at Sam through narrowed eyes. He had never struck her before, but then again, she had never stood up to him before. Sarah didn't feel scared as she thought she should, she felt anger. White hot bubbling anger building up inside of her, forcing its way out of her stomach up her chest into her throat, she wanted to scream there was so much emotion there. Not only that, she felt powerful. Like her potential had increased to something beyond human, she felt, for the first time, like she could defend herself without the need for anyone or anything, just her. It was as if she was on fire, but the fire was bending to her will, doing what she wanted it to. Glancing up, eyes aflame Sarah saw that Sam had taken a step back from her.

Sam hadn't felt shame about what he'd done; in fact it had given him a sense of dominance over her, a sense of satisfaction. What had made him take a step back was Sarah's lack of reaction, she had glared at him, and then recognition hadn't been there anymore, there was nothing but burning hatred. Then the air around her had begun to shimmer, as if she was surrounded by glass shards or something. Why wasn't she crying? Why wasn't she being obedient?

Jareth was struck dumb by what was happening, it was happening too fast. He wanted to kill Sam for what he did and had every intention of duelling him for the disgrace he had dealt Sarah but something else had caught his attention first. Sarah for the first time had tapped into the bond her and Jareth shared, showing Jareth the rage inside her. An inhuman amount of rage. Not only that, she was drawing in magic from her surroundings, calling it to her, she was even taking it from him! Subconsciously drawing it from across the bond, this wasn't something a human could do. But it was too late now, not realising how much she was taking had cost him and now he fell to his knees from exhaustion and became visible to the two of them. There wasn't enough magic in this world to fuel him and Sarah's incredible display, whatever he was going to do it had to be done fast.

Sam, truly scared now by the scene that was unfolding before his eyes, for lack of a better thing to do, took a full swing at Sarah in an attempt to floor her. It never made it. Seeing the punch coming towards her Sarah caught his fist without and real effort and started to crush it, she could feel the bones snap like twigs in her palm, his insignificant scream was taken away by the gale which had begun to surround them, then his breath was. He's just a twig Sarah thought to herself assuredly, an insignificant unimportant breakable twig. Grinning at him with unseeing eyes Sarah leaned down and with a voice that wasn't hers whispered "You dared to strike this body, now you will pay the price." Bringing her right hand to this neck she prepared to snap it into two pieces, she wanted to break him forever.

"Just a twig." She sighed.

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><p><strong>Hope you like it! Please rate and review! :)<strong>


	13. Truth

**Hey Guys! A Belated merry christmas and a premature happy new year. Here's the new chapter****, hope you all like it!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

"_SLEEP!" _Silence ensued as Sarah collapsed into Primrose's protective arms. The pitiful human being that she had been about to kill fainted on the spot and Jareth fell to the ground panting, trying to recover from magic loss and confusion.

He glared at her with eyes of malice, threatening everything that would come to her if she tried to kidnap Sarah again, but sensing his intention Primrose covered all grounds.

"Don't worry, what I was trying to prevent has already happened. Sarah will need to be treated in the Underground if you wish for her to have a small chance to live beyond these next twelve hours. Come to the Goblin kingdom with me and I'll deal with this trash later, besides you're too weak currently to travel alone."

Jareth didn't have the strength to argue or question, he just watched as Primrose created a portal which he was subsequently carried through by Primrose's other arm. When he realised she'd transported into his own bed chamber Jareth didn't stop to question, he just passed out on his own bed.

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><p>Primrose stood in front of Sam's hospital bed looking at the man in distaste, finding severe irony in the fact that the measurement which was meant to stop Sarah's barrier breaking had in fact been the catalysing factor. <em>Maybe I do not know humans as well as I boast. <em>There wasn't time to dwell though, silently padding down the side of the hospital bed Primrose touched Sam's forehead to remove the obsessive thoughts of Sarah she had placed there. He would now be able to understand his feelings towards her now. Then bending down Primrose whispered gently into his ear

"Wake."

Dutifully the sack of shit before her stirred into something resembling a life-form, she only needed a brief amount of consciousness to achieve what she came for.

"Who the fuck are you?" Stars this man was despicable.

"I am your lawyer Mr Johnson; I am here to conduct the allegation charge of assault I assume you will be pressing against one Miss Sarah?" Her glamour had also come in handy for this. She had a stereotypical lawyer suit on with her blonde hair done up tightly, sharp glasses which perched on the end of her nose and the all important clip board clutched to her side.

"Ah good, I'm gonna rob that bitch for everything that she is worth." Primrose had to hold in an eye roll, this man was such a drama queen. Compared to losing his life, breaking his hand was a blessing.

"There is one thing before we begin Mr Johnson; I need you to read this out loud." At this she handed him a piece of paper.

"I wish the goblins would come and take Sarah away right now? What the fuck has that got to do with anything?" Sam looked up but found that there was no-one standing there, instead he found himself falling into the black abyss again. One that Primrose made sure he would never wake up from.

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><p><em>Sarah stood in front of the labyrinth before the goblin kingdom. Except there was no castle that could be seen, there was no centre to this labyrinth. It lay in disrepair as if it had withstood from attack, again and again and again with no-one who had the skill to repair the damage done. The outer walls lay in a pile of rubble and dirt while the inner walls had multiple cracks and holes to them. You could see how the enemy had solved it though. They hadn't tried anything but a full on onslaught, and in one of the final walls leading to the centre there was a massive gaping hole. It looked like a trebuchet weapon had hit it square on with full force.<em>

_From the opening water poured out at an alarming rate, threatening to flood what was left of this once majestic labyrinth. Darkness then closed in._

* * *

><p><em>Sarah awoke to the sensation of grass underneath her. Spreading out her hands and feet she allowed herself the sensation and feeling of crisp fresh grass surrounding her. However, the memories of what had happened with Sam began to return to her and she sat up in wonder at what on earth was going on. <em>

_She was in a woodland clearing surrounded by wild flowers. The trees formed a dense network around her preventing any hope of further exploration beyond the clearing, not that this really mattered, Sarah didn't have any wish to immediately leave this place. All around her the clearing buzzed with life and healthiness, from bird calls to deer hooves, all the sounds were there. Within immediate sight there was a well full of water surrounded by neat stones joined together with cement. Sarah went over to it and knelt there, gazing in the crystal clear stillness before her. As she let her gaze linger though, she saw that it wasn't water that the well contained, but memories. Her memories. As they had happened. Not with any emotional tainting, but observed in the cold light of day. Sarah saw her life for what it was, her stubbornness and how much it cost her. Her anger and what she had lost due to it. But also the good memories she cherished, and why they were beautiful to an outsider. _

"Being able to take a step back can give you a vast amount of perspective. Can it not?"

_Sarah stood up so fast that she nearly toppled into the well and disturbed the water. _

_Stood before her was the most enchanting Fae she had ever seen, skin so pale that it was surprising you couldn't see her heart beating within her. It was also flawless, not a single inch of her had ever been scratched. That was evident. Her hair merged together to form one black unified mass which seemed to absorb all colour around it. Her eyes were a brilliant crystal blue filled with a warm searching look filled with good humour. It was at this moment that Sarah realised she was staring at the Fae version of herself. _

"It's good to meet you finally Sarah." _Her smile was dazzling. Her teeth were so bright they practically shone._

"Who are you? Where are we?" _Sarah's mind was already full to bursting point with questions and this one threatened to knock her out flat. How was there a Fae version of her?_

"Your other half. And this is the metaphorical space I have occupied in your mind."

"Other half?"

"I am the Fae part of you that was separated from your conscious mind at birth." _Sarah stood there in stunned silence staring at the perfect creature before her. Trying to understand how what was before her was a part of her mind, eventually she found her voice to make a statement._

"Why would I have a Fae part of me? I don't have Fae heritage." _The Fae before her seemed un-phased._

"That is incorrect. We have a pure blood Fae mother and a human father, a heritage unique to us alone." _This was too much._

"What?! NO! If you were a part of me you'd know that I had a human mother and father. No Fae was ever involved in my life until I met Jareth. Besides whom would my mother then be? Are you saying my Dad cheated on my mum?!" _Sarah was starting to hyper ventilate._

"I don't know who our mother is, I only have the knowledge that you possess, as well as the fact that I am a pure blood Fae and you are human. Two minds sharing one body." _At this point the Fae brought both her hands up and gracefully extended her two index fingers, and joined them together in the centre to re-iterate her point. _

"With yours being the dominant half. Our consciousness was separated at birth and magic sealed off from you by a barrier with the intention of keeping me hidden, and you... human." _Taking Sarah's stunned silence as permission she continued with her explanation._

"As for the magic of course you have used it. You've tapped into it more than you know as my power began to seep over the barrier. The two most obvious occasions being when you first entered the underworld and ran the labyrinth, succeeding in record time. The second is when you and I broke the barrier simultaneously with anger, allowing the magic which had been separate from your body for so long flooded through." _Even though she had been talking the whole time with facial expressions the only time this Fae had ever let emotion reach her eyes was when she had first seen Sarah and smiled. Even with all this evidence before her Sarah was having a hard time believing what she was being told._

"So who are you? I mean who are you to me?"

"I am you. I have your personality; I have shared your experiences. The only difference between us is that everything I have observed, I have observed from the side-lines. Also I have the wisdom and knowledge which comes with possessing magic."

"You just expect me to accept all of this?"

"I appreciate how hard this must be. But please observe the factual evidence at hand and appreciate the time limit we are currently working under." _This sentence made Sarah stop._

"Time limit?" _Sarah felt her blood run ever so slightly colder_.

"Look around you." _Sarah looked, and sure enough her worst fears were starting to be confirmed. The trees that surrounded the clearing had begun to thin. The animal song had also ceased, the only thing that surrounded them was an eerie silence._

"What's happening?" _There was an edge of fear in her voice._

"Our body is dying as the magic courses through it and destroys the human cells. Several people are trying to moderate the magic flow to give us time, the one we are bonded with in particular. But we do not have long."

"I'm dying?!" _Shit._

"Yes, we're dying."

"How can you be so calm?!" _Now she was hyper ventilating._

"When my consciousness was separated from yours it was sent to sleep, less I become jealous of how you got to live and I didn't. In grand total I have spent less than a year of your life conscious. That time I have used to watch your memories and live our life as you have lived it. Although I do not wish to die, it is a state of non-existance I have become accustomed to."

"Is there any way for me to...not die?"

"Yes, but it will be difficult."

"What is it?"

"We must undo what was done at birth and remerge ourselves."

"WHAT?!"

"Like it or hate it, the fact is that our body can't be half human or half Fae. You do not receive magic in half measures. Currently Magic is trying to change our human cells to Fae cells which can receive it. However the reason this will not work is because the human cells are destroyed too rapidly and the body cannot be sustained. I can control the rate at which the magic destroys us, but with half a mind I only have half the control. I will need your help and balance to do it." _Sarah could see the logic in the theory, and if she was dying there wasn't a lot of choice to it, however Sarah saw an immediate problem._

"But if I accept you as the other half of my mind, I will change beyond measure. In a sense, I will be dying anyway." _For the first time the expression of the Fae before her softened into the emotion of gentle understanding which reached her eyes._

"That is for you to choose. But please choose fast as we have no defence left." _Sarah looked around and sure enough the woodland was gone leaving only the edge of the clearing which was slowly being eaten away by darkness. As fear gripped her Sarah saw the Fae stretch out her hand over the well in open invitation, and without hesitation, Sarah took it._

* * *

><p>When Jareth woke up, he felt worse than he had ever done in his life. <em>Am I dying? What happened to me? <em>The only sound he managed to pass through his lips was a groan of agony as he tried to move any muscle.

"He's awake!"

The noise resounded on the inside of his skull causing him to groan and try to roll deeper into the pillows which surrounded him. The movement was agonising but at least he was becoming capable of something now. He felt weights being placed on his throat and chest and the soothing notion of gentle healing magic caressing them and a few other very select places. After a time, he became able to speak.

"Where am I?" He felt like his throat had been sandpapered, his voice didn't sound much better.

"You're in your bed in the goblin kingdom, please try not to do too much, you're severely injured." The voice definitely belonged to Kuna but his mind couldn't grasp anything that had led to him being here. All of Jareth's thoughts were slipping away from him like sand.

"Why? What did I do?"

"You saved Sarah's life." This caused Jareth to open his eyes, an action he instantaneously regretted as the fire hit his delicate eyes with full unforgiving force. This caused him to groan once more and roll over, displacing the weights that had been placed on his chest. Jareth heard the sound of drapes being closed as Kuna rapidly apologised, but at least Jareth's mind was working a little clearer now.

"Sarah was close to death?" Jareth opened his eye inch by inch to allow them time to grow accustom to the light. Eventually he was able to observe Kuna and Primrose both knelt on either side of his four poster bed in the dim light of day. Both wore masked expressions.

"Can someone kindly explain to me, what in the Underground is going on?" Jareth spat this sentence out through gritted teeth and with great effort propped himself up on his elbows so that he could survey the two Fae. At this Kuna looked towards Primrose. This was clearly her story.

As Jareth's eyes settled on Primrose for the first time in his life he saw that she was uncomfortable with the tale she was about to tell.

"First of all the things you need to know are that Sarah will be fine, she's recovering in the wing in isolation. Only Kuna, myself and your court physicians are allowed to enter that place. The second is that you've been severely magically burned." Jareth was about to protest but Primrose put up a hand to stop him.

"Please, let me tell the story, and then you will understand." And accepting that it may be for the best in this situation Jareth was silent.

"This all begins nearly thirty years ago. When something happened that should not have happened." Primrose paused, unsure of how to continue.

"I had fallen for a human man. His name was Neil Cottonshaw, and to me he was the most precious thing in the world, much like Sarah is to you. I would have gladly taken him to the Underground and kept him as my pet for all the years of his life, he would have never wanted for anything." On Primrose's face Jareth saw an expression he had never seen it wear before. It was love.

"...But he knew me as a human, not as a Fae. When Neil asked me to marry him I told him I would accept, but there was something he needed to know." A pit had settled in Jareth's stomach, he could see where this was going. He sympathised with Primrose though, he could see the pain in her eyes as she was close to crying. This wasn't a memory she was accustomed to going back to.

"I showed him what I truly looked like and what I could do. I revealed to him who I really was." Primrose paused as she reached the hardest point for her to tell.

"He rejected me, told me I was a freak of nature, something not of God, but of demon form. He told me to leave and never come back, which I did. I left a bracelet of mine where all he had to do was rub it to call me...he never did." Then she started to cry.

"After I had spent a month apart from him I discovered I was pregnant with a healthy child." Jareth's jaw fell open. He looked at Kuna who had obviously heard this before and then back to Primrose. He had every right to be shocked, it had been deemed scientifically impossible for a Fae cell to be fertilised with human sperm. Human ovary cells had been fertilised with Fae sperm, but the unfortunate female usually died before the baby made term. This child was one of a kind.

"I didn't know what to do, if the council had found out about this child: a perfect combination of Fae and human... they would have seized it. Experimented. I never would have seen my baby again. It would have been deemed a danger and killed.

So instead I pretended to have developed the Fae disease of tiamat. This allowed me to take an indeterminate amount of time off which I spent in the mountains nursing the baby to term. And in that time I did as much research into the spell I would perform as I could, for it would undoubtedly cost mine and my babies life if I got it wrong.

I gave birth on my own in a cave where no-one would hear mine or the baby's cries. I gave birth to a girl with hair that seemed to consume colour and eyes which were a crystal blue.

So once the baby was born and safe and I had recovered from the ordeal I conducted the spell. This spell separated the body and mind from magic, thus making it human. With the hardest part over I replaced my child with a still-born that another couple were about to have, and thus..." Primrose let the statement hang in the air. This was how Sarah had been born twice. Once as a child of one of the most powerful Fae alive. And twice as a human.

"Sarah's a half breed?" Each word Jareth uttered took effort to come out, he was in shock.

"A perfect half breed." Primrose had reduced to just sniffing now, the wound was evidently still raw.

Sensing that Primrose had said all that she wanted to Kuna took up the rest.

"So everything went well, Primrose checked in on Sarah every now and then and was pleased to see that she having a normal human life. Then, you came along." The tone was almost accusatory causing Jareth to look up and glare at his friend.

"As she ran the labyrinth Sarah tapped into the magic which was starting to seep across the barrier that Primrose had made. That's how she managed to solve the labyrinth quick time."

He stopped as he saw Jareth smirk, his pride had been restored, a human hadn't beaten his labyrinth, a half Fae had, and what's more Sarah was half Fae; that could make her immortal, his body was practically shaking with glee.

Seeing his old friend with such an emotion Kuna, (overcome with anger) smoothly stood up, walked over to Jareth's edge of the bed and struck him across the face full force. This caused Jareth to scream in agony and Primrose to jump in surprise.

"Wake the fuck up Jareth! How can you be so overcome with joy at that news?! Is your pride and value for your own happiness over looking absolutely everything?! The minute you got her to take a bite of that peach just so that you could be bonded and keep tabs on her wherever she ended you disturbed the barrier! She was fucked from then. Not only did you do something now illegal in Fae law, _which I overlooked! _You screwed her life up from then on. Have you even thought on how this will impact Sarah? She has lost everything she has ever known by being wished away to this stars forsaken place! You have brought her to a world which is on the brink of war! Sarah doesn't even want to live forever; it's rare that any human does. Is your own pride that great?! Not only that, when that obsessed human threatened to rape her the barrier broke down completely." Kuna stopped to take a breath and then rounded on Primrose.

"Which by the way is your fault! You claim to know humans so well and yet you put obsessive thoughts where there was no love, how else was that going to end?!" Then back to Jareth.

"When that barrier broke open, she will have been in agony from then on, magic, causing through her body, burning up every cell in existence within her, she will have had to suffer through pain no-one should ever experience, and it isn't over! Because now she's turning into a Fae she has the pain of every cell rebuilding and changing. Yes you helped her not get killed with that by providing an alternative outlet for the magic, slowing down the process, but my point is this should never have happened. You should have left well enough alone when a pure blood Fae told you it would not be best. But no! You knew better! This woman's life is now fucked up because of you, and all you can do is be happy because your pride can recover and you can own her forever? She will not be the same person when she wakes up." With this promise Kuna turned and headed towards the window. He was too pissed off to use the door. With a glance back he looked at Primrose. "I'm sorry I can understand what you did, and I genuinely think it was the best course of action for the safety of your child, I'm sorry it didn't work." Then he turned to Jareth.

"You should have known." He murmured, shaking his head. "You aren't fit to bear the name of Fae." And with this he jumped out the window to the grounds below, where he could cool down around the grounds, leaving Jareth and Primrose sharing a stunned silence while Jareth soaked in the truth of Kuna's words.

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><p><strong>I know I've taken a lot of liberties with the story at this point, but still hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please rate and review! Unsure as to when the next chapter will be up, but be assured that the story continues! :)<strong>


	14. A new way of thinking

**So after a ridiculously long absence I am back with the story, and a full hopefully interesting story-line. Please forgive the long absence and enjoy! **

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><p><span><strong>A new world<strong>

When consciousness finally found its way into Sarah's mind, unmercifully bringing awareness to her, its presence was not as welcome as she would have initially thought. Everything was agony. Absolutely everything. She could feel every cell in her body crying out in unison as blood filled her vessels and tissues. She could feel every dust particle against her skin, the air which was usually so caressing, knifing her skin repeatedly. She wasn't dead. Death wouldn't hurt as much as this.

Vibrations shook her body as footsteps wandered around the bed she occupied, each one a new tidal wave. And then there was her back, what had happened to her back?!

_If this is my fate for the rest of time, let me die. Put me out of my misery with honour. Stars please. _Then darkness caved in again.

* * *

><p>When consciousness next sought Sarah out it was more forgiving in her presence. Although the pain was still there its sharpness had abated leaving behind a dull throbbing which although painful was bearable. There was also a soothing sensation coming from her stomach where magic to aid healing was being placed inside her. How ironic that magic could be used to soothe the damage that it had caused. A chuckle escaped her throat that came out as a hoarse cry, shaking every muscle with surprise at their use.<p>

"Don't try to speak yet, you still need to recover." _That voice. _She knew that voice. Sarah went to consult her memories but they slipped past her like sand through an hour glass, all there but unreachable.

_The Goblin Kingdom. That's where I am. But why? _

Sarah's body shuddered as her mind struggled to align the information at its disposal, knowing that it was missing several key pieces. Something had happened, something big. Becoming exhausted from the effort her mind faded back into darkness.

* * *

><p>Five weeks after the incident had occurred, when the castle has settled into a routine of Jareth continuing with his kingship duties, Kuna dropping in at a set time each week and Primrose with a new training routine she sensed she would need, Sarah finally opened her eyes.<p>

The brightness was not as bad as she had initially expected it to be, and although she had drawn her hand up to protect them from the glare of the sun, her eyes soon became used to the UV rays. All of her limbs felt as if they were ready to move, with the possible exception of her back which seemed to have taken on a constant dull throb, regardless of the speed of the rest of the healing process. She would have to ask someone about that.

It was then that she realised the vast quantity of light wasn't coming from the sun shining through the window. The curtains were drawn. There were symbols all around her. So many symbols. Some had been organised around the room in the walls which pulsated methodically. Then there were others, just clustered around randomly which seemed to have no purpose or coherence, as if they were wandering aimlessly, waiting to be used. Sarah watched them for a time, mesmerised at their beauty. It was like having a room of oddly shaped mood cubes. _Is this what Fae see all the time?_

Methodically Sarah pushed the bed sheets back, swung her legs out and hesitantly placed them on the cool stone floor. Her eyes closed and she smiled with joy as she felt herself instantaneously connect to the rest of the castle through the vibrations of life. It was like having a blue-print map laid out for her in vibrations. There was a cook on second floor currently cooking on an open flame. A Fae one floor up sat on a windowsill. A mischievous creature was running along the corridor of the first floor with what seemed to be fireworks in its hand. She was on the first floor. The footsteps raced past her room with increasing and decreasing amplitude of beating. The first floor also appeared to be the most protected judging from the number of symbols floating around, or maybe that was just her room.

Memories and names began to return to her with the cautiousness of small animals. They filled her slowly and hesitantly as she sat on her bed staring at the wall. And then the ultimate and exciting realisation hit her.

She was alive.

"Alive." The words tasted like honey on her mouth. She was a half-Fae, finally she was complete. And not for the first time, she smiled.

Testing the waters Sarah flexed the toes of her left foot, and then her right. Both responded without protest, so she moved on to raising and tensing her muscles methodically. Giving them all the chance to move and complain if there was an issue.

Once Sarah had ascertained that everything was in working order she shifted her attention to her upper body and back. Every muscle responded well excluding the muscles in her back which informed her of a soreness which usually came with overgrowth. Lifting a tentative hand to her eyes Sarah examined it, then slowly placed it on her back. It drew away sticky.

Frowning in confusion, (_frowning!) _Sarah decided she would ponder this issue later. Her eyes located a white gown at the end of the bed with underwear at the side, clearly intended for her use when she eventually moved. With a deep breath Sarah stood up and let her legs take the weight of the body. After weeks of inactivity the first few seconds were unsteady as the muscles revised how to carry the new found mass without collapsing, but soon the old rhythm came back. The cotton felt light against her skin and the undergarments constricting, but the simple act of dressing brought delight to her.

Giving herself a test run Sarah allowed herself a walk (_oh the irony) _around the chamber, letting her body grow used to the material and the idea of movement in general. Not before long though, the sunbeam from the window drew her attention and Sarah walked towards it with a fast pace. Beyond it was a garden encased by a wall. She wanted to go to the garden, she wanted to smell the flowers and feel the fresh grass beneath her, let her hair be ruffled by the wind. Glancing down Sarah saw that although she was on the castle first floor the distance was not so great, and she landed it with ease, enjoying the feel of the wind as she dropped.

The garden was a little way off from the castle, a ten minute walk at most, but Sarah ran there in just a few minutes, letting her muscles work beneath her, feeling their gliding motion.

* * *

><p>The garden was as bright and joyful as she had expected it to be; green became emerald, red became ruby, blue became sapphire. They all burst forth with life, each one competing to attract her attention. She could feel and sense all of the life around her, and she was a part of it. There was water too, clear as the crystal pool also bursting with life.<p>

Senseless with anticipation Sarah ran up and dived gracefully in, not even causing a splash as she entered the lake. The fish, after an initial scattering gingerly came to greet her and soon she was swimming with them and exploring their world as they showed her corals and hidden gems. A curious notion that she couldn't identify arose in her chest, which she ignored for a time until she realised that she couldn't breathe underwater and left them to come up for air.

Sarah had been so distracted by the lake she hadn't realised a Fae had approached, a Fae with silver hair and a graceful walk who was silent on her feet. Scarily silent if she was honest. They were also decorated with symbols, they orbited her body with a calming repetition, however only one set was glowing methodically, the rest just floated close by.

Pulling herself out of the pool Sarah went to greet this newcomer with a sense of fear, excitement and anticipation. She had never met this Fae by recollection, but her general excitement encouraged her to throw all caution to the wind.

At three paces away the newcomer bowed so low that her hair touched the floor (or maybe that was an indication at how long her hair was) before straightening up and giving her a glance over. Sensing that some form of protocol was required in reply Sarah bowed equally as low, getting distracted by how her hair seemed to form a black unified mass consuming light as opposed to being hair.

When she finally stood up that incredibly silent Fae (who had crossed the distance in that time) embraced her in a bone crushing hug which caused her to hiss in response to the pain that flooded her back and feel a little uncomfortable at the direction that this was taking.

Pulling away Sarah regarded this Fae wondering who she could possibly although she had an idea. Hesitantly she let the question escape her lips. "Mother?"

The Fae confirmed this with a broad smile which showed a mixture of Joy and relief.

"It is good to finally meet you my child, and it seems like you're as up-to-date as we are."

"I wouldn't go that far, my human and fae half are combined, and I can assume that you are my mother, but I am unaware of how all this even came to pass, or equally what is even going on."

"There is no doubt that it will be difficult for a time, but it will get easier."

"Can you relate to me the events from where my memories stop?"

"Walk with me around the lake; I will relate to you what has happened."

And Primrose related the whole story to her, from the start to the end, including the difficulties Jareth had faced with the council and how she came to be living there. The narrative lasted so long that they ended up sitting down on the edge of the lake enjoying the sun.

"So my existence in the human world has been wiped?" Sarah's voice gave nothing away with regards to what she was feeling when she said this. Hesitantly primrose replied

"You know what happens when someone gets taken away by a Fae. It is as if they never existed."

"So I will never see my Mum, Dad or brother again?" Her voice was shaking.

"If you did visit the human world, they wouldn't recognise you. But it wouldn't be recommendable to enter a place with so much iron while your magic levels balance out."

_They no longer remember my existence. I've been removed that quickly._

If she had still been completely human Sarah supposed she would have raged about this, which was probably why Primrose was a little on edge telling her this. Indeed she could see some of those symbols start pulsing, _probably defence mechanisms_. Sighing Sarah observed the hole within her where anger should have been, all that was there was sadness. She couldn't change what had happened, not for all the magic in the world.

"You're not…angry at this news?"

"It was necessary to save my life. They're not dead and neither am I. True, I can no longer interact with them, but that's probably for the best. I've saved Toby from this life once; I don't want to have to do it again. Or have anyone else miss me because I can't return. Besides there is no way my mother or father could have come to terms with this."

"That's unusually wise and level headed for a human."

"I'm not human anymore though, I'm half Fae." A deadly silence followed this before Sarah excused herself from Primrose's presence. Primrose nodded in understanding as Sarah stood up and walked back to her room with all the silence and grace which Primrose herself possessed.

* * *

><p>Sarah may have been mostly recovered but she would be exhausted for many days to come yet, and there were still many things to discuss and teach her. <em>All in good time.<em> Primrose reminded herself. Sarah had just lost her whole family and taken it better than she would have expected most Fae to, it was to be expected that her heart would be breaking. Staring into the lake water she let the emotion of the situation overcome her. She was pleased…no, not pleased, thrilled, that Sarah would be able to become who she was truly meant to be, the first true half Fae. But this in itself brought many tribulations, Primrose had sacrificed many years of happiness in an attempt to keep Sarah safe and content, in one moment all of that had been undone. Her daughter was now more in danger than ever; she was a half-Fae with no knowledge of magic or the way this world worked with a council which would probably kill the both of them if this was discovered… _What was all that effort for? I could have reared her myself in the hills._

Primrose's mind shifted to Jareth and she felt her usual anger boil in against him. All of this was his doing and he hadn't even dared face Sarah's wrath when she awoke. He had just watched from the window.

Her mind was still not made up about Jareth. He got the job done that needed doing, and addressed situations that needed addressing. He was also the only reason that Sarah was alive now, they had managed to channel the magic through Sarah across the bond and into Jareth, leaving him almost as injured as she was. But then again the whole situation was his fault so it levelled out. His joy however, when Sarah faced death had disgusted her. He knew the danger but was more enamoured at the idea of spending forever with Sarah. Jareth hadn't even taken into account the possibility that the Sarah who collapsed on her front lawn would not be the same one who woke up. But he would discover this in due time. For now it was best to let the emotions die down and take up damage control.

Besides, she still had to figure out what was occurring with Sarah's back, because at the moment she had no clue.

* * *

><p>Jareth had watched the whole scene unfold from the 2nd floor window. He had seen Sarah running with her hair streaming behind her, watched her jump in the lake and observed her form when she got out. If it was possible Sarah was more beautiful now than she ever had been, her natural clumsiness had been replaced by a new-found grace which even at a distance he found enchanting. Any human defects she had once possessed had been stripped away to reveal a glamorous unmarred Fae. There were features in her though that still gave away her human heritage, for instance her true form was far more human than his or Primrose's, and her features (including teeth) were less angular giving her an appearance of a youth as opposed to someone in their prime. Then again by Fae terms Sarah was still just a baby, maybe those features would sharpen off in time.<p>

He hadn't been waiting, he'd known the second her eyes opened that she was awake, felt her joy, felt her sadness…and her regret.

The bond held nothing back anymore, everything she felt he could feel and once Sarah learnt to wait and listen she would discover that she could feel his emotions too. There was a very large element of apprehension within him (or maybe fear he didn't want to admit the existence of) at approaching Sarah. He didn't know if she would be the same person who he had sent to sleep, if she would hate him, or if everything would be the same as before.

It surprised him that when Sarah heard the news she didn't destroy the garden in anger. All he had felt within her was sadness and acceptance, potentially showing that she had more wisdom and self-control that he did now. If that was the case though, would he love this new Sarah who he had such an intimate bond with? These were all questions he would have to wait to discover the answer to.

Sighing Jareth removed himself from the windowsill and analysed his form in the mirror to see how much he had healed. There were still angry red patches all over himof new skin not yet hardened to the elements as the old skin had. He had channelled the magic flowing through Sarah (which was a phenomenal amount) to every part of the Labyrinth, from the garden, to the maze, to the crops, to the water. The whole kingdom reeked of it and he was surprised that it had yet to attract attention. When the flow had stemmed the whole kingdom had looked as glorious as a shining jewel, and was probably cleaner and stronger than one as well. Unfortunately in the endeavour parts of his body had been reduced to tissue and bone, only recently had the skin returned and recovered enough for him to let it out in open air. It had been worth it to save Sarah, but it had been more painful than he would have ever thought possible.

Again another sigh escaped his lips as he tried to lift the weight that was pressing against his chest, whether it was his sadness or Sarah's he couldn't say, but it made the wish to go about his recently ascertained kingly duties very hard. Not that there was really anything he could do at the moment while the whole kingdom was being productive on magic, but he did need to sort out the disputes of the Goblins still and consult the healer on what was going on with Sarah's back where he had drawn the magic out of, it just wasn't healing. Besides it would be good to apply his mind to something.

Sarah had jumped back through her window, so he wouldn't have to worry about her breaking the doors yet. All that would come in due course.

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><p><strong>Hope you like it, please rate and review.<strong>


	15. Sorrow and Hatred go hand in hand

**So I apologize for how long this took to write, I am still writing regardless of how much time I leave before updating (hopefully the next one will be quicker as it won't be as difficult to write) I hope you enjoy, please rate and review.**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

Jareth and Kuna sat across from each other with an unease and awkwardness they hadn't experienced since they'd spent a night together due to an inconceivable amount of nectar (the Fae version of alcohol) and one accidental hallucinogenic potion which Jareth had swiped from his mother's stores. Jareth could understand why humans now used the term elephant in the room, there were metaphorically three in here. Jareth and Kuna had been best friends since they had first met at school, many centuries ago now. However, even with this length of friendship behind them they had never quite managed to get past the alpha bravado that they both felt they should keep up for inexplicable reasons. As a result heart to hearts like this more resembled drawing blood from a stone than a personal bonding experience. It didn't help that Jareth was a very proud person who couldn't bear the thought of taking responsibility for anything he'd done wrong and Kuna was prone to sudden outbursts of rage. Then again the fist fight that usually ensued from such a situation normally sorted the mess out, although, Jareth got the feeling that this direction wouldn't prove as helpful as it had in the past this time.

The room was darkly lit by a few candlestick holders dotted around the room, mainly occupying the corners, and one slit of a window which let the moonlight fall upon a section of the hand-carved mahogany table they were both reclining at. The affect made the wood itself look like it was made of three individual pieces fused together. The design on the table depicted the crowning of his predecessor, a very shallow man obsessed with his own importance and need for recognition, no wonder he hadn't made it past two terms. It had been polished to a high shine so Jareth could see his and Kuna's reflection in it…_since when had the goblins been this thorough?_

There were goblins in the room as well, four if his calculations were anything to go by. Jareth had trained the goblin spy network himself, so of course when they were all capable the next challenged was trying to sneak up on the master, a game he heartily enjoyed most of the time, however now wasn't the time.

"The four of you in the room, remove themselves please." Jareth didn't even look up to savour Kuna's surprise or the Goblins disappointment as the four with sagging ears left their presence, they would be listening at the door, but there wasn't much Jareth could do about that bar the spell to prevent over-hearing. The door opened, illuminating the room with a light that caused both Jareth and Kuna to shield their eyes. As it banged shut the silence in the room once again became oppressive.

Jareth knew what would get the ball rolling and explain his joy to Kuna, but it was physically painful to admit it. In truth he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone else other than Sarah or Kuna. "I can't live without her." This caught Kuna's attention.

"Jareth, don't jest about something so important." It was impossible to discern what Kuna was feeling from his tone.

"I assure you I wouldn't jest about something this serious. I was unsure before but I am certain now, if Sarah had died becoming Fae I would have quickly followed her beyond the plain." Kuna stared at him intently, trying desperately to detect any trace which would suggest that what Jareth had just said was a joke. Eventually Kuna gave up.

"I didn't realise you loved her as much as that, I assumed she was a pet for you, it has been known." Kuna was right, he had had 'pets' before, but he had never chased one girl for this long. For his own sake he would have given up a long time ago if it hadn't meant as much to him as she did.

"I assumed it was an infatuation because she was the only one you had never been able to obtain." Jareth sighed; it would be unfair not to tell Kuna the whole story now.

"It was like that to start with, but then I started watching her, and yes when she was younger she was a spoilt brat, but there was something in her that made you like her, she draws people towards her, and now more than ever I still see it in her." At least the conversation was flowing freely now.

"I know what you mean, but she was so formal in talking to Primrose I wondered if there was any emotion in her at all. It's as if someone removed her emotions and shoved a rod up her ass."

Kuna jumped with surprise to find Jareth pinning him against a wall, his face a mask of anger. He really was one of the quickest Fae Kuna had ever met.

"When you have your world turned upside down, lose your family, home and identity and gain a skillset of magic you have no idea how to use then I may have a bit more sympathy with you using that kind of language towards her." Each word was an emphasised spit into Kuna's face, but this only caused him to smile ruefully.

"So it's true, Jareth has found a woman he would defend even the honour of at a moment's notice…you do love her." Realising the test Jareth reluctantly released Kuna from his grip and let him drop to the floor.

"So tell me then, what was the reason for your explosion? It's rare for you to lose your temper at all, let alone at me." At this, Kuna sighed, rubbed his throat (more for effect than to suggest lasting damage), dusted himself off and walked across the room away from Jareth to stand in the moonlight, blocking vision to most of the room. At the same time it gave him a looming shadow and created an eerie feel within the room.

"Jareth, it wasn't that long ago you were informing me of your plot to get revenge on her, and yet you were willing to risk your life to save her. Do you know how close to death you were? Primrose and I were taking it in turns to keep you heart beating!" Kuna was growing louder and becoming more irate with each sentence, but still he didn't turn around. He just kept staring at the moon, pushing his hand through that thick mass of spikey black hair.

"You nearly left the goblin kingdom without a steady ruler and…me without a close friend. Primrose nearly lost a daughter she didn't spend over twenty years of her life with to keep her safe. Primrose showed a substantial amount of self-control to let you go near Sarah, let alone take a part of her life. And Sarah, as you said has lost her family, home and has entered this alien world to her on the brink of war. I know it's easy to forget, but she is the same age as my sister would be. And for you to think solely of yourself in that situation…it was more than I could handle."

Everything clicked into place. Jareth was amazed he hadn't joined the dots before. Sukiara, the image of Kuna's sister with her auburn hair and matching hazel eyes with darker skin flashed before Jareth's eyes. It was said she had taken on the beauty of autumn when she was conceived and would have been powerful in the magic of earth. She was already adept by the time she was ten at the element and had showed great promise; Kuna had loved her as if she was his daughter, not his sister.

Sukiara had been just twenty years old, no more than a child, when a sickness had taken her from the family. Kuna fulfilled all the duties of a big brother and wouldn't leave her side when the sickness first took hold of her. The Doctors hadn't been able to cure it and her life had slowly slipped away before Kuna's eyes. Sarah was a similar age. Jareth couldn't imagine the amount of pain Kuna must have been going through at the thought that he may lose his best friend the same way he lost his sister. Sat by a bed unable to do nothing but will the person in front of him to live, it must have been torturous.

"I…" There were no words. No words for Jareth to explain how sorry he was at his own stupidity.

Kuna waved it away with a leather clad hand, Jareth hadn't done it intentionally and couldn't be expected to always take into account Kuna's pain, but it was there, and more keen than it had been for a long time. And still he just stood there; his heart crying out with pain he never thought was possible. Time hadn't healed it, magic hadn't changed it, and still he just stood there. Out of everything Kuna thought it would have potentially been more…dramatic? If that was the word.

Jareth, now keenly aware of how uncomfortable the situation was, walked over and lightly touched Kuna's arm, also clad in leather.

"Do you want to go see the pictures of her?" There was a tribute album they had made, her standing in the autumn leaves of Canada in the human world as well as portraits and magical images of her in the underground. Kuna, now more silent than ever let a single tear roll down his cheek which Jareth leaned over and caught before it hit the floor, it formed a silver bead in his hand.

"I'm sorry." Finally Jareth's voice sounded back to it's confident self. "I was meant to be your constant comfort for her, not a reminder of what was taken from you." He turned the silver tear-drop around in his hand and analysed its beauty, Fae tears were a source of such magic and power.

"I think…" Kuna's voice was even. "That Sarah may become that now."

Jareth understood, he was about to take his hand away from Kuna's arm, but Kuna grasped Jareth's hand in both of his and proceeded to bow his head to the entwined mess of fingers.

"Thank you Jareth, for everything."

Jareth placed his right hand (still holding the tear drop) on top of Kuna's and also bowed his head, returning the gesture. "Thank you Kuna, for keeping me alive when no-one else would have tried as hard as you did."

Releasing Jareth's hand Kuna moved towards the door and motioned for Jareth to follow him. Jareth was using all his will power to prevent himself from trying to put on a manly façade and make a joke out of the whole thing. It had become more intimate than he was happy with, but he pushed those feelings down and buried them. Kuna was more important than his pride right now.

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><p>Sarah woke once again to find a new range of emotions she hadn't quite been privy too yesterday greeting her, so instead of jumping out the window Sarah remained staring at the stone ceiling with its methodical symbols pulsing in unison. Trying to organise the thoughts in her head seemed like a futile business but it was a task she couldn't help but try to apply herself to. It was as if her mind was trying to protect itself, only giving her what she could handle on a day-to-day basis until everything would be back to proper working order. After all, if the last twenty years were anything to go by that was apparently what it did best.<p>

She had felt something yesterday, but with retrospect, all it had been was joy…and then nothing.

Her face contorted in puzzlement, no, that hadn't been the only thing she'd felt. There had been sadness and regret, but it had been suppressed…she felt it now though. Her family and her previous life were gone, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. There was no point in getting angry about it; even if she could, she couldn't change it.

Rolling on her side Sarah curled up into the foetal position and tried to comfort herself as a few tears rolled down her cheek. Toby, Sophie, Janice…her mum and dad, all of them out of her reach forever. She was in a world she didn't understand or know, which she hadn't grown up in. She was a sojourner in a strange land, probably a hostile one and she would need protecting, at least for a while. In truth…she was scared…and lonely. Even this four poster bed with sheets of an indefinable material offered her no comfort, just a place to be.

A light knock at the door caused Sarah to stir from her thoughts. _How long have I been here like this?_ Wiping away her tears with a stiff hand Sarah turned her attention outward. By the weight and breathing pattern she guessed Jareth was on the other side of the door and knew that it would be a long morning ahead of her. This conversation wouldn't be easy. Her emotions about Jareth hadn't even registered yet, this was technically all his fault but…could she blame him? Was it inevitable? Would it have happened anyway?

Sarah reached out, took the circular brass handle and braced herself to lift the heavy oak door. It thusly caught her be surprise when the door moved without resistance, was flung all the way back to where the hinges strained and the knocker seemed to remove itself from the wood of its own accord sending splinters everywhere. The symbols continued pulsing though, leading her to believe that they didn't depend on structural support to a great extent. Other than that observation it was all Sarah could do to stare at it dumbly for a time before she turned to confirm that it was indeed Jareth in front of her.

He was in his traditional white shirt and tights with the riding boots. His teeth were still as sharp and pointed as before and his hair was still in that weird but strangely sexy style; and his eyes were still the same piercing, searching mismatched eyes. But his whole demeanour at this moment wasn't the Jareth she knew, this Fae before her looked uncertain, as if he was in the presence of someone he didn't know was friend or foe.

He glanced from the handle in Sarah's hand to her dumbfounded face and back again before he shrugged and murmured "Bound to happen sooner or later." This was immediately followed by a louder "Can I come in?"

Sarah stood to the side to permit his entrance and tossed the handle on the bed before standing up to her full height to meet Jareth, she had been shorter than him at one point, but now here she was meeting him at eye level. It hadn't occurred to her before but Sarah wondered what she looked like now, evidently she had changed, but how much? At least she still had the cotton robe from yesterday covering her up, she felt strangely shy at this moment.

When the door had closed behind him Jareth seemed to lose what little had been holding him together, staring at her with an unreadable expression before he let a small sob escape and drew her into a bone crushing embrace which brought instantaneous pain to her back. Sarah repressed the hiss of pain, Jareth needed this.

Jareth had felt it all, her fear, loneliness, anger, sadness and regret; he had come when he couldn't bear to feel her in such pain anymore. In truth he hadn't come with a plan, he hadn't formulated one in his mind, mainly because they never seemed to work out anyway, why bother to try and plan one of the most important conversations he may ever have? And it had been a good idea, because now he was there, with her in his arms, it just reminded him how close he had come to losing her. His own fear and relief had choked him at the same time while his need to be near her forced him to draw her into the hug he had always wanted to give her. Sarah, although she was unable to explain it, could feel it all and returned it in kind, realising how careful Jareth had been with her in the past year. Her human self was impossibly fragile. There was also happiness within Jareth too; probably due to her safety and possible immortality…she didn't know how she felt about that yet, maybe that knowledge would come in time.

_Wait…this isn't normal. Why do I know these things?_

Sarah wanted to be concerned, she wanted to be angry, but none of her emotions were there. She then wanted to get annoyed about the fact that she couldn't be concerned or angry, but nothing was happening. Just emptiness. _Nothing I can do about it, they will return when I am ready for them._

"I'm sorry." Jareth's quiet apology barely reached Sarah's ears but it was enough to bring her out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry, I never meant for this to happen. I should have just left you alone, let you live and watched. Now, even your own father can't remember that you ever existed and-"

"I know… I know." Sarah cut him off before Jareth let the words get carried away. Reluctantly she also added "You couldn't have known."

At this Jareth seemed to deflate and he released her in favour of sitting on the bed. _You were so scared of my hatred that it physically made you sick?_

Sarah had held this question in her head, so she was almost surprised (if that emotion had been available to her) when Jareth sprang up from the bed and gripped her arms to the point of painful whispering to her. "YES!" There was a pause as he fought to control himself. "Yes alright? The great goblin king!" At this Jareth let go of Sarah, spread his arms out and turned his back to her, partly to dramatize what he was about to say and partly to continue the battle of maintaining composure.

"The king who has done the impossible, rained the goblins in, made them productive, gained experienced workers and started putting runners within the labyrinth again. All of this and is at the mercy of one woman upon which," At this he turned back to look her in the eyes. "The happiness of his world depends."

He was in earnest, that much was obvious and even if it wasn't, Sarah would have been able to tell anyway. Crossing her arms Sarah pondered at the wisdom of the question that was burning in her mind, but she would have to find out sooner or later.

"Jareth, I appreciate what you are saying to me and I know in my heart it's true, and I don't blame you. I know that this," Sarah said gesturing down at herself. "Is me. You can't be happy without your whole self, and now I am that, it's just going to take some getting used to. And I'm not myself at the moment; you're going to have to be patient for true declarations of love. But what I am curious about is how I know exactly how you are feeling, that and the fact that I didn't voice that question you just answered."

He looked like a rabbit in the headlights. Genuinely. Sarah could almost make out his ears.

Maybe due to shock? Fear? Both?

Swallowing his fear Jareth had clearly decided to face whatever he was about to get into trouble for like a man...or Fae. "You remember the last time you came here...I gave..." He strained his memory searching for the name. "Haggle a peach to give you." He stopped and met Sarah's eyes to see if this was the case. She nodded dimly remembering how that had led to the dream in the ballroom with Jareth.

"Precisely, well, when a human eats food given to them, or her, by a specific Fae, the Fae and that human become linked. The human belongs to the Fae and the Fae is privy to their emotions and location at all times. The human is at the mercy of the Fae because they always know how the human is feeling. It normally only works one way, but since you've become a magical being our bond has developed into a two-way thing; and basic telepathy is now possible." Jareth had explained the whole thing calmly and slowly for Sarah's benefit so that he wouldn't have to repeat anything. She could understand it all in the first try, but as he met her eyes, Jareth become conscious that he was currently in serious danger and began to back away towards the door.

As for Sarah, she completely understood, she understood that Jareth had bound her to him as a young human and thusly manipulated her to be with him. He had been privy to everything she had ever felt and kept tabs on her at all times, he had used this all as an underhand method to make her fall in love with him and had ultimately used it to make her into what she was now. Symbols were flying towards her as she gripped her hands to form fists and looked at the Fae in front of her, who, at the moment, she did intend to kill.

The new symbols which were surrounding her seemed to be getting under and removing the old ones that had circulated and orbited around her beforehand. A necklace Sarah hadn't even realised she was wearing flew off to the side but she didn't pay any attention to it, it's removal seemed to allow the symbols to move more freely around her, and that worked for her.

Jareth by now had opened and shut the mahogany door behind him with the intention of shutting her within the room and sealing her there so that her anger would be kept to one room of the castle.

Sarah stopped and observed the symbols that were now flooding around the door and the room. Even in her anger, she could calculate, Sarah didn't know or recognise them, but willed that whatever spell it was, may it be disarmed. Instantaneously the symbols around her sprang to life and set to work on diffusing the waves that were coming in while she walked towards the door, brought up her leg, and using what technique she remembered from her old martial arts training kicked the door. The hinges never stood a chance and part of the wall went with it as Jareth and the door were thrown against the opposite wall. Not even waiting to see if he had recovered Sarah ran up and punched the target in front of her with all her might, sending it, herself, and Jareth through that wall into the next room.

Sarah had been so lost in anger that she hadn't even registered the destruction of two walls. Her focus was solely on the possibility of having the satisfaction of punching Jareth. _Square in that smug bastard's face._ As he dodged yet another swipe from Sarah, Jareth brought the door up a little further causing a glancing blow off the mahogany, which took a chunk with it. Under the impact of this Jareth lost his footing and fell to the floor; using the door as a protection from the onslaught. It was all Jareth could do to hold it there as Sarah hit it again, and again, and again. A flash of movement in her peripheral vision caused Sarah to jump back as a reflex reaction in case there was an attack coming towards her, but as she realised there were no other Fae in the room, she cautiously approached the object her and Jareth had been fighting in front of. A mirror, but the monster staring back wasn't her. The monster staring back at her was sharp and angular, it resembled a human in form, but it clearly wasn't. It looked like an insect-human mismatch with long and spindly arms and legs with sharp joints and angular features, its hands formed sharp claws at the end where the fingernails would have been. The face was her face, but it wasn't. Her teeth were as sharp as Jareth's with the curvature of her lips putting on a constant malicious smile. Her eyes...her eyes were completely black, making the face look completely demonic, matched with hair which was more of an absence of light than the colour black. Hesitantly Sarah lifted her hand to her hair (mimicked by the monster), and watched it vanish in the mass, before pulling it out and watching it re-appear again. Her hand hadn't felt anything.

Breathing heavily from shock Sarah ripped of the cotton gown she had been wearing, no longer caring who saw, and looked at her back. _Wings. _Membranous, insect wings folded dutifully down her back, with the source of pain being from where they were attached to her back and growing from. They only spanned half of it though, clearly they weren't done yet.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Jareth lightly touched her arm to break her out of the reverie. Grabbing him tighter than she knew she should it was all Sarah could do to scream at him "IS THAT ME?!" Pointing at the mirror she whispered quietly. "It isn't me." Before breaking down in Jareth's arms and crying.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it!<br>**


	16. Tension and Egg shells

**Chapter 16**

Yet again the three Fae who had become much closer than originally anticipated due to circumstances outside of their control stood together around a bed upon which a stranger in Sarah's body was sleeping. Maybe sleeping was the wrong word; after all she was heavily sedated.

"So, she saw her true form? I thought it was agreed that we would keep that from her, at least for now." Primrose's eyes cast an accusing glance towards Jareth.

He had called her and Kuna after the incident had occurred and explained to them what had happened, Kuna, despite having been ducking out on his job so much recently still came running. Primrose, whatever she did now-a-days, hadn't been far behind. _We'll have to curb this behaviour soon though. Kuna's constant running off to my kingdom is starting to get noticed._

Jareth looked up to see a guarded Primrose still looking at him with dismay.

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Jareth growled defensively, before he caught himself and toned down his voice while looking guilty. "Not directly anyway".

Shaking her head Primrose could feel her patience waning with Jareth, she had kept Sarah here for safety reasons but it was looking like the safer option now was just to move on, away from Jareth, away from anything that connected Sarah to her old life.

"You just had to tell her didn't you?!" The annoyance in Primrose's tone couldn't be mistaken.

"What would you have me do? Just say that mind-reading and emotion sharing is something that Fae do with their sexual partners?" Jareth wasn't prepared to put up with her shit at the moment, not with the problem that they were now facing.

"I don't know! How about something which wasn't going to activate her anger to the point of murder by magic!"

"How was I supposed to know she was going to counteract my seal?! Anyway you were the one in charge of masking her true form! What sort of fucking pure blooded Fae are you that you can't even bind a fledglings' true form?"

At this Primrose snarled and jumped back taking an attacking stance causing Jareth to respond in a similar manner. Jareth was halfway from pulling his throwing daggers out from the inside of his shirt when both he and Primrose were surprised to see Kuna standing between them in his true form, which said something because Kuna hated it.

"In the name of stars are you two both so wrapped in your own sense of self-importance that you're forgetting the one who is truly suffering here?" His voice had taken on a deep guttural tone which now resembled crunching gravel. Jareth had only seen his true form twice before and it still shocked him that this was what Kuna truly was, but then again, he couldn't talk either.

Haughtily, Jareth and Primrose locked eyes and relaxed their stance, Kuna was right. It wasn't like Jareth really wanted to fight Primrose, or vice-versa, but emotions were running so high at the moment they needed an outlet.

Gathering around the bed once again, they began to question what had been bugging Jareth since this had all occurred.

"So, how did she remove Primrose's necklace? And how did she counteract your seal? She shouldn't be able to use magic to that proficiency; she shouldn't even be able to use magic at the moment."

Kuna had returned to his normal self and was directing the question at anyone who was listening.

"I don't know... it's like she entered a trance state once she hit a certain level of emotion. After that her power levels grew to the point where they were being limited by the locket and so, she just got rid of it. After that, I think she was able to counter-act it because she wanted to, but how I don't know." It had happened so quickly, escalated so fast.

"Maybe that's why she's been subconsciously suppressing her emotion, to avoid that trance state." Primrose muttered in wonder.

"If she has, she's incredible, to subconsciously suppress emotion..." Kuna let the sentence trail off as the three Fae stood in awe of the being on the bed in front of them.

"But she didn't have the physical strength to break through the door then?" Primrose directed this question at Jareth, if Sarah was that strong in magic, what was her physical strength going to be like?

"No, she battered it to the point of breaking, but she never got through it, I think she has physical strength in between a human and a Fae. You can see the remains of the door behind us."

As Primrose turned to observe the wreckage Kuna caught sight of something on Jareth they had previously missed.

"I thought she didn't hurt you?"

Jareth stared at his old friend surprised. "She didn't."

"Then why is there blood on your shirt?"

Jareth looked down to observe definite spots of blood on his shirt at the right hand side of his abdomen which trailed to a little of the way down his thigh. Pulling up his shirt and part of his leggings Jareth's eyes raked over his skin trying to find the source, but he knew he hadn't been hit.

_It can't be. _

He found his voice. "It can't be." Blank. He couldn't think. It wasn't possible.

"Jareth?" Kuna was looking at him with concern; Primrose had stopped examining the damage on the door to observe what was going on, sensing a change in the atmosphere.

Rushing over to her bed side Jareth carefully pushed back Sarah's hair to view her face and look at the sheets around her head. Sure enough, there was blood there too.

"Jareth, what is going on?" This time it was Primrose whose voice was full of concern.

"Sarah cries tears of blood. " There was no emotion in his voice; shock had robbed him of any reaction.

Silence reigned in the room. Tears of blood, which meant that Sarah was capable of blood magic, forbidden magic. Magic which held more power and potential than any other, but it came at a price. The sheer danger of using it was beyond any worthwhile risk, it had the potential to destroy whole kingdoms. There was even an often re-counted historical event about this, a whole kingdom, gone, in a breath of the wind. It was said that Fae who cried tears of blood could control blood magic naturally, but the council had never let them live long enough to find out. A child who was capable of blood magic…every time they bled, or got upset… You couldn't leave magic that dangerous in the hands of someone who had no clue. The very mention of blood magic struck fear into the hearts of many Fae.

Primrose was the one who recovered first. "Don't be idiotic Jareth; she probably cut her hands punching the door and as a result got some on you and the bed." She leaned over the bed to inspect Sarah's knuckles, but as her hand extended towards Sarah's there was a flash throughout the room which threw Primrose across the room into the neighbouring wall, causing her to slump with debris coming down around her.

"Oww..." Even being pure blood; that had hurt… a lot.

Jareth and Kuna couldn't even offer her any help with regards to the fact that she had just been thrown into a wall. They were still struck dumb. It appeared that the effects of shock were there to stay, for at least a while. Jareth re-checked his position on the bed next to Sarah where his hand was resting on her forehead and seemed frozen in place, waiting to airborne any minute. Seconds ticked by, the air in the room was still.

Slowly Kuna moved over to Primrose, helped her up and checked her over to make sure nothing was amiss other than the fact that she had just been repelled by blood magic. When he was happy with her physical state Kuna started whispering to the walls, changing their nature so that if he was thrown into them it wouldn't hurt as much. After this Kuna walked toward Sarah and Jareth on the bed, braced himself and covered Jareth's hand with his own. The result was the same as what had happened to primrose, the surge itself was an incredibly painful experience, softened by the nature of the walls, but it left little doubt. Sarah had placed a blood magic protection spell on the bed which was in affect when she was on it.

Primrose this time went to Kuna's aid and helped him up, knowing the pain he was currently feeling. This was a dangerous spell and complicated spell.

"Jareth, you can relax, the spell doesn't class you as threat." The bitterness in her voice couldn't be missed.

"It's probably due to the bond, it recognises Jareth's signature, not ours." Kuna was quick to try and distract Primrose from the slight she had just received. Her own daughters' subconscious magic classed her as a threat.

Primrose's fists closed and opened again repeatedly as she sought to control all the emotion welling up inside her, eventually she gave up the endeavour and walked out the room without so much as a backward glance. Kuna shot Jareth a look of apology and ran after Primrose. Jareth understood, something had developed there and Primrose needed the comfort of a lover at the moment.

The thought caused him to look at his own partner lying there sedated in a bed she was completely safe in with only one question running through his mind. _What have I done to her?_

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><p>Sarah sighed in frustration and anger as she felt herself coming out of another induced coma; she was starting to get real fucking tired of it if she was honest with herself. She waited for the memories of what had led to the sedation this time, but as she looked at the mirror in the corner of her room she no longer needed to wait. Sarah was out the bed and stumbling across the floor towards the goal, she landed on her unsteady knees in front of the mirror only to find her normal reflection staring back at her. In her haste she hadn't even noticed Jareth asleep with his arms folded on the side of the bed.<p>

He was beside her in what she would once have considered an instant, now it seemed like slightly quick-paced steps which took a normal amount of time. Looking at his reflection in the mirror Sarah opened her mouth to immediately close it again. There was nothing to say, he knew it all.

"It was your true form." Jareth started it for her. She stared at him in the mirror and he figured it would be best to explain further.

"All Fae have a true form which they hide under a glamour, you look like that at the moment because that is your natural glamour, its' similar to how you looked as a human which is why it was chosen. The purer blood you are, the more similar to your true form your glamour is."

_So…that's normal for me now? That's what I look like? I am the stuff of nightmares. _

"So what does it mean to be a pure blood then?" Sarah slowly stood up and turned to Jareth with her cold blue eyes to observe his face register the question and then screw up in concentration. This was apparently going to be difficult to explain.

"Like humans, there are different species of Fae." Jareth began. At this he started walking around the room in an absent minded fashion while trying to figure out how best to go from the starting sentence.

"So for instance you humans categorize yourself as Homo Sapiens, Homo represents the genus and Sapiens represents the species. It is the same with Fae, I am a different species to Kuna and Primrose, but we all come from the same genus." He took a pause and glanced over to make sure that Sarah had followed the conversation so far so far.

"So...The best way to tell if a Fae is a pure blood is their true form." He held up a hand quickly at Sarah's inevitable question and then continued. "You see Sarah, like with your true form and your current one, Fae wear a glamour...a cloak if you would, to make us seem more Fae like and to hide our true form, potential and ability from each other. The true form of a pure blood Fae looks essentially the same as their glamour, where as a Fae who isn't a pure blood...well...their true form can be anything." At this comment Sarah guessed that Jareth wasn't a pure blood, his true form must look really different from his current glamour then. But at least this explained why Sarah could always see symbols flashing around everyone constantly; it must be the symbols instilling their glamour she was seeing.

"So a pure blood Fae is a Fae which has only bred with others of the same species as it. A mixed blood Fae has bred with other species and thus 'polluted' their blood line.

Now, this leads me on to creatures such as Goblins, Ogres, Mermaids, Cyclops, werewolves, etc. There are Fae who can't control magic as intricately as we can due to the cross-species breeding and thus stay in these forms, and there are those who just choose not to. The more pure a blood line is; the more powerful in magic they are, however, it has been many millennia and the pure bloods are thin on the ground now-a-days." Jareth took a pause to see if he had missed anything.

"Well that seems to make moderately logical sense. By the way Jareth, for how long are you planning on repressing my emotions for?" Apparently there was no limit for how many times a person could be shocked in one day.

"I don't know what you mean." Was his instant defensive reaction, but as he saw the look on her face her realised how idiotic lying to Sarah was. She was linked to him, she probably felt the flash of guilt, but then again, she must have figured it out before then.

"How long have you known?"

"Since I lost control with you. I could feel your bonds strain and break, put up a good fight though…Anyway, I want to _feel_ again Jareth. Please."

Sarah's voice wasn't capable of much emotion, hadn't been for a while because of him, but he knew how much she wanted it.

"It's too…"

"Don't you dare tell me it's too dangerous; how am I ever going to grow if I can't feel? If I can't feel how can I ever gain control?" There would have been tears in her eyes if Jareth had allowed them to be there.

Jareth didn't have to say anything; she felt his reluctance battle with the wish to do her will. Eventually the ties were released and emotion crashed over her in a tidal wave she didn't know existed, Sarah was brought to her knees by the sheer force of it. Jareth was by her side, helping her up and sharing the burden she was now bearing. Sarah hadn't realised the amount of effort it had taken him to hold back the emotion, she felt his fatigue and the relief at the release of it all, and for just a moment, they shared one mind of complete understanding.

Jareth was the first to pull away and break the silence. "You'll have to face it again you know?"

"So that monster really was me?" The tone in her voice broke his heart.

"If I, if I take this necklace off…will I see it again?" This time there were tears in her eyes.

"Yes, you'll see your true form again." The message was clear. _It's what you really are, not an it._

She looked at him with tear filled eyes. _It's not what I want to be._

The two Fae looked at each other for a long time; neither of them could continue the conversation, they just held each other.

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><p><strong>Hope you have enjoyed the chapter, sorry for how short is however, there is a lot of content. Please rate and review!<strong>


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