Labyrinth 1. Coming home

Sarah slowly opened the door to her old room and stayed in the doorway as she let her eyes wander over the familiar surroundings. This was the first time she'd been home, since she'd left Michigan two years ago to go to college at U.C.L.A. and it felt really funny coming back to the past, back to her childhood. Some of the toys and posters had gone, but her books were all still there and her fancy dressing table with the round mirror. The room smelled a bit dusty and compressed, but it was still her little realm, her place of wonders.

She had left after high school to study drama in Los Angeles and be close to the acting scene and Hollywood, but after her first semester, she realised the competition for being a star actress was ruthless and not really to her liking. Yes, she loved to act and sing and dance, but not every day, not every second of her life. She needed books, time for dreaming, time to be with friends, play computer games and search the Internet. But the girls in L.A. had no time for anything else but their stage career and thought of nothing else, and she knew that without that dedication, she would not be good enough to compete with them. In the second semester, she changed her major to English Literature and found satisfaction in reading novels and plays and analysing them to the core. Maybe she could even write plays someday, she dreamed.

She had not been home last summer, as her family had come to visit her in L.A instead and see all the sights, especially Disneyland for Toby's sake. And all the holidays were never spent in this house, but at Karen's family in Ohio, where the entire family, but especially Toby, was welcomed. Sarah was very fond of her little brother, who had grown up to be a sweet, but mischievous seven-year old who adored his older sister. He did not seem to have any memories of the fateful night six years ago, where she had almost lost him forever. She shuddered at the memory and quickly entered the room, dumping her suitcase on the floor next to the bed.

Odd, how this room had made her think of him again. She hadn't thought of the Labyrinth and its king in a long time. At first, she'd dreamt of him every night and talked to Hoggle in the mirror every week, but as high school life changed her and the people around her and suddenly made her popular and interesting, she had less need for her imaginary friends that she couldn't share with anyone. Homework, cheerleading group, the drama club and parties with stolen kisses and giggling girl friends became her life, and she loved being one of the crowd – loved the feeling of finally fitting in somewhere. The Labyrinth slipped away, along with the dream of her mother coming back to get her. It was over, it was part of her past, and she might as well move on. What was the use of holding on to a dream, when you knew you could never return or experience anything like that again? She couldn't help thinking about it, about him especially once in a while, but those memories were banished as quickly as they appeared. She had made herself cold to these thought, and after she moved and left all her childhood toys behind, it had become much easier.

She had come home to them today, because tomorrow would be her 21st birthday, and Karen and her father were throwing a big party for her. They would have a tent in the garden, catering food and a band, and all her friends who were attending colleges all over the country would be home for summer vacations and be at the party. She was really exited at the thought of seeing them again and telling them all about L.A., even though they'd kept in touch via email and messenger and was quite close to each other's lives.

And 21! She couldn't wait to finally be truly of age and be a responsible mature adult. Maybe, she though, maybe she'd even be able to find a boyfriend next year. She had had flings in high school, but nothing serious, and in L.A. she did not seem to be able to find anyone worth while. Or maybe she'd just been too young, and it would be better when she returned as this mature adult she would surely be from tomorrow. She smiled at her own silly thoughts and began unpacking. Of course it wouldn't change much, but just to be able to go into a restaurant and have a glass of champagne with a handsome suitor without anyone crying "minor" would be something.

When she finished, she let her fingers wander over her old books and nuzzled the stuffed animal that resembled Sir Didymus. What a dreaming child she had been – looking back, it was really a wonder that she had been able to get through the Labyrinth and defeat the powerful Goblin King. She had been so proud of herself, and maybe it was partly that self-esteem that had given her a lust for life and courage to face the real world and not hide behind costumes and make-up.

Looking out the window, she could see a big white tent in the garden, and leaving the room filled with old memories, she went downstairs to see if she could help with anything for her party.

"Sarah!" As she entered the kitchen, an excited Toby in school uniform almost knocked her breath away as he threw himself as her and hugged her tightly. "You're home, you're home! Come and see my puppy!"

"Toby," Karen laughed, "calm down, you only just got home, and Sarah is not going anywhere. She will have plenty of time to see your puppy!"

"Hi, Toby!" Sarah hugged him back and ruffled his blond hair affectionately. "How's my little rascal? Go up and change, and then you can show me the puppy!"

As Toby ran up the stairs two steps at a time, she looked questioningly at Karen, "A puppy?"

She had hated Karen, when her father had married her, but as she grew older, she discovered that she and Karen actually had some common interests – the peace of the family being one of them. Also, Karen was no longer as high-strung as before. She had gained a little weight and it really suited her and made her look more like a mother.

"He was so sad when Merlin passed away last year," Karen said, "and with you gone, it's good for him to have a friend."

When Toby came down, he took her of the big tour of the house and showed her all the new stuff, including a darling little 10-weeks old puppy with long fluffy brown hair and big paws, called Lancelot. At Karen's request she took them both out of the house for ice-cream in the park, as Karen said this would absolutely be the most helpful thing she could do regarding tomorrow.

They went along, carefree on the hot July summer day and full of expectations for tomorrow. None of them noticed the snow-white owl perched on the roof, calmly watching them with wide mismatched eyes.


	2. In the Darkest Hour

Sarah went to bed quite early, but could not sleep at all in these unfamiliar surroundings and with the excitement of tomorrow. She tossed and turned in her old bed, but finally gave up and went to her bags to get something to read. She had a small collection of her favourite books with her, and the one she found now was Pride and Prejudice – she just loved the scenes with Darcy and Elizabeth and could never get enough of them. She was planning to write about Jane Austen's career in her third year for her main report.

Deeply lost in the fields of Pemberley and Netherfield she didn't notice the time passing, the stars disappearing outside her window and the clouds gathering. Only at the low rumbling of thunder did she look up.

"Oh, it isn't fair," she exclaimed loudly, "It can't rain on my birthday!"

She looked at the clock, and then couldn't help smiling. 23:59 – only one minute till she was of age! She closed her book and got up, going to the window at the other side of the room to see whether the storm was close by or just passing by. She liked keeping the windows open on warm summer nights and tonight was no exception. Looking out of the window, the weather seemed dark and foreboding, but at least it didn't rain yet. She took a deep breath of fresh air, and at the same time, her digital clock changed to 00.00 and she could hear the grandfather clock in the hallway begin to chime. It was midnight.

A large lightning flickered across the sky, and the following thunder came so quickly and loudly that she jumped back, startled. Another flash followed and another, and suddenly a white blur of feathers shot through the window and right past her. She jumped and whirled around, and for a moment she thought she must be dreaming. But as his shadow grew and loomed over her, there was no mistaking the dark graceful figure of Jareth the Goblin King standing in the middle of her bedroom!

He looked exactly as she remembered him from all those years ago, clad in black and with a flowing gleaming cape around him. His blonde hair was gathered in a ponytail and his burning mismatched eyes rested on her, intense and slightly amused. His face was as strikingly handsome as ever, and his body well-formed and lean.

Sarah forgot to breathe for a moment, completely overwhelmed by his presence. She had forgotten how tall he was, and how his presence could fill a room with its sheer magnitude. Why was he here? Was she dreaming? Why now?

"Good evening, Sarah," he said with a low growl in his voice, which sent shivers through her. "Happy birthday. Happy _twenty-first _birthday!" He underscored the number.

She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. After all, she shouldn't be afraid of him – she had won all those years ago – he had no power over her!

"Why are you here?" she asked and tried to sound calm. "What do you want from me? Our business was concluded years ago, and I did not wish anyone away tonight."

Jareth chuckled and smiled a devilish smile. "Well, my dear Sarah, I knew you weren't expecting me, but I can assure you… our business is not concluded."

"Of course it is. What do you mean?"

"Sarah, I have a present for you. " He took out a crystal and played with it in his hand. "But this is not a present for any ordinary girl – it is a present for a special girl, who entered my labyrinth six years ago and went all the way through it to save her baby brother." She stared at his hand, hypnotized by the dexterity of his fingers.

"What will it do?" she asked fearfully, "show me my dreams? Why would you give that to me now?"

"No, not your dreams, Sarah, " he replied and let it roll back and forth between his gloved hands. "It contains a memory – a memory that you left behind in my labyrinth all those years ago."

She had no idea what he was talking about and looked at him in confusion.

"What memory?"

"I'll show you… catch!" He threw the crystal at her with a swift movement, and instinctively she grabbed for it and caught it in her hands. It exploded with a soft puff of silver sparkles, and she felt herself falling into darkness, into a dream, although she remained awake and standing. The last thing she heard before the dream carried her away was Jareth's soft triumphant laughter.


	3. A Lost Memory Found

_Sarah looked at Toby in the maze of stairs and perspectives and knew it was her last chance to save him. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and… jumped!_

_Instead of dropping hard to the stones beneath her, she found herself floating gracefully and opened her eyes in wide surprise. She was falling in darkness between blocks of stones and stairs, until she reached the floor deep down below. It seemed to be just a larger slab of stone, and all around her was the empty void. At one end of the stone floor an archway led into darkness, and out of this darkness came… Jareth. He was clad in white flowing robes with white owl feathers and seemed as strong and powerful as ever. He was smiling, and when she followed his gaze, she could see the golden clock hanging freely in the void. Its arms pointed at one minute to 13._

"_Such a pity," Jareth commented, and then the last minute ticked away, and the watch began to chime._

"_Nooo!" Sarah cried. She couldn't believe it – she'd come so far, and now the time had run out just as she was at her goal._

"_Through dangers untold," she started fast and loudly to overpower the watch, "I have fought my way here beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen!"_

"_Sarah, it's over!" the Goblin King said, "You lost."_

"_For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great!"_

_He looked at her with an amused smile and waited. The clock had finished the thirteen rungs._

"_You… you have no power over me!" Sarah finish. Nothing happened. She repeated it, almost with a scream. "You have NO POWER OVER ME!" _

_Jareth advanced on her and came very close, towering over her. "Sarah, beware. I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."_

"_Generous?" she asked incredulous. "What have you done, that's generous?" _

"_Everything!" he snapped and paced the floor around her glaring at her. "Everything you wanted, I have done! You asked the child to be taken – I took him! You cowered before me and I was frightening! I have reordered time, I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you! I'm so tired of living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?"_

_Sarah stared at him and couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did he think, she had wanted any of this? "Give me the child!" she said and hoped she sounded more confident than she was._

"_No," he said flatly. "You lost and he is mine to keep. Go back to your toys and costumes – when you get home, I will have fixed it, so no one but you remembers that there ever was a Toby."_

_She suddenly felt cold as despair filled her. He really meant it. He was not going to let Toby go. Unwillingly, she felt tears well up in her eyes, and she looked up at him pleadingly. "Please let me have him, Your Majesty," she whispered and knew her voice was filled with defeat. She didn't care about appearances anymore; she would do anything to save Toby. "Please…!"_

_Not a hint of compassion or mercy showed in Jareth's mismatched eyes. "Why should I?" he asked coldly and turned away from her, walking back towards the archway. "Just jump into the void – you will land safely back home where you can enjoy you new life as an only child."_

_Tears streamed down her face, but she made one last attempt, just before he passed through the archway. _

"_Your Majesty… take me instead!"_

_Her voice had been no more than a whimper, but he stopped abruptly and slowly turned to face her. "Excuse me?"_

_She sniffled and cleared her throat. "Take me instead of Toby!" she repeated a little louder and tried to prevent her voice from shaking. "It is not fair that he should suffer because of my stupid wish. Will you not let me take his place?"_

_Jareth stood silent for a moment. "You would do that?" he said at last. "You would stay here in the Underground and let your brother be the only child instead?"_

"_Yes," she whispered and tried not to think of the consequences of this offer. He advanced upon her like a predator, smiling cruelly and stopping just inches before touching her. She could feel his warmth and smell the spicy, tingling air around him. _

"_I accept," he said at last, "but I cannot take you now. You will have to go back with your brother and then return when you're grown."_

"_Why? But I _am_ grown?" she stammered confused at his answer._

"_The Labyrinth would change you as it does to all minors. You would end up as a goblin, and we wouldn't want that, would we? It would be such a pity!" He traced her chin with a single gloved finger and she shivered under his touch. "No, you must go back now, and when you are twenty-one, I will come for you to make you fulfil you vow."_

"_You want me to wait around for six years, knowing I have no future above and that I am to leave for the Underground soon?" _

_His eyes held hers for a moment, and then softened. "I'll give you a crystal to help you forget." He reached out and plucked a crystal out of thin air, offering it to her. _

"_Take this. When you break it, you will be home and safe with Toby and you will have forgotten all about this deal we made, until I remind you in six years time."_

_She took the crystal with a slightly shaking hand, grateful for the chance to forget and escape from his mocking eyes. He inched closer, so she could feel his robes against her bare arms, and slowly lifted both hands as if to touch her again, and terrified, she quickly shut her eyes and broke the crystal. As she began to spin and fall, she heard his soft laughter following her even long after she landed in the safety of her home._

"NO!" Sarah's eyes snapped wide open as she came out of the dream. Jareth, clad in black still stood in her bedroom, looking every bit as amused and smug as he had done all those years ago. "I don't believe it! I defeated you!"

But the memory of her own defeat was much clearer that the one of her victory over him, and she knew that the vision, she had just seen, was the cold truth. She had lost, and now she was his!


	4. Return to the Underground

Hope you like this story as it is my first Laby fanfic. Please read& review. I'm not sure it really needs an M-rating, but not being American, I don't know exactly when a story goes from T to M, so better safe than sorry.

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Jareth and Sarah stood staring at each other for the longest time, before he moved towards her with slow deliberate steps. She tried to back away, but there was nowhere to run.

"Please," she whispered, really scared now, "It can't be true. It's been too long – can't we just forget it?"

"What is said is said. But the alternative is still open, if you think that is a better solution." Jareth expression became bored and he gestured towards the door to the hallway. "I'm sure little Toby will make an excellent addition to my goblin army."

Toby! Her beloved little brother – she couldn't let that man take him away again.

"No, I'm sorry; of course I'll keep my vow and come with you."

Jareth lifted his hand and suddenly four crystal orbs were spinning in his hand. He sent them flying and three of them gently floated out through the closed door to the hallway as if they had no substance. The fourth hovered in the air in the bedroom and then burst into silver showers that scattered all over the place. Before her very eyes, all Sarah's personal things vanished and the room changed into a plain unused guestroom.

"My books!" she cried and looked around. "What did you do!"

"I have wiped out all the memories of you in this house. When they wake up, your family will not remember that you have ever existed." Jareth surveyed his work with expert eyes. "Believe me, it is for the best."

"But my clothes? What will I wear? What will happen to me?" Sarah felt herself shaking; she couldn't believe what he had just done.

"You will be with me," he said, and suddenly they were no longer in her house, but at the edge of the Labyrinth overlooking the entrance and the castle far beyond. It was as late a night as the one they had left above, and a huge silvery moon lit up the sky and illuminated the Labyrinth in blue and grey shades. Here and there fires and torches could be seen inside the maze, and the entrance was lit by two large kettles burning with fire. Everything was silent and looked deserted, but at the palace in the middle, lights shone in all the windows.

"I can't believe it!" Sarah whispered. "I'm back!"

"Yes, and this time for good. You should know that I always win, Sarah!" The Goblin King laughed cruelly. She suddenly forgot her fears and felt the anger rise in her.

"Why?" she cried and turned to look at him. "What will you do to me, now that you have me?"

His eyes narrowed and a slow sensual smile spread across his face as he let his gaze travel up and down her body. She suddenly realised she had nothing but a thin nightgown on, and she fought the urge to cover herself with her hands, feeling he could see right through it.

"You have certainly grown," he commented, but took of his cape and handed it to her, as if he could sense her need for a more modest attire. She hesitated and thought of refusing it, but then again, what would be the point? As she wrapped it around her shoulders, it enveloped her in the warmth and smell of him, making her slightly dizzy.

"Do you see my Labyrinth, Sarah?" he asked and gestured towards it with his gloved hand. "I have been the ruler of this Labyrinth for more than six hundred of your years. Six hundred years of answering calls from mortals to take away their children. Six hundred years of collecting babies and teasing the few that actually took up the challenge and tried to defeat the Labyrinth. Oh, don't feel bad, Sarah, no one has ever succeeded in defeating it, and you were the one who actually came closest of all to do it."

"How old are you then?" she asked, trying to think back six hundred years. That would be the 15th century, haunted by the plague, superstition, and religious doctrines, but also on the verge of renaissance and enlightenment. And he had been here since then?

"Hmm… I lost count, but I think around twelve hundred years by now. I'm part Fae, and though not immortal then, my lineage age very slowly. I was very young when I took over from my father. Anyway, your offer to stay instead of Toby took me quite by surprise back then, and I really had no idea what to do with you then. But I didn't really need Toby then, I had no Faes waiting for a child, and the thought of having you here instead…"

"Wait a minute! What is this about waiting for a child?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "You don't really think the goblins or I would be fit to take care of a small child, do you?" he said with scorn in his voice. "I give the babies to Fae families, where they are adopted and can be happy and safe."

"But you just threatened to turn Toby into a goblin!"

"Why, sure, he's old enough to be one now," the Goblin King replied calmly. "The Labyrinth only changes children old enough to take reasonable care of themselves, children who can walk and talk and think for themselves. Turned into goblins, they forget their past, but are allowed to stay like children forever, as in Neverland. I feed them, clothe them, give them simple chores and teach them games to play. They love being goblins."

"I don't believe it!" Sarah glared at him in disgust. "You sound as if you are proud of turning sweet little children into mindless, filthy, ugly goblins!"

"And who are you, my dear, to judge my goblins?" he replied icily. "There was never any future for those kids; most of them had never known a day's happiness in their lives, before they came here! Many were on the brink of starvation or had been abused in every possible sense of the word, crippling them in mind and body, and who from your own world would adopt such a child? Making them forget their past is a blessing, and they do not think they are ugly or stupid, as you obviously do!"

Sarah started to reply, but was cut short by Jareth. "They love me," he hissed with passion in his voice. "I saved them, and they love me and would die for me, because I protect them and care for them. _I care!_"

Suddenly Sarah didn't know what to say. Was he right? Was what he offered them here not far better that the existence they might have had in her own world?

"But about you, Sarah," Jareth continued, and his smile became sly and devilish. "After careful considerations, I have made completely different plans for you. The reason Faes adopt your mortal children are because so few grown mortals are ever taken Underground. The pathways down here are few and far apart. As immortals, Faes cannot have children on their own, but only secure offspring by adopting them or consorting with a mortal. My bloodline has too much Fae in it by now, and I need a mortal to beget an heir to the Goblin Throne. And of all the mortals I've ever encountered, you are by far the most interesting."

Sarah couldn't say a word, but stared at him in chock, as he continued smoothly: "Don't worry, it will be all formal and proper – by the next full moon, I will make you my wife and Queen of the Goblins!"


	5. Alone in the Dark

Thanks for reviews - glad you like it:-) 

Dutch FF-lover: No, I don't think Sarah _had _any friends as the dreamer she was when she was 15. But would she really keep on playing with costumes and books after experiencing the real thing? Will have a bit more on this in chaper 6.

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The silence hung deep between them for a moment, before Sarah exploded in anger.

"Are you out of your mind?" she screamed at him and furiously stamped her bare feet in the dust. "I would not marry you if you were the last man in the world! Not in this world or the next!"

Jareth threw back his head and laughed. "That's what I like about you, Sarah – you're so entertaining! Of course you'll marry me!"

"I will not! You can't make me agree!"

"Actually," he smiled, "the marriage vows down here does not contain any agreement from the female part, so I wouldn't even have to make you say 'I do'."

"I'll never give in to you!" she stated flatly and stared at him with burning eyes. She couldn't believe what he was proposing, and he would certainly not get away with this. "You are a cruel heartless monster, and I'd sooner kiss a snake than let you touch me."

"Oh, would you now?" Locking her gaze with his unusual eyes, he advanced upon her like a predator and suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and caught her mouth with his, kissing her roughly and intensely. His attack took her completely by surprise and she almost gave in to his overpowering presence, and the surge of emotions his kiss awoke in her. As she tried to free herself and beat her fists against his unmoving chest, he just deepened the kiss and pulled her closer, almost crushing her against him. Furious at his attack and without thinking clearly, she resorted to the last possible escape and sunk her teeth into his invading lips, biting him hard and tasting blood.

That did it! He flung her away, cursing under his breath, so she stumbled and fell in the dust. Wiping his mouth with the back of his glove, a trail of blood was smeared across his chin, and made him look like a demon or a vampire king, terrible and cruel. She held her breath in fear and inched away from him, not daring to take her eyes of him. What had she done! He stared at her incredulously, but then to her amazement started to laugh again.

"Oh, I was right!" he said, "You will be most entertaining!"

He looked at her a bit longer, and then turned to gaze out over his Labyrinth. "I think, my dear, you need a little time to calm down. I _was_ going to take you directly to a nice room in my castle, where a soft bed and a warm bath would be waiting for you. But… as you seem to not want anything from me at the moment, I'll let you get there on your own. After all, if my Labyrinth was a piece of cake that last time, you should have no trouble getting through it now."

He started to fade away into the darkness, and his last words hung in the air as he disappeared entirely: "I'll be waiting for you at the castle…"

Sarah took a deep shuddering breath and tried to relax. He was gone – she was alone in the darkness. Everything was silent and only a soft rustle of wind in the trees could be heard. How could she be in this position, she thought desperately. Only an hour ago, she had been safe and happy in her old bedroom, and now it didn't even exist anymore! _She_ didn't exist! No one would miss her or come to save her – there was only the Labyrinth and the Goblin King left. And maybe her old friends here. She cheered up a bit at the thought of Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus, but then again – she hadn't called them in years. Maybe they wouldn't care so much, as she hoped.

The Labyrinth and the entrance to it looked dark and foreboding. Did she have any choice but to go to the castle beyond the Goblin City? _He_ would be there, but who knows what else would be lurking for her in the darkness, if she tried to walk the other way? Other Faes, waiting to trap a mortal? And where would she find food and shelter, if not at the palace? Already, she could feel that she lacked sleep – it was in the middle of the night, and her inner clock was warning her to go to bed soon. No, she would have to go to the castle, at least until she learned a bit more about the Underground. At least the wedding was a month away – she'd have plenty of time to find an escape or trick him into letting her go. If he could take away her family's memories, he could surely give them back again!

She got up and started to go downhill to the illuminated entrance, but she had not gone two steps before she trod on a sharp stone with her bare feet and yelped at the pain. As she hopped a step away, Jareth's long cape got stuck in a thorn bush and trapped her, and she had to almost tear it to get it free. The hopelessness of the situation was so ridiculous it made her feel like crying and laughing at the same time.

"Bare feet, a flimsy nightgown and the Goblin Kings cape," she whispered. "I must be a sorry sight, indeed, and now I have to pass through the Labyrinth at night?"

Slowly making her way down and feeling the ground with her foot before she took each step, she finally made it to the entrance. There was no sign of the fountain where Hoggle had been the last time, and the doors were wide open. The fires burning on each side in two huge pots – probably oil containers - flickered in the wind and made disturbing shadows on the long wall, but at least it was light. It would be very dark inside the corridors, once the gates shut behind her. She looked around for a torch or lamp, but found nothing but a few branches. How was it they made light in the movies, she thought and looked around for something to burn.

Half an hour later, she lifted a long branch with a tightly bound piece of Jareth's cape on the end, and dipped it into the burning oil. It flamed up immediately and then began to burn with a steady flame. The cape she had put back on was now several inches shorter and rather torn and ragged at the end. She tried not to think of what Jareth would say about it when he found out, but then again – she couldn't very well enter the maze without light, could she?

As she had expected, the doors slammed shut behind her the moment she had passed into the Labyrinth. The long unending corridors stretched to each side of her and she looked at them with sinking heart. Should she try to retrace her footsteps from six years ago, or should she try to find a faster way by choosing another path? And would she even be able to, when the Labyrinth kept changing? Taking a quick decision, she turned left – the opposite direction of last time. Walking carefully at the right side of the corridor, she kept a hand grazing the wall the entire time and soon found one of the hidden turns.

"At least I know what to expect this time", she muttered and turned right this time, always keeping her hand on the wall closest to the centre of the Labyrinth. "I _will_ get through, you monster, just watch me!"


	6. Inside the Labyrinth

Solea: I know what you mean, but remembering the labyrinth from the movie, there didn't really seem to be that many places to live, and it was rather harmless, more like somebody's messy backyard than a dangerous trial. No ogres, no vampires, nothing really scary. I thought I'd elaborate a bit more on the labyrinth aspect and the inhabitants in the labyrinth than usual in fanfics, just to try that angle. And yes, more suckitude for Sarah coming up :-)

SnapeMoment: Yes, it was far too soon for her to swoon over him - he's still a villain after all. ;-)

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Hours later, as the first rays of daylight could be seen in the horizon, a tired, filthy Sarah found herself inside what could only be described as a mud maze! After the stone corridors, she'd walked through a maze made of nasty red thorn bushes, which had made quite a few tears in Jareth's cape. Then for a short while it had changed to tall thick bamboo walls, almost twice as tall as her, with a stone slate floor, which was really nice to walk on with her bare feet, so she'd almost been running in there.

Now, tall yellow brick walls surrounded her, and the ground beneath her was only dirt and very wet dirt almost three inches deep! With every step she could feel the mud oozing between her toes and sloshing up her bare legs, and it felt cold and slimy. Worst of all, whenever she got a glimpse of the castle, it stills seemed as hopelessly far away as when she started. She was so tired, and she hated the fact that Jareth was probably watching her in one of his crystals and laughing at her.

Suddenly Sarah tripped and fell on her knees in the mud, splashing mud on her arms and face and soaking most of her clothing by breaking the fall with her hands. She was almost too tired to get up again, and started sobbing without trying to move.

"Are you hurt, my child?" a deep kind voice asked, and she gasped in surprise and looked up to see a huge lion standing right in front of her. She scrambled back in fear while getting to her feet, but the lion did not move or attack. In fact, it wasn't really a lion – its face looked very human, and a pair of big brown wings was nearly folded on its back to avoid the mud. It looked very much like a picture of a sphinx, she'd seen in a school book once. Behind the sphinx, a wooden door without keyhole or handle blocked the way, and she was very sure that door hadn't been there before her fall.

"Who are you?" she asked between sobs and tried to wipe off her hands in the dry part of her gown, while eyeing it carefully in case it was dangerous.

"I am the Sphinx," the creature said, "I am a guardian of the Labyrinth. And you must be King Jareth's bride."

At the mention of the Goblin King, Sarah flushed in humiliation and quickly choked back her tears. He was not going to break her!

"I am Sarah," she said proudly. "I bested the Labyrinth once, and I'll get through it again even if it takes me a week!"

"Yes, I knew it was you!" the sphinx replied happily and fluttered its wings. "I'm very pleased to meet you, I was so sorry you didn't pass my way the last time."

"Do you know the way through the Labyrinth to the castle?"

"Mmm, yes," the creature confessed, "but I'm afraid I can't tell you. The King has forbidden us all to help you find your way to the castle."

Sarah flushed in anger. "Forbidden?"

"I'm afraid so," the creature apologized and lowered its head, is if it really wanted to help her, but didn't dare. "You know, the Bog might be an old threat, but it still works…"

"But," it continued and looked up, "I _can_ help you through this door to a nicer part of the Labyrinth!"

"Well, it can't be much worse, can it?" Sarah looked down at herself and grimaced. "Anything you can do will be helpful."

"The door behind me leads to two different places. If you guess my riddle, it will take you to the Rose Garden close to the Goblin City. If you make a wrong guess, it will lead you to the Sandstone Maze even further away from the castle than we are now."

"A riddle? Oh, I never was very good with riddles," Sarah confessed. "But very well, I'll try."

The sphinx cleared its throat and stood up in full height, spreading out its wings looking huge and magnificent, before its voice sang out the riddle:

"Walk on the living,  
They don't even mumble.  
Walk on the dead,  
They mutter and grumble.  
What are they?"

"Oh, it's one of those," Sarah said and started thinking. Walking on living and dead? Graves? Tombs? Living what? What made more noise in death than when living?

"You couldn't give me a hint?" she said at last to the sphinx, who was patiently watching her. "Just a little one?"

It shook its head sadly, and she inwardly cursed the Goblin King for his power over these creatures. She was completely blank, and finally shook her head as well.

"Nope, I give up – I'm too tired to think, and I can't imagine what the answer could be."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the sphinx said sadly and the door behind it swung open and revealed a small square surrounded by sandstone. "I hope you find a better way soon, Lady Sarah!"

It let her limp by and out through the door, which shut behind her and disappeared as if it had never existed. Sarah looked around in despair and found herself in a maze that looked like the same one she'd tried marking with her lipstick the last time. The castle loomed in the horizon behind her instead of in front of her as it had been just a minute ago, and it seemed even further away than it had at the entrance.

She sank down on a stone bench in the little square and buried her face in her hands as if to shut out the Labyrinth and its King. She felt cold and dirty and wet, and she was so hungry and tired since she'd walked all night and not gotten any sleep before that. And yet, here she was, trying desperately to get the castle and the very person who put her in this position.

It felt very strange meeting him again after all these years. She had been so sure she could never go back. That had been the worst part, she thought, having something that fantastic happening to her, and knowing it would never be matched by anything else she could dream up. Perhaps that was why she had turned to other activities, more normal for a teenage girl. She had left the Labyrinth stronger and more powerful, because she had bested him, so after that she had feared no one, and her confidence and self-assuredness got her a lead role in the school play, which was where she met her two best friends and slowly started to be drawn into the social life of High School. The old shy Sarah would have turned down party invitation and preferred to read or make fantasy costumes, but this new confident Sarah had given up fantasy, because it was so pale compared to her adventures, and she had thrown herself at other activities to leave the dream behind her.

Her fantasies of Jareth had been the hardest to quench. She remembered dreaming about him in secret for months after, thinking about what would have happened if she had accepted his offer to "fear him, love him and do as he said". Stories of love and 'happy ever afters' that had kept her well entertained, when she was particularly bored at school. Thinking back, she realized that the "fear me, love me" phrase was part of the false memory he'd given her – he'd never said that. Why had he even put it in the memory? Maybe he thought it funny if she would indeed fear him and love him as his wife… she shuddered at the mere thought. One thing was a fantasy – the real Jareth was something quite different with his strong overpowering presence and cruel mismatched eyes.

The stone bench was not comfortable, but as she sat there, it suddenly felt more and more inviting, and she lay down on it, arranging the remains of Jareth's cape under her head and across her shoulders to shelter her a little from the hard stone. Without meaning to, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep restful sleep.


	7. Goblin Encounter

Yes! The answer to the riddle was "leaves", but even though _you_ could guess, I didn't find it realistic that a tired, weary Sarah would be able to.

Solea: Criticism welcome, that's what make us better writers, so you're most welcome. I know it could be clearer why she's running to the castle, but this fic needs her to get to the castle ;-). I imagine it is to spite Jareth, who challenged her, and because the alternative looked worse - I might elaborate and put in a cold desert or a pitch-dark forest on the borders of the labyrinth to make sure she can't go that way...

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"Lady Sarah?" A finger prodded her gently in the shoulder and she brushed it away sleepily. "Are you awake, Lady Sarah?"

Sarah slowly regained consciousness and instantly wished she hadn't. Every part of her body was sore and aching, and her head felt heavy and stuffed as if she was coming down with the flu. She opened her eyes and then gave a start and sat up quickly at the sight of two small female goblins who had been regarding her intensely just an inch away from her nose.

"Oh, my head," she moaned, and rubbed her temples, brushing her dirty tangled hair away from her face. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Please, Lady Sarah, we have food for you," they chirped in unison, and then giggled, looking at each other. "And water," one of them continued holding out a bag for her.

She looked at them suspiciously. They were about three feet high and looked almost identical, except that one of them had a blue dress on, and the other one a brown. Their hair was brown and plaited, and their skin smooth and goblin grey. While they looked like adult goblins, their smiles and giggles reminded her more of 7-year old children and they looked expectantly at her with their huge yellow-tinged eyes.

"Did your king send you?" she asked, very well remembering a certain peach. She was _no_t going to fall for that one again.

"Oh no," the goblin in the blue dress said, "He doesn't know. But we thought you might be hungry - they say you've been in here for ten hours now!"

"And we get so hungry after just four hours," the other one commented wistfully.

Sarah slowly took the bag and opened it. It contained a loaf of dark bread, some cheese, an apple and a water skin. She felt dizzy and nauseous and didn't really want to eat anything, but she knew her body needed food, so she slowly tore off a piece of the bread and tasted it. It was rather good.

"Thank you," she said and smiled at them. "Who are you?"

"I'm Fanny!" the one in the brown dress cried and did a little dance.

"And I'm Fenella," the other one said calmly. "We are twins and maids at the castle."

"The castle!" Sarah nearly choked on her food. "Then you must know the way to it! Can you show me? I have to go there."

Fanny started to nod and say something, but Fenella cut her off sharply: "No, I'm sorry, His Majesty has forbidden us to guide her to the castle! You know that, Fanny!"

"Oh, I forgot," the little goblin said sadly. "I don't know why, though – he's waited for her for six years and now he leaves her alone in the Labyrinth?"

"Does everyone know?" Sarah exploded and Fanny jumped back in fright. It was bad enough that Jareth was arrogant and overconfident, but did the whole Labyrinth have to be told? "About what happened six years ago and why I'm here?"

"Well, yes," Fenella said and patted her sister's hand. "All goblins love His Majesty and look out for him. And we're everywhere and tell each other everything, so naturally he can't keep a secret very long. Although he _did_ try in your case. It took hours to find out whether you had won or lost the last time."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Sarah said kindly to Fanny, who smiled timidly back. "It just seems so weird that you know all about me, and I didn't know the truth about my encounter with your king until last night."

"It's too bad he didn't take you right away," Fanny said brightly, "then you could have been a goblin, too!"

Sarah looked in chock at the little goblin and almost exclaimed her relief at not being made into a goblin, but bit back the words when she realized how rude they would sound.

"Mmm… He probably wanted his wife to be a bit taller to match himself," she suggested instead. "You're all very small, aren't you?"

"Yes," Fanny said, "that's why we are so good at hiding everywhere. It's so fun being a goblin, …but I suppose being a mortal or Fae is nice, too." The last bit was hastily added, as her sister nudged her in ribs to remind her to be polite.

Sarah chewed thoughtfully at her apple. "Do you know every part of the Labyrinth? What is in it besides the castle and all these corridors?"

"In it?" They looked at her in wonder. "The nasty oubliettes, the nastier Bog, and lots of roads and doors and secret passageways."

"No, I mean… a city or some houses or something. Does anyone live in here?" Sarah was thinking about hiding places in case this journey took more than a day. Her whole body ached and she knew she would need a better place to spend the night. And while the food they had brought her was fine, it would not sustain her for long.

"We do," Fanny said brightly. "We live in the Goblin City by the castle!"

"Yes, but I mean, I had a friend the last time, a dwarf called Hoggle. Would you know where he lives? Or Ludo?" Sarah briefly thought about asking for Sir Didymus as well, but could not imagine staying in the Bog of Stench even for one night.

"We don't talk to _them_!" Fanny sniffed and they both looked insulted. "They are not _goblins_! They are just guardians in the Labyrinth and…"

"Oh, look out, Lady Sarah!" Fenella suddenly exclaimed and pulled at her hand. "A mist is coming right at you – get up!"

Sarah bolted up and whirled around, but could see absolutely nothing. But then a doorway appeared in the wall right behind her and the bench she'd been sitting on suddenly turned into a rose bush with long spiky thorns as if by magic.

"What…! How did it do that?" she cried, thinking how lucky it was that Fenella had warned her, or she would have surely been scratched to blood by the nasty thorns.

"It was a mist of magic – didn't you see it?"

"No! What is that?" Sarah looked wildly around her, but didn't see anything except the altered surroundings.

Fanny and Fenella looked at each other in horror and then back at Sarah. "You mean you can't see the mist?" they exclaimed in unison and seemed completely surprised and chocked.

"No, I didn't see anything!"

"Oh, but how will you ever get through the Labyrinth, then?" Fanny cried. "If you can't see it, how can you control it?"

And Fenella added: "It is the Mists of Magic that makes the Labyrinth change constantly. And turns mortal children into goblins. And lets us goblins find our way through the Labyrinth. It must be terrible not to be able to see it!"

"But you can?" Sarah asked confused. "What does it look like?"

"Raindrops!" Fanny said, and Fenella added. "Silver sparkles! And fairy dust!"

Sarah looked around again, but still couldn't see anything. "Is that what you use to get to the castle? How does it work?"

"We just think where we want to go," they replied, "and then the mist appears and shows us the right way to go. The Labyrinth is full of shortcuts to everywhere."

Sarah though about this while finishing the last of the bread and cheese. It was funny enough being pitied by goblins for being only a mortal, when she had just been angry at Jareth for turning them into goblins. Being told that they could wield the Labyrinth's magic and she couldn't just made it even worse.

"Can you show me?" she asked, suddenly thinking about exactly how specific Jareth's orders to them had been. Maybe he had only mentioned the castle and not thought to specify areas close to it.

"I know you can't take me to the castle, but could you show me the way to… uhh, the Rose Garden? It would really be interesting to see how it works, this mist."

"Of course," Fanny agreed happily and closed her eyes in concentration for a second. When she opened them again, she turned around and pointed at an exit that seemed no different from all the rest. "That way!"

Sarah gave the pouch back to Fenella, who seemed to be having conflicting thoughts of whether it was ok what they were doing. But by asking her about the work they were doing at the castle and whether they had seen the room Jareth had promised her, the little goblin was distracted and followed her sister together with Sarah. They walked for a few minutes with Fanny guiding the way, until they arrived at two almost identical steel doors. Above the door was written the following letters: "OTTFFSSEN" and on each of the two doors were a letter: "T" on the one and "O" on the other.

"Come," Fanny said and pointed to the door with the "T". "This way!"

"Why?" Sarah asked and tried to guess the meaning of the riddle. "How do you know that answer is correct?"

"Because the mist is there," Fenella answered and went over to touch the door that instantly opened. "We never try to solve the riddles – they are only for mortals on Quests."

Sarah and the goblin twins passed through the door, and suddenly they stood in a large garden filled with row and rows of huge fragrant roses. The rose beds were framed by nicely cut hedges and in the middle was a big noisy fountain with a statue of four mermaids throwing water. The air was warm and heavy, and everywhere butterflies danced in the air.

"Oh, how beautiful!" Sarah whispered and hesitantly touched a rose. They were in all the colours she could possibly imagine, except pure white. The sweet smell dazzled her and she turned to thank the little goblins, but to her surprise they were not there and there seemed to be no sign of them.

"Fanny? Fenella? Where are you?"

There was no response, and she looked around in concern. Did something scare them away, or had they been called away on duty? Or maybe they had been spooked by what she saw now: The castle which had been so far away, now lay right beside her, just beyond the walls of the Goblin City at the opposite site of the garden!


	8. The Castle beyond the Goblin City

Lady of the Labyrinth: It's a classic logic riddle - the letters stand for the first letter in the numbers 1 to 10 (One, Two, Thee...) making the answer "T" for Ten.

Draegon-fire: I think Jareth seems a jerk in this fic particularly, because I don't show anything from his point of view or reveal his thoughts to the reader. Of course he's in love with Sarah, but he's much to stubborn to just say it to her or court her normally. He probably wouldn't even know what normal courting is;-)

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Sarah's heart began to beat wildly – she was happy to see her goal so close, but at the same time, she knew that HE would be waiting for her there. She was scared of what he might do to her, but then again, if he wanted her as a wife, he probably wasn't going to hurt her. She tried to think about her encounter with him again, but still couldn't fathom why he would want her for a bride, when she had clearly shown him she didn't want to come. Unless he was so evil and twisted that he only enjoyed himself when he had someone to tease and torment. Or maybe it was revenge, because she had almost bested him in his own game. Well, whatever the reason, she was not having it, and he would regret his choice.

In the warmth of the sunlight, her arms and legs had begun to scratch horribly where the dried mud was peeling off, and the sounds from the fountain drew her nearer to it. Its sparkling waters danced in all the colours of the rainbow. After testing a bit of the water and finding it fresh and delicious, she drank deeply and then sat on the fountain edge, using a relatively clean corner of Jareth's cape to wash her face, arms and legs. She couldn't do anything about the torn and dirty nightgown, but tearing off a small strip of the cape, she tied her long hair back into a quick braid to keep it as neat as possible.

"Well, this will just have to do," she said to herself. Taking a deep breath, she rose and headed towards the castle.

As she entered the Goblin City, she found a completely different city than the one she had experienced the last time, where it had been deserted. This time, there were goblins everywhere in the streets – a few of them in armour and horned helmets, but most of them in friendlier outfits doing things like carrying baskets and feeding pets and cleaning the houses. Others were laughing and running around playing catch or soccer. Within seconds of her arrival, however, she was spotted and they all stopped what they were doing and stared at her open-mouthed. Some began to whisper and laugh, and other started running towards the castle, screaming "She's here, she's here!" at the top of their lungs. Well, so much for secrecy, she thought with a wry smile.

With a tail of goblins after her, she continued along the main road towards the castle, smiling at them and saying hello to all the ones that dared approach her, which were not that many. They seemed very excited, but shy in her presence. Turning a corner, she could see the front gates of the castle, and in front of them – the Goblin King. He was casually clad in blue tights, black leather vest and boots and a white poet's shirt, open in the front to show off his shining necklace pendant. The slender whip in his hand was tapping his boot impatiently.

As soon as he saw her, his eyes locked on hers in a burning stare, and everything around her slipped away as she sensed him and only him. How her legs had kept moving, she didn't know, but suddenly she was there, right in front of him.

"I'm impressed, Sarah," he purred and bowed mockingly. "I trust your journey was not too difficult?"

"Oh no, not at all," she lied and lifted her chin defiantly. "Nothing to talk about, really!"

"Yes, I can see that," he answered and looked up and down at her, making her painfully aware of her torn and ragged attire. As his eyes reached her shoulders, he froze. "I do hope that is not my cape you are still wearing…?"

"Oh yes," she answered loftily and took it off, offering it back to him. "It was very useful, I assure you, but you ought to try to find something in a better quality next time – it really wasn't very durable!"

His icy stare made her shiver, as he slowly reached out and took the cape with two fingers, as if handling a dead rat. He threw it at the closest goblin without even looking whether it caught it, and started to say something, but then apparently though the better of it.

"Come," he said between clenched teeth after a short pause. "I believe I promised you some nicer accommodations, and since you didn't like the cape, we'll just have to find something else for you to wear, won't we?"

He reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder, and smiled when she flinched as his touch. The surroundings blurred, and suddenly they were standing in a large room inside the castle. She hastily took a step back from him and broke the contact.

"This is your room for now," Jareth said casually. "It is the Queen's chambers, which have been unused for many years, but I trust you will find them to your satisfaction. There are clothes in the wardrobe and the hot bath that you seem to be in… hmmm… dire need of, is through the little door to the left. I will be expecting you to join me for dinner tonight, but otherwise you can do as you wish."

The room was bright and sunlit, and large open windows were almost a balcony in themselves, as they were cut through the four feet thick walls of the castle. Outside the Labyrinth stretched for as far as Sarah could see. One wall in the room was dominated by a huge four-pillar bed with crème-coloured drapes and covers, and by the windows the wardrobe stood next to a vanity table and a large full-size mirror. A fire burned steadily in a big fireplace with two chairs and a dainty table in front of it. Apart from the smaller open door to the bathroom, Sarah could also see two larger closed doors on the right wall and behind her.

"That one leads to the hallway," Jareth pointed with his whip, "and the other one leads to my own bedroom." He smiled and seemed to enjoy the idea. Sarah took a step further away from him, but he immediately followed and looked down at her.

"So you see, Sarah, if you need me, I'll be just a few steps away."

Sarah fought to remain calm and not let him see how much he was upsetting her. She was really angry with herself that she should be letting him have this power over her, and angry at him for being so intimidating. They stared intensely at each other for a moment, and he was so close she could feel the warmth of his body against hers. She held her breath and braced herself for his touch which was bound to happen, but the expression in his eyes remained unreadable, and at last he stepped back and walked casually towards the door to the hallway.

"I shall leave you, my lady," he said nonchalant, "but I'm really looking forward to dinner to hear all about how you got through my Labyrinth in less than eleven hours. I must be getting careless…!"

As the door closed behind him, Sarah took a deep shuddering breath of relief. That could have been worse – he had even given her a room, as he had promised. Suddenly two small shapes burst out from under the bed and knocked into her legs, clinging to them with grubby little fingers.

"Oh, Lady Sarah," Fanny wailed, "please don't tell him we helped you!"

"He'll throw us into the bog!" Fenella cried and sobbed openly. "Please don't let him hurt us!"

The two little goblins looked absolutely miserable and their crying went straight to Sarah's heart.

"Of course not, my little helpers!" she reassured them and patted them on their heads, "I promise I won't tell. You were most helpful, and it would be horrible to repay you by tattling on you to the king."

"Really?" They looked at her hopefully, still sniffling, but with anxious pleading eyes.

"Yes, really," she said. "I was my fault anyway, I shouldn't have asked you to guide me, but I just had to get here as soon as possible."

"We'll be eternally grateful, Lady Sarah," Fenella said meekly, but with an eager smile. "Is there anything we can do for you? Please, anything at all? We have volunteered to be your personal maids, and we will see to your every need!"

"Well," Sarah said and eyed the bed with longing eyes. She really wanted to lie down and sleep, but felt filthy despite her best efforts at the fountain. "Your king said something about a bath – is it ready?"

They nodded eagerly and grabbed her hands. "This way, my lady!"

Half an hour later, Sarah felt clean and relaxed and even sleepier. She was soaking in a huge bathtub filled with pink fragrant bubbles and had just finished a nice cup of tea, brought by Fanny, who was now piling up fluffy towels for her beside the tub. Fenella came in with a white nightgown, far less modest than the one she had worn from home and which they had declared beyond repair and thrown into the fire.

They waited patiently as she got out of the tub, and giggled at the sight of her pale naked body, and started comparing it to their own darker skin.

"But you will match his Majesty," Fanny said knowingly, "He's just as pale when naked as you are."

Disturbing images of a naked Goblin King, his lean body with the broad shoulders and narrow hips flashed through Sarah's mind and she felt her face redden. "You've seen him naked?"

"My lady," Fenella said gravely, "We've seen everything – we have known him for more than a hundred years, you know."

Sarah tried to push the images away and accepted the towel she was handed. Drying herself off, she inspected the small wounds and cuts she'd gotten in the Labyrinth at the same time. A few of them had opened in the bath and was bright red with blood, but they all seemed superficial and would surely disappear in time. Fenella fussed about them and promised to bring her a salve to make them heal faster, but Sarah was so tired she didn't even really feel the pain.

Putting on the nightgown, she went back into the bedroom and climbed into the bed, which was heavenly soft and luxurious.

"Please wake me before dinner," she mumbled and then closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep.


	9. The Final Choice

Draegon-fire: Of course Sarah wouldn't sleep through when we are dying to see more Jareth in the story... ;-)

Sooo... the dinner was only supposed to be one chapter, but it suddenly grew to two instead. I'll be posting them both now as they belong together, but you'll have to wait a bit longer on the next chapter then... it's still in the making.

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Sarah entered the royal dining room with her head high and as much confidence as she could muster. Fanny and Fenella had searched the wardrobe while Sarah had been sleeping and had presented her with their best choice for the evening, a long emerald-green gown with golden embroideries and, unfortunately, a very low décolletage. She had looked through the wardrobe herself, but though beautiful, all the dresses were hopelessly low-cut and revealing. And they could find no scarves or shawls or anything that could cover her up a bit.

"I bet he did this on purpose," Sarah muttered. In lack of any other covering she decided to let her hair tumble loose around her shoulders, instead of braiding or putting it in a bun like she had gotten used to do in the past few years. Her two helping goblins did what they could to help her, but had no idea of what to do with her hair and makeup, so she took care of that on her own, narrowly saving her hair from being singed with a red-hot curling iron that Fanny had found and helpfully heated in the fireplace.

It was a far cry from what she should have been wearing today, she thought, recalling the short pink summer dress and white jacket she'd chosen for her birthday party. Although it felt like she'd been here a long time, it was still her 21st birthday, and she should have been celebrating it with her friends. She wondered how Jareth could change reality so much that no one would remember her above – that would be an enormous task, wouldn't it? All the little things, like the band and the catering that had been ordered for the party – would they show up to a house and be met with blank stares from her father and Karen? Or would they have forgotten, too? And all her friends – would the gifts they had bought just vanish, or would they wake up and stare at them, wondering who this "Sarah" was that they suddenly had a gift for? And how about school records and her room at the college? The thought of how far her existence really reached was mind-boggling, and she resigned and gave up trying for now. It wouldn't matter if she could make him reverse the spell; only if her option was to escape and if she then had to face the real world without an identity.

The dining room was remarkably clean compared to what she had expected of the castle after the few glimpses she'd had at her last visit. The darkened windows were at least twenty feet above the floor in the high-vaulted room and huge medieval tapestries in bright colours decorated the walls. The huge dining table was of shining mahogany and could seat at least 50 people, but right now it was decked for only two, the Goblin King and her. The room was lit by chandeliers in the ceiling and candelabras on the table, as twilight was approaching.

He was waiting for her there, dressed in tight black breeches and a black poet's shirt, covered by a midnight blue cape. The blue streaks in his hair were very prominent and matched his right eye almost exactly. He approached her and nodded his head as in approval.

"Much better, Sarah dear. I hope you like the dresses I have chosen for you?"

"Oh, _you_ chose them?" Sarah remarked with dripping sarcasm in her voice. "I would never have guessed!"

"They do bring out the best in you," he continued undisturbed and offered her his arm to lead her to the table, and just to show him her confidence she took it lightly and let herself be seated. As he took his place opposite her, he held out a black velvet box to her. "And that dress in particular will match the birthday gift I have for you."

Sarah took it slowly. She knew it must be some kind of jewellery, but as she opened the box, she couldn't help marvelling at the sight of the shining golden necklace inside. Its filigree was as delicate as spider web and from the single emerald teardrop in front, emerald crusted leaves wove halfway up the chain. It was absolutely exquisite and would match her dress perfectly. She closed the box again and looked him squarely in the eyes.

"No, thank you," she said firmly and put it on the table. "I don't take gifts from strangers and trying to bribe me will do you no good."

He narrowed his eyes in anger. "I assure you it was not meant as a bribe, but merely as a token of appreciation for my future wife to emphasize her beauty and status."

"Wife? My dear King of the Goblins," Sarah said with a sigh, "what will it take to make you realize that whatever you say, I do not intend to become Queen of the Goblins?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Well, my dear, whether you intend it or not, it _will_ happen. I know you're missing a party tonight, but I will throw you an even grander one at our wedding. And do call me by my name; after all we _are_ going to be very intimate very soon…"

Sarah flushed and swore inwardly not to use his name, ever, for that particular reason. "Doesn't it matter to you that I don't want you?" she hissed. "You stole my brother, forced me to run your Labyrinth – twice – and to make the choice of staying with you. I have no reason at all to like you or trust you, and any intimacy with you would be pure rape! Is that how you want it?"

"Sarah, I could be cruel, but I'm offering you your dreams instead," Jareth said calmly. "You asked your brother to be taken, and I took him. You offered yourself to me in your noble sacrifice for your brother, and I was very generous to accept it. Many women have done so in the past, but I never took advantage of it before, since I have no need for mortals in the kingdom anyway, and none of the others had the strength needed to be Goblin Queen. I offer you the highest position in the kingdom, second only to myself, and a lifetime of comforts and thrills you couldn't have in your own world."

A row of goblins appeared, carrying trays of delicious looking food. They also brought a jug of dark red liquid, probably berry juice, and Jareth took it and filled both their glasses, while the goblins almost fell on top of each other, trying to put their trays as close to Sarah as possible. They all smiled adoringly at her, and she had to admit that despite their ugliness, they seemed kind of cute when they weren't playing war and pointing spears at you.

"See, even my goblins like you," Jareth commented with a wry smiled. The he grew serious again. "Sarah, the choice is still open, remember that. The rules of the Labyrinth are very strict and cannot be overruled, not even by its King. When you lose a quest, one of you has to stay here, no matter how much time has passed. Despite your protests, you are here willingly, and if you want to leave now that you know my plans, you just tell me. I will send you back and take your brother instead. It is as simple as that. However, you'll have to hurry – after seven days here, the Labyrinth will have claimed you for its own, and you will have been changed too much to ever go back."

"Changed?" Sarah asked frightened. "But wasn't that why we waited until now? So I would not change? What will it change me into?"

"Why, part Fae, of course," he answered calmly. "You will never be true Fae, that would eliminate the whole purpose of having you here, but you will live longer and be able to do a bit of magic."

Sarah was too chocked to speak. She would become Fae in seven… no, six days from now? This was really bad. She no longer had a month to escape, but had to do it in less than a week?

As if the Goblin King could read her mind, he leaned forward, stroking his chin. "If you're having wild dreams about escaping, I will not stop you, but I _will _come and collect little Toby as soon as you reach the borders of my Kingdom to maintain the balance and harmony in my Labyrinth. So you see, if that's what you want, it is much easier just to ask me to let you go."

Sarah's thoughts whirled in her mind and she felt dizzy with despair. She had no time and no options left. No matter how much she wanted to go home, she couldn't let him take Toby again. It was the same choice she'd faced twice before and the same answer she had to give for the third and final time.

"No, I'll stay," she whispered, averting his eyes and feeling her world crumble as the hopes of escape she had nurtured, passed away.

Jareth took the discarded jewellery box and stood up, coming to stand behind her. She flinched as his hands grazed her shoulders and drew back her hair, and then she felt the cold metal against her skin, as he slowly fastened the chain around her neck. She let it happen, not caring anymore, what did it matter? He would get his will in the end, and right now she couldn't see any way out of it.

"That's better," he said and drew away, eyeing her with a satisfied expression, as he returned to her seat. "You will make a beautiful queen."

A single treacherous tear rolling down Sarah's cheek was the only reply he got.


	10. Labyrinth Magic

"Sarah, tell me all about your journey in my Labyrinth," Jareth said after a long pause, apparently satisfied that the matter of her future had been settled. He was slowly sipping from his goblet and picking absentmindedly at his dinner. "I am curious to know which way it took you, as I'm afraid I was too busy elsewhere to watch you."

Sarah remembered the goblin twins' plea and forced herself to concentrate, preparing her first lie to her future husband. She leaned back and started with the truth, carefully retelling where she'd been, until she got to the part with the Sphinx. "It asked a riddle, but I couldn't guess it, so it sent me to the Sandstone Maze. I feel asleep there for a while, but then went on until I got to two doors with a riddle above. Choosing the right answer, it led me straight to the Rose Garden and from there it was only a short walk to the City."

"Did it now…?" Jareth regarded her with narrowed eyes, as if he didn't quite believe it. "My, my – you are clever, aren't you?"

Sarah decided to change the subject: "The two little goblin maids in my room was talking about something called "the mists of magic" and how they used that for finding their way. Is that something I should have seen?"

"Oh, those two," Jareth smiled fondly and looked almost human for a moment. "No, you couldn't have – at least not yet."

"But what is it?" Sarah couldn't let him know how much she'd talked to the goblin twins, and if she had to stay, she might as well learn as much as possible about his world. She leaned back in her chair as well, sipping at the sweet fruity red drink in her cup. It was cool to the touch, but tasted very good - like hot sugar and blackcurrant, and she quickly emptied the cup and refilled it.

"The Mists are the magic of the Labyrinth."

Jareth seemed in his right element as he started talking about his kingdom, while they continued their meal. Sarah didn't have any appetite, despite her last meal being sparse and distant, but the few bites she forced down, tasted fine. Mostly, she just sipped at the sweet juice they were drinking, as it warmed her from the inside and made her oddly numb and relaxed in his company, despite her fears for the future.

"The Mists can only be seen and controlled by goblins and Fae. When we draw on its powers, we only use a small part, like using water from a lake to drink – it is always there, even in the furthest corner of my Kingdom and this castle is its centre. It is the essence and life of the Labyrinth, keeping it in balance, yet subtly changing the individual places. It creates harmony and requires harmony, and whenever something doesn't fit, it changes it to fit."

"Like changing children into goblins?" Sarah asked, this time more interested than disgusted.

"Yes," he answered calmly, "Mortals cannot exists in the Underground unchanged. Within 15 hours, the Mists will start changing them – that's why I only gave you 13 hours to solve the Labyrinth. That is a wide enough timeframe to allow me to send the person who tried to get through the Labyrinth back Above, and transport the child that was wished away outside my realm, if I find it is too young to be a goblin. I have family in the Dryad Woods that keep them while I find new parents for the baby among the Faes of the Realms."

"Will I be able to control it as well? When I am Fae?"

"Well, you will at least be able to control it as much as the goblins, so you can easily walk in the Labyrinth without any fears of getting lost. How much power you will get besides that is uncertain, but hopefully enough to transform as well. The owl shape is quite useful, I assure you."

In the flickering lights from the candelabras on the table, his sharp features and haunting eyes were accentuated, and she couldn't help noticing how much kinder he looked, as he kept on talking about Faes and Dryads and the history of the Labyrinth. Feeling relaxed and warm and rested, she stopped listening to what he was saying, and instead found herself studying every inch of him that she hadn't really dared to look at before.

This man, this Fae, that would soon be her husband, was undeniably handsome. His unruly hair was held back in a neat ponytail, but a single blue lock of hair had escaped and fell across his forehead and the slanted brows. A faint trace of fairy dust on his face made it look even more otherworldly. While speaking, he made little graceful gestures with his slender gloved hands to accentuate his words, and Sarah marvelled at the dexterity of them. The shirt was open in the front to show off his shining golden pendant in the shape of a moon, and she wondered whether this piece of jewellery was something personal to him, or a sign of his royalty. Did he have a crown as well, or was that only for mortal kings? Would she get a crown? The skin on his chest that the pendant rested on it was as pale as hers, just like the goblin girls had giggled about. Letting her eyes take in the outline of his shoulders and chest, she felt her cheeks grow hot as she imagined what his naked upper body would look like. And what it would feel like to run her fingers lightly over it, feeling his unnatural warmth again…

Suddenly, Sarah hiccupped loudly and was wrenched out her fantasies. She did it again, and closed her mouth, completely ashamed of herself. Feeling dizzy, she reached for her glass only to miss and knock it off the table, where Jareth caught it nimbly before it reached the floor.

"Are you ok, Sarah?" he asked with a trace of concern.

She nodded, but this made her head spin even more, and she concentrated on keeping very still. As Jareth returned her goblet and refilled it, she suddenly realized what was wrong.

"I can't believe it!" she cried accusingly and sprang up from her chair, slightly swaying. "You got me drunk?"

"You couldn't be," the Goblin King scoffed. "It was only normal fruit wine, how could two glasses do that?"

He stood as well and held out a hand to steady her. The light touch of his fingers on her arm burned like fire and made her shiver in apprehension, and she tore away, realizing that the sudden attraction and fascination she felt was surely the wine's doing.

"How could you do this to me!" she hissed. "How could you think I would fall for that? I might be forced to marry you, but I will never come willingly to your bed!"

"I assure you," Jareth replied calmly, but with an edge to his voice, "that it was not my intention. As if I needed to drug you!"

"As if you hadn't done it before!" Sarah tried to shake off the intoxication, but had to grip her chair to keep her balance. "What had you planned next for tonight – the ballroom again? Or to take me directly to bed?"

Jareth's eyes gleamed with anger at the accusation and he took a step forward, starting to say something, but whatever it was, it was interrupted by a loud screeching noise outside the room. Then the doors burst wide open and a bunch of small goblin soldiers was running towards the king, one of them carrying a trumpet, which proved to be the source of the annoying sound. He whirled around and faced them, still angry, and the goblin dropped the horn in fear and clung to the others.

"Your Majesty!" the largest goblin gulped, gasping for breath as if he had been running. "We're sorry to interrupt you, but… but… we have bad news! It's… it's the Bog!"

"Yes? What about it?" Jareth said impatiently, looking ready to murder the creature.

"It's... spreading! To almost twice its size in just four hours and all the trees are beginning to die. You must come and fix it, Sir Didymus says. He barely escaped before his nest was destroyed."

"Sir Didymus!" Sarah cried. "Is he ok?"

"Yes, Lady Sarah, but very concerned. The Bog of Stench has _never_ changed size before!"

"Go to bed, Sarah," the Goblin King said firmly. "It is none of your concern. Get sober, and we'll talk in the morning." And with these words, he disappeared into thin air, and the goblins started running out again, yelling and shouting at each other.


	11. Meeting Old Friends

Happy you like it, everyone - thanks for the reviews :-)

BlytheSarita: Thank you! I _did_ have a nagging feeling about that word, but the spell check in Word approved it, and it's spelled with a "c" in Danish, too, so it didn't look too bad. But I'll remember.

SnapeMoment: Tell you? Oh no no no, we wouldn't want to give away the plot yet, would we? ;-)

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When Sarah woke the next morning, the sun was shining brightly and she had to shut her eyes tightly against it, as her head was pounding, and she felt the room spinning as soon as she lifted her head from the pillows. She feltdizzy and sick, but too sick to get up, and burying herself deep under the sheets, she quickly fell asleep again.

The next time she woke, she felt much better – still a bit wobbly, but mostly just hungry. Outside the sun was high above and the whole city beneath her window was brimming with activity and goblins running back and forth. Fenella came by with some breakfast – or lunch as she called it, as it was well past noon – but she seemed very nervous and concerned. It seemed that whatever had gone wrong with the Bog was not fixed yet. None of the goblins understood what was happening, except that Jareth had been gone all night and returned some hours ago exhausted and angry, snapping at everyone.

While thinking about yesterday evening and soaking in the bath tub, Sarah studied her hands and ears, trying to feel if there were any signs of her transformation to Fae yet. It didn't seem that way, and she definitely couldn't see any mists yet. As her time frame was limited to six days, or five and a half now that Jareth and his wine had made her miss half of this day, she knew that any action she could take, would have to be soon. Also when considering what Jareth might do to her. After last night she thought him capable of anything, and she couldn't believe she'd been so stupid as to drink the wine without even realising that it had contained alcohol. But then again, the only alcohol she'd ever tasted had been light beer sneaked in at a friend's party at home, and she'd found that horrible. Jareth's blackcurrant wine had actually tasted wonderful.

Escaping by running away was out of the question, she reasoned. So was acting terrible, for if she wasn't careful, he might decide he didn't want her and take Toby instead, and that couldn't be allowed either. However, approaching it logically, it seemed that the rules of the Labyrinth were very important to him, and she wondered whether perhaps there was one of the rules who would help her. If the Labyrinth allowed the Quests for the children that were wished away, maybe it also allowed some kind of challenge she could make in order to win back her freedom without giving up Toby's. Jareth would of course never tell her, and neither would his loyal goblins, but there had to be someway to find out on her own. Maybe a library?

After getting out of the bath, she found that someone had laid out a set of nice clothes for her on her bed. Plain white undergarments, soft calf-skin boots, a long wide skirt, a white poet's shirt and a black velvet bodice. The outfit made her resemble a gypsy, but was very comfortable and fitted perfectly. She brushed her long hair and made a quick French braid down her back, finishing off with a red ribbon that matched the skirt perfectly. The emerald necklace that she had torn off last night after getting to her room, lay discarded on the night table, and she had no intention of wearing it again, at least not unless he demanded it.

Leaving her room, she looked up and down the hallway trying to decide where the library would probably be, when she suddenly heard the familiar voice of an old friend.

"Lady Sarah! Milady, it fills my heart with joy to see Thee once more!"

"Didymus!" Sarah cried and turned around to see the little furry knight that looked just like she remembered him. She fell on her knees and threw her arms around him in a hug. "Oh, it _is_ you – I was afraid something might have happened to you."

"Fear not, Milady," he chirped bravely and tried to be dignified even when hugging her back. "I laugh in the face of danger, and Jareth and I have it all under control!"

"That's good," Sarah smiled, though she had heard differently. "What are you doing here at the castle?"

"Well, the Bog is a tiny bit larger than usual," he admitted, "so my home is not really somewhere I can stay right now. Our noble King offered me a place at the castle, until things go back to normal."

"How about Ludo and Hoggle? Are they ok? Do you know where they are?"

"I fear Sir Ludo has left the Labyrinth a few years ago," the knight told her, as they started walking down the hallway. "Our valiant companion missed his friends back in the Mountain Kingdom and thus decided to leave."

"He just left? And Jareth didn't stop him?"

"No, we are not prisoners here, Milady," Didymus replied proudly. "The goblins are His Majesty's, but all the rest of us are here of our own free will as guardians in the Labyrinth."

"What about Hoggle? Has he left, too?"

"Why, no, Milady. He's here at the castle as well, working as a librarian."

Sarah stopped. "Why, that's perfect! I was just looking for the library! Do you know where it is?"

Ten minutes later, she and Sir Didymus found themselves in a huge library with books from floor to ceiling. The glass stained windows glowed in red, blue and pink, and two large sofas stood in front of a cosy fireplace. At one side there was a long oak desk with piles and piles of books, and a small familiar figure sat on a high chair next to it, deeply absorbed and writing with a feather quill in a large volume.

"Hoggle!" Sarah cried and rushed to him, and he started, almost knocking his bottle of ink off the table. As he jumped off his chair, they met in an embrace, and Sarah could see his eyes fill with tears.

"My best friend!" he said touched. "It's really you! I'd heard ye'd come back, but I just couldn't believe it."

"Well, I can't either," Sarah laughed and stood up. "What are you doing here? In Jareth's castle and in a _library_?"

"Oh, you know, a bit of this and a bit of that," he admitted, shuffling his feet in embarrassment. "Just minding me own business and cataloguing some books for His Majesty. After… last time… he became obsessed with reading for a while, but got mad that nobody seemed to know what was in here, so he sort of asked me to do an inventory."

At the mentioning of last time, Sarah suddenly felt a stab of conscience. "Hoggle, Sir Didymus, I'm so sorry I haven't called you in a long time. I _do_ care, I just couldn't keep thinking about the Labyrinth and all that at the same time as having a normal life."

"Ahh, we know, Sarah," Hoggle replied and patted her hand, "never ye mind. We knew ye'd come back someday, anyway."

The three friends stayed in the library for hours and chatted about their life and what had happened since they had last seen each other. Both Hoggle and Sir Didymus were distressed to find that Sarah did not wish to stay at all, but promised to help her find out more about the Labyrinth, although the thought of Jareth's wrath made them shiver. Hoggle had not found any book about all the rules of the Labyrinth, and no references to anything but the rules about the children wished away, he said, but he would start searching for them right away. With the parts of the library that he had explored so far, he at least knew where not to look.

Just as they were discussing taking Sarah for a tour of the castle, the door to the library opened with a loud crash and made them all start.

"Hoggle!" Jareth strode in and locked his mismatched eyes on the little dwarf. The Goblin King looked weary and irritated, and there was dust on his normally shining boots and cape. "I need you to find me some books, right now!"

Hoggle jumped from the sofa and ran as fast as he could towards his desk. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"All you can find about the mists and their past behaviour – I expect them waiting for me within an hour!"

As Hoggle flew towards the shelves, Jareth suddenly noticed Sarah and Didymus and slowly walked towards them, coming to stand by the fire. "I must say, Sarah, that your arrival has been timed to the most inappropriate day – my Labyrinth seems to have gone quite mad today."

"What's the matter with it?" she asked, surprised at his admission. "The goblins seem frightened?"

"Yes, they are. Something has disturbed the mists. Not only is the Bog overflowing, the edges of the Labyrinth has begun to lose the magic in some places and have too much in other places. The goblins don't like it when things change." The tone in his voice clearly revealed that he wasn't too happy about it either.

"Why is this happening?"

"Dear Sarah," Jareth answered impatiently, "if I knew that, I wouldn't be here asking for the dwarf's help, would I?"

He turned to Hoggle again: "_One_ hour! Have it ready!"

The dwarf assured him they would be, and without a second glance at any of them, the Goblin King left the room, his black dusty cape swirling behind him.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Hoggle?" she asked, but the dwarf shook his head, not taking his eyes off the shelves for one moment.

"Just leave me to work," he muttered and drew out a book that he carried to the end of the table. "Can't help. Ye'd just be in the way. I'll search for yer books later, Sarah, I promise."

"Milady, shall I take you back to your room?" Sir Didymus offered, but Sarah shook her head.

"I'd much rather see the castle as we talked about – will you show me everything?"

"Why of course, milady. At your service!" Sir Didymus held the door for her, as they left the library. For the next hour they wandered up and down the stairs in the castle, while he led her on a grand tour of the castle, from the kitchens to the highest tower. They passed the throne room, which still looked as messy as the last time she'd been here, and Sir Didymus explained that this room was practically only used when the goblins were mobilised for war against a Quester. It had a great view of the Labyrinth that Jareth preferred and there were room enough to hold all the goblins in Jareth's little army. Sarah noticed the stairs leading from it to the multidimensional room, but her companion would not let her enter there – it was off-limits to everyone but Jareth, he said.

They ended the tour next to the dining room in a great hall that looked strangely familiar. A huge marble floor stretched from wall to wall and great chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but otherwise the room was empty.

"This is the ball room," Sir Didymus explained, and then Sarah recognized it. It was the one from her dream, the one where she had danced with Jareth in front of all those people, and where he had sung to her, as he held her close. The walls had been blurred by the dream bubble then, but everything else was clearly the same.

She slowly walked to the middle of it and looked around, remembering the dream. It had been so different than from the rest of her adventure. She remembered hissadsong and his strong arms around her and she wondered why he had sent her that dream. Well, she still didn't even know whether it had been a dream or not – it could have been real. After all, she had woken up in a different place than where she fell asleep. He was so confusing, she thought. Cruel in his actions, but yet kind to the goblins, as if they were his children. Forcing her into marriage, but at the same time treating her close to decently and giving her presents, no matter that she didn't want them. And about last night… she wasn't sure if he really deserved the anger she'd thrown in his face. Maybe he hadn't meant to get her drunk - after all he couldn't know that she'd had so little experience with alcohol up until now. In other states and countries young people were allowed to drink much earlier than in hers, and it couldn't be expected from a Goblin King that he should be aware of specific mortal laws and regulations, could it?

"Milady? Is something wrong?" Sir Didymus question made her start and she realized she'd been standing transfixed in the room for a long time.

"Oh, no… it's nothing," she said. They left the ball room, but the feeling of wonder did not leave Sarah.


	12. The Raft Maze

More Labyrinth stuff coming up. I promise Jareth will be back in the next chapter :-)

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Sarah shut the book with a sigh and got up to return it to the pile of books that Hoggle had found for her. There seemed to be no stories, no legends, and no hints of how to deal with the situation that she faced. For one thing, no Quester had ever won over the Labyrinth. And no adult person had ever been left in the Labyrinth to try to gain her freedom. The Labyrinth had very few rules, apparently, but none she could use for help. Her situation was unique, and she was no closer to finding a solution than before.

It was her third day in the Goblin Kingdom, and so far it had been very quiet. Not a trace of Jareth anywhere. Hoggle had come to fetch her early that morning, as he had found some books that might be interesting. He'd looked very tired – Jareth had kept him up all night, but had disappeared just before sunrise to go back to the Labyrinth. Apparently the problems with the Bog were spreading. When Hoggle had been sure this morning that the king would not return, he'd started on Sarah's quest instead and found some interesting legends in the oldest books. She'd spent hours on them, but they weren't really useful after a closer look. Most of the time the heroes used magic, but even if Sarah got enough magic after becoming Fae, it would still be too late. Other legends were about trades, but Sarah had nothing to trade with except herself and Toby, and that wouldn't solve anything.

"Hoggle?" she called and looked around to find the dwarf. "Were these the last books?"

The only reply she got was a soft snore, and she spotted Hoggle lying on one of the sofas, completely exhausted and fast asleep. She smiled sadly. At least she had friends down here Underground, if she was forced to remain here forever. She found a blanket on a shelf and gently covered him, hoping that Jareth would not come barging in and disturb him soon, and then quietly left the library.

The minute she opened the door to her room, she knew something was wrong. The fire had gone out in the fireplace, and the windows stood open, banging against the wall in the draft from the door. On her bed, a small sobbing grey figure lay shivering. It was Fanny and she was crying as if her heart was about to break.

"Oh, Fanny, what's wrong?" Sarah ran to the bed and sat beside the little goblin. "What is it?"

The girl crept closer to her and suddenly Sarah found herself rocking a warm little goblin in her arms, soothing her and patting her on the head. She held her for minutes, just comforting her gently, until Fanny was finally able to get a word out.

"F'nella," she sobbed. "The Labyrinth took Fenella. And it's all my fault!"

After much coercing, Sarah was finally able to piece together what had happened. The twins had been fetching apples from the orchard deep inside the Labyrinth as they did every day at this time of the year. Fanny and Fenella had created a game these past weeks between themselves on who could get home first from the Labyrinth orchard. Each would decide in which section the other would start, and then they separated and ran as fast as they could. They had to bring proof of having been at the section the other had chosen, of course, a leaf or stone or something like that. Fenella usually won, but today, Fanny had reached the kitchen first and she'd been so excited and happy. She had waited and waited for Fenella, but as time passed her sister had not come back. When she talked to the other goblins, they had told her that the section that Fanny had chosen for Fenella to start in – the Raft maze – had just hours ago become one of the places where the mists had disappeared.

"I sent here there," Fanny sobbed, "and now she's trapped and can't get back, and she'll fall into the water and die!"

"Shhh… it's not your fault," Sarah murmured. "You couldn't have known it would happen. What about the King – will he not help?"

"We can't find him! He must be outside the mists as well. I don't understand what is happening! The mists should be there. It's not fair!"

Sarah held her for a moment and smiled at her own words coming from the little goblin. Then she looked out at the Labyrinth. What was really happening? And why was Jareth unable to fix it? He normally seemed so powerful and confident, so the thought of anything defeating him seemed out of place. Maybe it had something to do with her arrival? Some neighbouring country could have taken offence that he had brought a grown mortal into the Underground and gone to war over it – attacking the Labyrinth's magic. Or maybe taken offence that he was going to marry her. Or maybe it was the Labyrinth that wouldn't accept her instead of Toby?

Whatever the cause, her little friend was in misery and Sarah could not bear to just sit and do nothing. Who needed magic, she thought – she'd found her way through the Labyrinth before without being able to see the mists and she could do it again if she had to!

"Fanny, go to the kitchen and pack a bag with water and food, and if you have it, some string and chalk. We're going out to get Fenella back!"

An hour later, Sarah and Fanny entered the Rose Garden followed by a trail of other goblins. Sarah was dressed in a warm cape and some sturdier boots she had found in the wardrobe, and she was carrying the bag Fanny had packed for them.

"You don't have to come further than this, Fanny," she repeated, but as before, Fanny would not be left behind. Her despair had been replaced by cold determination, inspired by Sarah's announcement to go out and rescue her sister.

"You need me – you said so yourself," she said stubbornly. "And you need me to get quickly back, once we reach a part of the Labyrinth where the mists have not vanished."

"And I need you to get there," Sarah agreed. "Is this far enough into the Labyrinth? Can you ask the mists to show us to the Raft maze from here?"

Fanny closed her eyes for a second and then pointed to one of the doors in the garden wall.

"Bye, everyone," Sarah waved at the goblins. "If we're not back before the King returns, you can ask him to get his royal ass out and help us find Fenella."

The goblins giggled at her daring remark and waved back, as Sarah followed Fanny through the door and started the journey. Unlike the last time, they had to pass several different mazes and Sarah was glad she had her little guide to get her there. Fanny strode confidently through the corridors, hardly glancing at her surroundings, until they at last reached a door where she hesitated.

"The mists are very faint here," she said with apprehension in her voice and reached out for Sarah's hand. "But I think we're close to the right place now."

Sarah turned the knob and pushed the door open. On the other side there was a small span of grass and an apparently huge lake stretching out before them. A cloudy mist obscured the view so she couldn't see clearly for more than a few hundred feet before everything was covered in the grey fog. From the small grass patch surrounded by water, a wooden raft was tied to the shore and another raft was tied to that one and another to that one, creating a road of rafts leading from the shore and out onto the lake.

"Yes, this is it," Fanny said in a small voice, and Sarah took a deep breath and walked through the door, still holding the goblin's hand. The door closed behind them, but contrary to apparently every other door in the Labyrinth, it did not disappear. Sarah tried to open it again, but it would not budge. It didn't even feel like a door anymore, but like a board of wood nailed to the wall.

"Sarah, there isn't any magic here at all! It's as if the whole place is just dead!"

Sarah felt no difference, but could hear the horror in Fanny's voice. "It's ok – it's just like where I come from. It doesn't matter about the magic. Do you know how large this lake is?"

"No," Fanny admitted. "We don't come here very often, and it's always foggy here. I don't think anyone knows!"

Sarah looked around and tried to spot the castle, so they at least would know in which direction to travel after they had found Fenella, but the fog was everywhere, and she couldn't see a thing. Well, they had to find the goblin anyway and then would just take it from there. She slowly approached the wooden raft at the edge of the lake. It did not look safe! The wooden planks were old and splintered, and one corner was under water and green with moss and weeds. When she hesitantly stepped out on the first plank, it groaned under her weight, and the whole raft wobbled slightly, threatening to tip and throw her into the dark waters. Sarah reached out a hand for Fanny again.

"We have to be careful," she said with more confidence than she felt. "Hold my hand and stay very close to me, so you don't fall into the water. Can you swim, if you do?"

Fanny shook her head and looked scared, but took Sarah's hand and followed her out onto the raft. Each raft was about ten feet long, and they slowly moved across the first few as close to the centre as possible to steady it. When one ended and another began, they had to cross a span of ten inches of open water, and to get Fanny safely across, Sarah made sure she crossed first herself to help pull the goblin to the other side. Their progress was slow and tense, and Sarah fervently hoped that the lake would not turn out to be too large.

When they had passed about ten rafts, they came to a raft with not one but three other rafts leading from it. Either way they looked, the rafts stretched out and disappeared into the fog, and there seemed to be no real difference between either of them. Sarah sighed. Oh well, it was a maze after all, so of course there would be junctions.

"Is there any way you can feel where your sister is?" she asked Fanny. "Does one direction appeal more to you than any of the others?"

"I usually can," Fanny answered sadly, "but without the mists of magic, I feel nothing at all."

"Well, that's ok, we'll just do, what we would have done in my world!"

"What?"

"We call for her," Sarah said with a smile and took a deep breath. "FENELLA! CAN YOU HEAR US!

"FENELLA!" Fanny yelled. "FENELLA!"

There was absolutely no reply – the lake was dead silent, except for the creaking of the rafts near them.

"Let's go this way," Sarah said and pointed straight ahead. "We'll find her – don't worry." She took out the piece of chalk that Fanny had found for her at the castle and carefully marked on the raft where they had come from and in which direction they intended to go. At least, this time no one would be changing her marks! They moved on, walking from raft to raft on the creepy lake and at every junction they called out for Fenella and waited for an answer that never came. At random they chose a direction and marked the raft, before they continued on.

They had walked on the lake for what felt like hours and they were both queasy and pale due to the constant waving floor beneath them, before they finally spotted something different at the end of the current raft road. Something dark loomed in the fog, and as they got closer they could see it was a single tree on a very small island in the middle of the lake.

"Let's rest here for a while," Sarah was anxious to get solid ground under her feet for just a moment, and Fanny looked exhausted and about to cry. They moved closer and was about to jump off the last raft, as they suddenly spotted a small grey figure lying outstretched at the base of the tree, perfectly still and almost hidden by the tall grass. It did not move at the sound of their arrival, but they both recognized it at once.

"Fenella!"


	13. Wild Mists

Thanks for all the reviews - happy you like it! I aim to post at least twice a week, as this story is just burning in my mind at the moment, and the only way to get release is to write it down. Assume you know the feeling? ;-)

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Fenella opened her eyes, when they ran to her shouting her name, and at the sight of them she started sobbing as if she couldn't believe what she saw. Fanny threw herself in her sister's arms and crushed her in a fierce embrace, and for a very long time, they just huddled together and cried of happiness. Sara sat close to them with a lump in her throat and rested against the tree, until they broke apart at last.

"You came?" Fenella whispered. "There was no magic and nowhere to go, and I thought no one would ever find me in this fog, not even the King in his owl form."

"Sarah said we could rescue you," her sister answered earnestly. "I was lost without you and didn't know what to do, but Sarah did!"

"Well, I couldn't just leave you in the middle of the Labyrinth, could I?" Sarah said gently. "After all, you helped me, so it's only fair that I'm helping you."

The island they had reached was just big enough for the three of them to sit and share some of the food, they had brought from the castle. Fenella told them how she had wondered around for hours in the fog trying to find an exit or summon a mist, but as Fanny had also sensed, it seemed as if all magic had left this region. Both twins seemed very unhappy at being without the magic, and Sarah knew that they had to get away as soon as possible. If they kept moving through the Labyrinth, they must get to a part with mist left sooner or later. There were no other rafts away from the island except the one they had used to get there, so they returned by that one and used Sarah's marks to choose a different path at the junction.

Of all the places in the Labyrinth, Sarah knew that this lake and their slow journey across the rafts would be among the last things she ever forgot. The bog was horrible and smelly, yes, but to be here in this dead world, not knowing where they were or when they would find an exit, scared her witless. Anything could be lurking under the water, and at any time a plank could break beneath them and send them all into the cold dark waters. The twins stayed close together and let her do all the decisions as to which path they should choose, but she felt so helpless taking that responsibility. All paths seemed alike to her, and the fact that they hadn't run into any of her markings yet, just showed how huge this lake really was. She even found herself wishing that Jareth was there to help them.

At last, the scenery changed and they could see the faint outline of a tall wall and two doors some thirty feet to their right. Unfortunately, the raft path they were on did not lead that way and as they walked on for a bit, the doors faded in the distance and were replaced by the never-ending fog. Sarah stopped; she just couldn't bear to go any further in this maze.

"We have to get to those doors," she stated and retraced their steps until they were as close as possible to the shore. "We'll just have to swim."

"But goblins can't swim," Fanny said horrified. "We'll drown!"

"No, not if I help you." Sarah took a quick decision and slowly began taking off her clothes, while the goblins stared at her with huge frightened eyes. She folded the skirt, shirt and bodice nicely together and put them inside the bag along with her boots as well, leaving her shivering in her undergarments only. The water was cold and slimy as she stuck a foot into it to test it, but she knew the alternative was worse, so with cold determination, she got down on her knees, trying not the tip the raft too much and slowly lowered herself backwards into the water.

The freezing slimy water made her gasp for breath and it was too deep for her to reach the bottom though she could feel some tangling creepy water plants against her bare feet. She quickly reached up her arms towards the goblins.

"Fanny, come here, I'll keep you safe." The small goblin approached her nervously. "You have to keep absolutely still in my arms and just close your eyes, honey."

She grabbed Fanny around the waist and leaned backwards into the water, pulling the goblin off the raft and cradling her against her chest. Fanny screamed and struggled for a second, but Fenella yelled at her to be still like Sarah had told her, and she calmed down and just trembled violently against Sarah. With quick strokes of her legs and an occasional move of her right arm, Sarah swam on her back towards the shore, holding the goblin tight with her left arm and keeping her as far away from the water as possible. It wasn't that far, and very soon Sarah felt the ground under her feet and stood up, splashing the rest of the way to the shore. Putting down Fanny next to the doors, she immediately went back into the water and swam back to the raft, where Fenella was waiting.

Two trips later, Sarah had ferried both goblins and her clothes safely to the shore, but was almost too tired to get dressed again. She was cold and felt filthy all over, her undergarments were clinging to her and had a green hue from the water, and she didn't want to think about how nasty her wet braided hair must be. With a sigh she removed the last of her clothes, and dried off her body with the hem of her skirt. She couldn't do much about her hair, except press the water out of it the braid, so it didn't drip too much on her shirt as she put the dry clothes back on and was able to lie down and rest. The two goblins huddled against her to warm her and she closed her eyes for a moment to relax.

_Jareth was there, dressed in his white owl feathers. It was him warming her, and his mismatched eyes looked sad and pleading. "I want you, Sarah," he whispered against her ear, "don't you see I would do anything for you? Why do you keep shying away from me?" He stroked her cheek and bent down to kiss her, and she buried her hands in his silken hair, forcing his face down towards hers. But then his hair was suddenly only feathers and before their lips could meet, he was transformed into an owl, screeching and fluttering with its wings against her face, until it took off and disappeared. "Jareth!" she called as the ground opened beneath her, and the cold dark waters of the lake closed above her._

Sarah gasped and awoke with a start. What a strange dream. The way she had responded to Jareth in the dream made her cheeks grow hot – what on earth was her subconscious doing to her? She could almost still feel his hair between her fingers and smell him, as if he had been here, but as she looked around, nothing had changed and they were still alone in the dense fog near the edge of the lake. The goblin twins were standing by the two doors and poking at them, and Sarah got on her feet and picked up the bag – they had to move on and get out of here. Both doors looked identical and there didn't seem to be a puzzle or anything to solve.

"The right door doesn't lead anywhere, Lay Sarah," Fenella said. "It won't open and there doesn't seem to be anything behind it."

"Well, that makes our choice easy, doesn't it?" Sarah turned to the left door and slowly opened it, hoping it would lead to somewhere where the mists were still there. All they could see from this side was a narrow corridor with walls of high thorny hedges and above that a clear twilight sky. They must have been in the raft maze for hours, then, since it was almost dark. She let the twins enter first and then followed herself, eager to get away from the eerie lake.

"There's mist here!" Fanny cried happily. "I can feel it! And see, the door is disappearing behind us."

She started running along the corridor and they had to follow her not to lose her from sight. The corridor turned and twisted, and suddenly they were out in the open, standing on a hillside overlooking the rest of the thorn hedge labyrinth, and they all stopped abruptly.

"Oh, my God!" Sarah whispered and the goblins edged closer to her, their eyes wide with fear. "What's happening? What's going on with the Labyrinth?"

Despite the growing darkness they could clearly see that this part of the Labyrinth was severely affected by the disturbances of the past two days. Before them the hedges in the maze were changing and twisting as if a thousand mists were ravaging the place. Doors appeared and disappeared at random in the corridors and the thorn hedges grew to full size in a second and died in seconds, changing the layout of the maze constantly. At the far end they could see a jumbled mass of dead hedges, half covered by slimy bubbling dark ooze, and the faint wind from that direction left no question of what had invaded the maze.

"It's the Bog of Eternal Stench!" Sarah wrinkled her nose in disgust and tried to breathe through her mouth. "I can't believe it!"

"The mists have gone mad!" Fenella said and trembled at the sight. "They seem to be everywhere – I've never seen so much mist in one place"

"It's as if the whole place down there is covered in fairy dust," Fanny added and looked up at Sarah. "It's pretty, but it's not supposed to look like this! I'm scared!"

Sarah was more concerned as to how to get through to the next part of the Labyrinth if they couldn't walk for one minute without the corridors changing. Not only would it be impossible to get through, but it would also be suicide to even, if a hedge suddenly decided to sprout beneath them and impale them on the long sharp thorns.

"Can you control this mist?" she asked Fenella, and the little goblin closed her eyes and tried, looking deeply concentrated for a second, until she looked up at Sarah again and shook her head.

"It doesn't respond. It's flowing downhill down there to the bog. Whatever is pulling at it is stronger than me."

Sarah looked around at their immediate surroundings. The real mess seemed to begin some hundred yards away, while this area was relatively quiet. If they stayed up here, they might be able to stay close to the wall and get on to the next part of the Labyrinth without getting caught in the wild mists.

"Come, let's go this way," she said and walked back into the hedge maze behind them, and the twins followed obediently. In her mind, she tried to visualize where the dangerous area was, where the wall would connect with the lake area, that she didn't want to return to, and where there might be a wall into a more friendly area. They had to run into a doorway sooner or later. She hoped it would be sooner, for the darkness spread rapidly, and the moon didn't provide enough light. As they came back to the wall they found that a path actually ran very close to it and followed this in silence.

"Sarah," Fenella said after a while with apprehension in her voice, "The mists are getting closer here…"

"Yes, and I can smell the Bog is getting closer, too," Sarah agreed and quickened her pace. She knew they were going away from it, so it had to mean that the mists were spreading faster than they were walking. They could not be caught in the mess they had seen below – they would either be torn to pieces by the hedges or even worse, fall into the Bog. Her heart was beating wildly and she was getting really scared, both for herself but also for the goblin twins, whose world was crumbling around them.

"Look!" Fanny's scream was one of joy and hope, and she was looking into the sky and pointing. Sarah couldn't see anything, until suddenly a white owl swooped down from the air and transformed into the Goblin King in an instant. He was dressed in his black attire which by now looked even worse than yesterday. His hair was tangled and carelessly gathered in a ponytail, and one black glove was missing, revealing a slender white hand with a single golden ring. Sarah had never seen a more welcome sight, and she smiled at him in relief as their eyes met. The two goblins were even more direct and threw themselves at his legs, sobbing openly, and he stroked their hair to calm them, before he pried them away.

"You cannot stay here!" was his first words, and he seemed neither angry nor surprised to see them here, only concerned. "The wild mists are minutes away! Come, this way!"


	14. Flight

Ok, here's some more Jareth... :-)

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Jareth quickly led Sarah, Fenella and Fanny around a few corners in the thorn hedge maze, until they came to the very doors Sarah had been looking for. It was two steel doors encrusted with jewels, one green and one blue, almost like Jareth's eyes, and again there seemed to be no riddle for them.

"The blue will lead to the other side, which is Raft maze I suppose you came from." Jareth talked very fast. "The other one is inactive without the mists, but I will summon them and create a passage to the Goblin City. Run through as fast as you can – I'm not sure how long the passage will hold."

He conjured a crystal ball and held it high in the air with both hands, as he closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly it gleamed brightly, filling the area with light and the whole maze around them began to wither and change, first slowly, then faster and faster.

"Sarah, come on!" Fenella had opened the green door, and through it the Goblin City was clearly visible. Fenny darted through and her sister followed, leaving the door open for Sarah, but suddenly she saw the thorn maze hedges sprouting from the ground in straight line, moving towards Jareth from behind and only seconds from reaching him. He didn't notice, as his eyes were still closed and his focus in controlling the mists, and there was no way he could avoid being impaled on the thorns heading straight for him. Without thinking, Sarah turned away from the door and threw herself at him, knocking him to the side, and as they tumbled to the ground, the hedge growth sprouted only inches from them and continued on, before it rammed into the wall and separated them from the doors. Jareth's light had gone out, and the darkness was even more blinding than before. Sarah realized she was almost sitting on top of Jareth and quickly rolled off him, and he looked at her and then at the huge thorns right beside them with realization in his eyes. As he got up and helped her up as well, he scanned the area with a quick glance, until his eyes came to rest on the wall itself.

"This way!" he decided and still holding her hand pulled her towards the wall. Before she even realized what he was going to do, he had lifted her into the air and let go, and she soared upwards, defying gravity, until she landed with a thud on the thirteen feet high wall. The wall was about three feet think and made of bricks and stones, and the top of it was a plane surface. On one side the maze withered and twisted in response to the wild mists, and on the other side, the fog lay heavily over the lake that she could see a faint outline of. Jareth in owl form landed in front of her and became Jareth again, and he grabbed her hand and started running on the path formed by the wall. Sarah clung to him and followed, as eager to get away as he was. She hoped the wall would slow down the progress of the mists, but still feared it might crumble beneath them at any time under the pressure.

Sarah did not know how long they had been running, but thankfully the smell of the Bog was fading, so she knew they were getting further away. The wall split in two, and Jareth turned right and away from the thorn hedge maze, so they were now running between the raft maze and another one, which Sarah couldn't quite make out because it was so dark around them. They continued on and on, until finally, she had to give up.

"Please," she gasped and fell to her knees, letting go of his hand. "I can't run anymore."

"Sarah, we must get further away," he pleaded, but she shook her head and heaved for breath, completely exhausted. Suddenly she was scooped up in his arms, and he started running again, this time carrying her with him as if she weighed next to nothing. She flung her arms around his neck and was pressed against his chest, held tight in his unyielding arms and she could hear his heart beat slowly and steadily, calming her along with the intense heat radiating from him. She relaxed against him and buried her face at his shoulder, tears burning in her eyes, both from shame that she had had to give up, but mostly from relief that he had come to save them – that he had found them just before it could have turned really bad. Fanny and Fenella had to be back in the City and would be safe, and here with Jareth, she would be safe, too.

Much later, Jareth slowed his pace and gently set her down. "This should be far enough for tonight," he said and transformed into the owl, leaving her alone on the wall, and disappearing down into the maze. A moment later he called her name from below, and as she looked down, she could see his tall figure outlined in the moonlight, reaching up for her.

"Jump, Sarah," he commanded in a voice that allowed no questions, and she closed her eyes and obeyed. Her heart stopped in fear as she fell through the air, but he caught her easily before she hit the ground.

"Where as we?" she asked, as she could see nothing but trees and jungle-like growth all around her in the darkness. There wasn't even a path here.

"We're in the old part of the Labyrinth forest," he said and led her from the wall to a large tree nearby that was all hollow inside. "We'll stay here for the night – you need the rest and it will be much easier to get back, once we can see where we are going."

He took off his cape and spread it out on the ground inside the tree, trying to make it as comfortable as possible, and then sat down and gestured for her to join him.

"Can't you just… transport us back with your magic?" she asked hesitantly as she sat down opposite him and leaned against the inside of the tree trunk. A single beam of moonlight shone into the make-shift shelter, giving them just enough light to see each other faintly.

"It only works when the magic mists are present and stable," he sighed. "Even in your world Above the traces of mist are strong enough for the goblins and me to use, but this region is completely dead. We have to get to an untouched region, before I can just transport us back."

"But your owl magic works?"

He laughed softly. "That is a Fae trait, not Labyrinth or mist magic. Unfortunately, I can't transform you, so it doesn't help us much right now."

Sarah and the King sat in silence for a moment, and as she took in his ragged appearance and overwhelming presence in the small space, she suddenly realized she was no longer afraid of him or angry with him anymore. The king she had come to know in the past few days might be arrogant and used to getting his way, but he had also proved to be caring and strong and courageous. He had shown nothing but affection for the goblins and creatures in his Kingdom, he had not slept for two days as far as she knew, because he had been fighting to mend what was wrong with the Labyrinth, and he had come to help her and the twins, even though it was obvious that he had put himself in danger to do so.

"I'm so grateful that you came for us," she said gently and he turned his head and met her eyes. "Thank you, Jareth." The last word was almost a whisper, and his eyes widened at the sound of his name being spoken by her at last.

"You're welcome," he murmured. "It was my own fault anyway, I should have given the goblins orders to stay in the city far sooner. Thank _you_ for saving little Fenella – the Raft maze will surely be invaded by the Bog during the night, and she would not have made it, had you not gotten her out to a clear maze, where I could find you."

At the thought of how bad it could have turned out for all of them, Sarah felt the tears coming again, and this time she couldn't fight it anymore, but started sobbing openly, hiding her face in her hands. He was at her side immediately and drew her close, so she could cry into his shoulder, and she clung to him, not caring about what he thought of her anymore. All the frustrations of the past few days were released in her tears, and he held her patiently, while the sobs tore through her body.

At last, her sobs ebbed out, but she felt so wickedly safe and comfortable in his embrace, that she couldn't bear to end it. She sat very still and feigned to be asleep, leaning against him with closed eyes and feeling his shoulder wet from her tears. He made no move to get away, but leaned back against the tree trunk and shifted her a bit to make them both more comfortable. His ungloved hand played with her hair, which was still wet from the swim in the lake, and then she felt him remove the frayed ribbon and gently undo the braid, combing out the tangles in the process. The feeling of his caring hand and delicate touch of her hair was unexpectedly sensual in all its innocence and made her shiver inside with delight, although she tried very hard not to show it

"Fenella and Fanny came to me more than a century ago," Jareth began quietly, while he worked on her hair, and she wasn't sure whether he knew she was awake or not, as he kept talking. "Their story is sad, but unfortunately very common. They must have been around nine or ten years old and had been molested, beaten and starved by their stepfather for years. Fenella had finally gathered the courage to tell their priest what was happening, but the man did not kept his vow of silence, but confronted the stepfather with it. Furious with them for telling, their stepfather beat them savagely and wished for the goblins to take them, and when I appeared to him, he had no desire to get them back. Fanny was barely alive in the fifteen hours before the Labyrinth mists transformed and healed them and removed all their memories. It's not their real names, either - I give all the goblins new names to help erase their past."

He smoothed out each lock of hair by itself and placed them carefully on her shoulders, spreading them out to dry.

"You know, Sarah," he said and she could hear he was amused, "you're even worse at faking sleep than the twins."


	15. Flames of Passion

In case the title of this chapter isn't warning enough, I will be earning a bit of M-rating in this chapter - you know you've all just been waiting for it, haven't you? ;-)

I really appreciate all your nice reviews and look forward to them when posting a chapter :-)

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Sarah groaned and shifted in Jareth's embrace, turning her head to look up at him. He was looking rather smug and relaxed and smiled teasingly down at her. "What happened in the raft maze? Did you fall into the water?"

"I jumped," she muttered and thought about getting up and away from him, even though she didn't really want to. "We couldn't find any raft that lead to the shore, but in the end we found one that was close. I swam the twins across the open water one at a time."

"You did well to do so," he agreed. "There aren't many real exits from that maze, as most ways out are magical ones. I've had many Questers giving up in that one."

"The doors we found," Sarah started, "They looked the same, but only one of them worked…?"

"There are lots of those in the Labyrinth between the different regions," he explained and began toying with the locks on her forehead that he couldn't reach before. "Mostly, a guardian or two will be there to give hints as to which one to choose. One always leads to the adjacent region and the other is magical and transports you to a region closer to the castle. I can usually control them and get them to lead where I please, but the wild mists were fed by my interference back there and sapped at my strength to spread wider."

"I'm glad you got the twins back safely," Sarah said and gave up the thought of moving away from him, as his gentle caresses calmed her and made her drowsy. She suddenly remembered how she had reacted to the goblins the first night and frowned slightly. "Jareth, I'm sorry I called you cruel and evil for turning children into goblins. I've never seen happier creatures than those two, and they're really are kind of cute."

"I understand, Sarah. My little goblin army didn't exactly welcome you the first time, although they were just playing and would never have hurt you. The Labyrinth doesn't allow Questers to be truly hurt."

A lock of blue hair threatened to fall into his eyes, and without thinking, Sarah lifted a hand and pushed it behind his ear, grazing his smooth chin with her fingertips. He caught his breath and tightened his grip around her, and she smiled at the effect she had on him. She really liked this new Jareth – whatever was wrong with the Labyrinth had brought out the best in him and forced away the bored cold façade he had displayed before.

"What is it with you and the Labyrinth?" she asked him intrigued. "Do you control it, or does it control you?"

He grabbed her hand gently with his and started toying with her fingers as he had done with her hair, stroking them one at a time and caressed her palm with his thumb. "Neither, my dear, we simply co-exist. The Labyrinth has a few strict rules as solid as the law of nature and enforced by the Mists, and I am both its master and servant. I wield its power to benefit me and my subjects, but only as long as it benefits the Labyrinth, too. Or at least doesn't hurt it."

Sarah was staring at their hands, amazed at how enticing such seemingly innocent touches could feel. Seeing her look, he let go and instead raised his uncovered hand to her face and stroked her forehead and cheek. Every touch burned like fire and left a trail behind, so Sarah could tell exactly where he had touched and where he had not. He caught her gaze with his and let his hand track the line of her chin, her ear and back again to graze the outline of her lips. She was completely hypnotized by his gentle caress and the overpowering surge of emotions he awoke in her. Apart from being safe and warm as before, she also felt unsatisfied and restless – conflicting emotions that tore through her. She realized that this was almost exactly what she had felt when they danced together in the ball room those many years ago in the dream. Except that then, she had been in a daze from the memory loss and with a nagging feeling that she was missing something. And now, nothing was amiss, nothing seemed wrong, they were all alone and as close as two people could be. She had never felt like this since, and she hadn't realized until now how much she had missed it.

"Sarah," Jareth murmured and lowered his head ever so slightly, so she could feel his hot breath on her face. "If I kiss you now, will you bite me again?"

She couldn't say a word, but felt at that moment that she was much more likely to hurt him if he didn't. Reading the answer in her eyes, he gently let his lips graze hers and then flicked his tongue across them, making her gasp for breath and move in his arms. He kissed her again, this time expertly and with a firm demanding mouth, and she clung to him, answering his kiss with all the passion he had stirred in her. Her eager response made him groan and tighten his grip around her, and their kisses grew more intense and burning, as if all the fear and excitement of the day were released and needed compensation.

Sarah couldn't breathe or think or sense anything but him as the waves of pleasure and passion surged through her, and she felt lost in a maelstrom of emotions that she had never before experienced. She had been kissed before, of course, but the few clumsy encounters with inexperienced high school boys had left her completely unprepared for the raw inhumane fervor that radiated from the Goblin King. He smelled spicy and delicious and the unnatural heat of his body that she had noticed previously was now even more prominent. She gripped at his shirt to steady herself and stroked the lean muscles of his shoulders and back, openly admiring his magnificent physique and strength.

Still in a daze, she felt him loosen her velvet bodice, and his delicate hands moved slowly under her shirt and caressed her in places that no man had ever touched before. She moaned and buried her hands in his shaggy blond hair that was just as soft to the touch as she had expected. Her body screamed in desire and she arched up against him and meowed breathlessly. He kissed her again, hungrily, and then suddenly she was on her back on the floor, practically naked to the waist and staring up at his face, that glowed with a burning desire. His hand moved up her exposed legs and thighs, feeding the flame of passion, but as he moved against her and almost on top of her, she felt something hard and alien against her hips. All at once she was torn back to reality and realized exactly what that was and what was going to happen in a moment. Even the raw desire for him couldn't quench the fear and anxiety of the unknown territory he was leading her towards. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! She wasn't ready for this!

"No!" she gasped, even though her body protested madly at the thought of stopping. "Jareth, please, not here."

He didn't seem to hear, but kept kissing her, letting his mouth trace her exposed skin from her neck and down, caressing her breasts and sucking teasingly, wrenching a tortured cry out of her with the pleasure he gave her. But pleasure or not, the thought of being ravished by Jareth here and now was also scaring her witless, and she began to fight in earnest – pushing him away with weak hands.

"Jareth, no," she pleaded and tried to make him look her into the eyes and see her fear. "I'm scared! I haven't done this before, ever, please listen to me!"

He finally heard her and the naked desire in his eyes were slowly replaced by a more gentle expression at her admission, although he was still breathing as heavily as her. He covered her exposed legs and stroked her gently on the chin instead.

"Not ever?" he murmured in a strained voice and sounded both disappointed and pleased.

"No," she whispered and forced out an admission she hadn't even realized herself before: "How could any mortal live up to you after you enthralled me in the ballroom when I was just an impressionable teen?"

He smiled at her sadly. "That's exactly what I asked myself then," he whispered in return. "How could any Fae female live up to your lively spirit and mortal beauty, after I met you?"

They stared at each other for a long time, not daring to utter the next words, until Sarah suddenly realized she was still half-naked. Blushing furiously, she covered herself with her shirt and retied her bodice, while Jareth smiled like a Cheshire cat and rolled away from her, stretching out on the cape they were lying on. As she tried to move away from him, he reached out and drew her close, but there was nothing threatening about his movements.

"I promise you'll be safe," he murmured in her ear. "But stay close to me – I need you, Sarah."

She relaxed and edged closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, and though she was extremely aware of his presence and spicy smell and his hand nuzzling her hair, she could feel his caresses were different now. Safer.

"Jareth?"

"Mmmm?"

"Do you really think I'm beautiful? I thought Fae women were visions of beauty?"

He laughed softly. "Oh, they are. But I like you better. Your full body. Your charming smile. Your fine eyes and your dark luscious hair." As he spoke, he touched the part he mentioned, and she smiled back, satisfied, and pushed her self closer to him, letting a hand rest on his hips.

"Sarah?"

"Hmmm?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

She blushed and quickly drew back her hand, but her smile lasted the whole night.


	16. Back to the Castle

Tiddlywinks: Yes, I like my little goblin twins, too, they're very handy as a female supplement to Hoggle/Didymus. 

Solea: Well, that was kind of the effect I was aiming for... ;-)

Lady Saffron: Nope, the twins' names are not really important to the story. But there'll be more of the "child to goblin" in later chapters.

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When Sarah woke, it was early morning and Jareth was nowhere to be seen. His cape was still there, however, and in the corner she spotted her bag, that she'd been carrying with her from the castle. There wasn't much left in it, only a few apples, and she took one for herself and saved the other for Jareth. She was so hungry that she felt nauseous, but he couldn't have had much to eat yesterday either.

Outside, the air was cool and clear, and she sat against the tree and re-braided her hair, savoring the experiences of last night, while she waited for him to return to her. She really liked this new Jareth. It was unfortunate that something was wrong with the Labyrinth, but it had certainly brought out the best in him and made it obvious that there was so much more to him that the arrogant king, she had first met. That king would not have let her go, but just taken what he wanted, despite her protest. An excited chill, half fear and half longing, shot through her at the thought of what could very well have happened last night, and her cheeks grew hot. So this was what it was all about. Although she had had no first hand experiences with desire and lust, she had known it must be more than just sloppy teenage kisses and holding hands at the movies. But she had not suspected that the power would be so strong as to force out the admission she had given him yesterday. It was true. How could anyone have lived up to the overpowering presence of the Goblin King and the romantic and sensual encounter with him in the ball room? The way he had sung for her, the way he had danced… Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be the Queen of Goblins after all.

"You're in a good mood this morning!"

At the sound of Jareth's voice, she started and looked up – she had not heard him coming at all.

"Any reason not to be?" she winked at him, and he reached down and scooped her up, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips, that she did not turn away from. He had let down his guard for her and was Jareth, not the Goblin King, and she would not be the one to break their mutual truce.

"No, not really, if you don't count the fact that we're stuck in the forest and my Labyrinth is being overrun by the Bog of Eternal Stench." His voice was teasing, but his eyes were clouded and sad. "I flew out to see our situation, and it could be worse. The walls seem to hold back the Bog for a while, so it hasn't expanded as much as I had feared, but it's still critical, of course. We should get going as soon as possible."

Sarah went in and got the bag and his cape, and she handed it to him along with the apple. "Here, I thought you might be hungry, too?"

He looked at it for a long time before he took it. "Thank you, Sarah. I don't think I remember the last time anyone ever gave me anything," he said in a tight voice and threw the cape around his shoulders. "Are you ready to go?"

Back on the wall, they made good progress and had a nice view of the Labyrinth. While the old forest stretched out to their left, Sarah could see a grey stone maze to the right. The paths down there were narrow and twisted, and it would have taken forever to get through if they'd had to walk down there. The wall wasn't really wide enough for two people to safely walk beside each other, so Sarah followed Jareth and they talked very little on the way. She thought about the Labyrinth and about being Fae and immortal, and one again she tried to feel if she was any different. If the mists were supposed to change her slowly, surely she should soon begin to show signs of the change.

"Jareth, will I look different?"

"What?"

"When I'm Fae?" She quickened her pace to walk as close to him as possible.

He looked back and smiled at her, while he kept walking. "A bit, perhaps. Your skin will be lighter and smoother and your ears and brows a bit pointy. But the main difference will be inside of you."

"Will I be able to make crystals and do magic stuff?"

"No one can tell, yet," he answered patiently. "But most likely, yes. It'll be fun – we'll be owls together and fly across the Labyrinth to oversee it all. And we'll visit the other kingdoms so I can introduce you to everyone."

Sarah felt a little nervous. "And nobody's going to mind that I'm mortal?"

"Well, you won't really be by then, and anyway, they've been nagging at me to get married anyway. My sisters, that is. 'Get a wife and some children of your own' they tell me, every time I bring them a wished-away baby."

"Oh, so that's why you're marrying me," Sarah teased. "You're being bullied into it by your sisters!"

"I assure you, Sarah," he said and shot a meaningful glace back at her. "I am most certainly only getting married because I want to myself!"

She blushed and smiled secretly.

As they walked on for hours, the forest part was replaced by a hedge maze, and later a clay labyrinth, where the walls looked misshapen and curvy, as if they had been cut out by a river flowing through. Sarah was getting tired and her feet hurt, but since Jareth was walking as fast and easily as ever, she ignored her weariness and pressed on, determined not to be a burden for him. The sun was burning from a bright blue sky, and she'd long ago removed her cape as it was far too hot today.

"There!" Jareth stopped and pointed to a green spot ahead – very far ahead. "In the pinewood forest, the magic is still intact, and as soon as we get there, I can get us to the castle." He looked at her, and his face softened. "We'll be there soon, my dear, and then you can rest."

"It's ok, I'll be fine," she replied and measured the distance to the spot he had pointed out. It would take at least half an hour, probably longer to get there, and she sighed inwardly. But at least there would be an end to it soon.

It did take almost an hour, but suddenly it was there, right in front of them, and Jareth smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Jump, Sarah!" he said, and then drew her with him over the edge, although there were at least twenty feet to the ground. Sarah screamed and expected to be crushed when hitting the rocks below, but she and Jareth swirled through the air at a snail's pace, and when they landed they were in the middle of the throne room back at the castle. A handful of goblins were there, and as they spotted their king and Sarah, they started screaming with joy, yelling their names and drawing more goblins to, who all fell on the king and jumped and danced with joy. Sarah couldn't hear a thing or move for the fear of stepping on one of the small goblins.

"Yes, I'm back," Jareth laughed and patted the closest ones on their heads. "Sarah and I are back."

Two familiar goblins came running and practically stepped on the others to get to them, and suddenly Sarah was tightly embraced Fanny and Fenella, who were crying with joy.

"We were so worried," they chirped and huddled closer to her, and Sarah embraced them back.

"Sarah, why don't you take you maids and go get a nice bath and rest awhile," Jareth suggested and smiled warmly at her. "You can join me in the panorama room later for lunch – I'll be there to oversee the Labyrinth situation."

Sarah nodded thankfully, and she and the twins pushed through the growing crowd and headed back for her room.

Much later, a clean and rested Sarah followed a goblin down the hallways of the castle to find the Goblin King. She had dressed in a new green skirt and a white sleeveless top, and the bodice was a darker green and embroidered with silver. Her hair flowed freely down her back almost to her waist, and her sore feet were comfortably clad in small slippers. The long soak in the bathtub had done wonders for her spirit, and it had been really nice to get rid of the last of the smell of the lake waters. Now, all she needed was something to fill her growling stomach.

They walked up a great windy stairway, until at last the goblin pushed open a great door. Behind it was a tower room that was shaped as a perfect circle and where the roof went up in a spire high above them. A perfect row of tall windows with large window sills let the afternoon sun bathe the room in golden light, and provided a breathtaking view of the Labyrinth below them. In the middle of a room was a huge round table and this was entirely covered by a miniature landscape, which Sarah easily recognized as the Labyrinth. There was even a miniature castle in the middle. Jareth stood beside the table and looked frustrated and angry, but he looked up when she entered and his frown decreased slightly. He had also had time to change and was dressed in new black clothes and gloves, and his white-blond hair bristled wild and unruly.

"Hello, Sarah," he said and went to her, closing the door to keep the goblins out. "You look lovely, my dear."

"Thank you," she replied courtly and stared at the table with undisguised curiosity. It looked so real, and she could even see the tiny little houses in the Goblin City. "It's amazing!"

"What, the map? Yes, it's nice, isn't it?" Jareth took her hand and let her to the furthest part of the room, where one of the window sills had been used as a table to give space for large plates of fruit, small pies and sweet-looking cinnamon bread. "I thought you might be hungry, and I'll show you our current situation while we eat."

Sarah had seldom seen a more welcome sight, and as they both dug in and tasted some of each, she sighed in contentment. Jareth smiled slightly and then went to the miniature labyrinth.

"What you see here is an image of my labyrinth as it usually is," he began, and Sarah went to join him, still eating her pie, and marveled at the exquisite details.

"There's the raft maze!" she exclaimed and pointed. "And there's the old forest, so this must be where we walked earlier today?"

"Yes. And over here…," Jareth gestured to a part a good deal away from there,"…is the Bog as it used to be."

Sarah was grateful that the map was not so realistic as to include smells, as she looked at the tiny bubbling Bog surrounded by trees and crumbling stone walls. Then suddenly she realized what he was trying to show her – the small Bog was very far away from the raft maze compared to the size of the Labyrinth, and yet it had reached it tonight. Jareth nodded at she looked up at him in horror.

"Exactly," he said tightly and snapped his fingers, and before her eyes, the Bog grew rapidly in size and suddenly filled almost a third of the map with its ugly brown ooze, claiming the entire border around it and moving slowly towards the middle. A broad colorless rim around it showed where the magic mists had vanished, and Sarah shivered at the horrible sight.

"This is what it looks like now," Jareth continued slowly in a strangled voice and held her gaze with firm eyes. "I have calculated how fast it is moving and I believe we're looking at the undoing of the Labyrinth. In just three days, the mists will be lost in the City and the Castle, and on the morning of the fourth day, the Bog will cover everything!"


	17. Bad Timing

This is kind of a dark chapter - hope you like it. As thanks for all your wonderful reviews and patience with my cliffhangers, I'll let you in on a little secret... chapter 19 is finished and entitled "All is revealed" :-)

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"But that's horrible!" Sarah cried in shock and stared at the grim map before her. "What will you do? Can you prevent this?"

The Goblin King sighed and ran his gloved fingers through his hair and made it stand up even more, before he turned away from her and looked out the window at the landscape before him.

"I don't know," he said finally and clenched his fists, hammering one of them against the wall in frustration. His whole body was rigid and threatening, and Sarah found he was the Goblin King once again, and not the more human Jareth that she'd seen in the past twenty-four hours. He looked fearsome and angry as he swept around and started pacing the floor.

"I'm beginning to suspect what is wrong," he continued at last. "I hope I'm mistaken, but this could be the work of my brother, Prince Corran. It would be so like him to threaten the very existence of the kingdom to get to me!"

Sarah was taken aback. "You have a brother? But why would he do this?"

"He wants the throne," Jareth said simply. "He's wanted it ever since our father died, and he cannot have it, ever! If it washis to claim, the Goblin Kingdom would suffer terribly. I'm ashamed to have him in the family and even worse, he's the next in line to the throne at the moment. That is also why everyone is begging me to get an heir."

"He is evil?"

Jareth stopped in his tracks and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Oh, Sarah, you have no idea! Do you know why I took over the throne at such a young age? It's because my brother murdered my father!"

"No!" Sarah cried and reached her hand out in pity. He didn't seem to notice and went to a window to gaze out over the Labyrinth.

"We were the perfect family. Loving mother, kind father, two sons and two daughters. My sisters got married early and moved away, while my brother and I stayed at the castle and was raised as fitting for princes. The goblins did not like my brother and ran away from him when they could, but they wouldn't tell us why and evaded our questions. One day I burst into his room to tell him of a successful hunt, and I caught him red-handedly. A child has been wished away the same day, and he had taken it there to his rooms. When I arrived, the child was almost unconscious, but still whimpering in pain and anguish. Both it and my brother were naked and there were blood and bruises all over the child."

Sarah felt sick and didn't know what to say. It was clear that Jareth was as disgusted as her about his brother's behaviour -even with his back to her, she could see his fury and shame. She was almost sure this was a story he had never told anyone before and was very awed that he would share it with her.

"I yelled at him," Jareth continued with a harsh and bitter voice, "but he just laughed at me. 'What does it matter, Jareth, it won't remember anything?', he said, and I reacted with fury and struck him down, before I carried the child to safety and to my father, the King. He was as horrified as I and we decided to get rid of my brother the very next morning. He must have heard our conversation, for that night I woke up in my bedroom seconds before a knife would have ended my life. I fought him for a long time, until he was so badly hurt, that he fled. In the nearby room my mother had awakened at the noise, and was screaming in anguish. Corran had been there first and murdered my father."

"Oh, Jareth," Sarah whispered with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"He has made several attempt to get the throne since then," Jareth said, as he turned from the window and continued pacing again, "but if this is his doing, his powers have indeed increased!"

"I have one option left," he continued harshly, "and that is to seek out the High Fae Council and ask them to intervene with their magic. Maybe, if we combine our strength, we will be able to find the source and drive back the Bog."

Sarah could sense that this was his absolute last resort, but wondered why he hestitated. "Will they not help you?"

"Oh, yes, but there is a price to pay! I don't know what it will be – magic items, a piece of my kingdom, a precious heirloom of mine, or even my firstborn son – but the price is always too high for anyone to use them for anything but extreme emergencies. And I don't even know if their help will be enough. Corran might very well have tampered with wild magic without regards for the consequences."

"Well, if that is the way it is done, then that is what you must do," Sarah stated firmly, but dared not approach him, as he looked very intimidating. He stopped and turned to glare at her with fierce mismatched eyes.

"I can't believe this is happening!" he yelled. "My Labyrinth! My home! It's not fair!"

"No, I know it isn't," she replied gently and soothingly to try to calm him down, "but maybe that's just the way it is."

He plucked out a crystal of the air and smashed it against the wall where it shattered with a satisfying crash and send shards flying to all sides. Five crystals later, Sarah had had enough and hesitatingly took a few steps towards him, until she could put a hand on his arm and hold it back before he could conjure the sixth crystal. He snatched back his arm and glared at her with pained eyes, but then took a deep breath as if to steady himself.

"I will go," he hissed bitterly and lowered his head. "The sooner the better!"

Sarah opened her mouth to try to comfort him, but suddenly a disembodied echoing male voice rolled through the room.

"_I WISH THE GOBLINS WOULD COME AND TAKE YOU AWAY, DANIEL! RIGHT NOW!_"

Jareth groaned and cursed under his breath. "Not now!"

"So that's how you are summoned," Sarah said amazed and looked around to see if the baby would appear as well. It did not. Instead, Jareth stood up straight and disappeared into thin air, leaving her alone in the room. She waited for a few moments, but nothing else happened. Well, she thought, he would probably be in the throne room once he had taken the baby. Talk about bad timing – they couldn't possibly ask a Quester to face the Labyrinth now, could they? But what other choice did they have?

She took a piece of cinnamon bread with her and left the tower room to join him downstairs, although after facing their situation and hearing the story about his horrible brother, she wasn't really hungry anymore. Her heart was full of pity and compassion for Jareth, who obviously knew and liked every corner of his Labyrinth and now had to watch it be destroyed, maybe even by his own kin. It _wasn't_ fair, she agreed miserably, and felt utterly helpless.

In the throne room there was no sign of Jareth. There was, however, a huge noisy crowd of goblins gathered, and in the middle of the crowd sat a small boy all alone, crying desperately. He must have been 6 or 7 years old and was dressed in jeans and a dirty wrinkled t-shirt with a Spiderman print, and he looked so lost and frightened and reminded her so much of Toby, that Sarah forgot everything else and ran down to him, pushing the goblins aside. They were yelling and laughing and one of them was poking at the boy with the backend of a spear, and Sarah tore it furiously away from him.

"Stop it! And shut up!" she shouted at the goblins, and amazingly they obeyed instantly and drew back, looking at her in wonder. The boy cried even harder.

"Shh," Sarah said and squatted down beside him. "It's ok, Daniel, you're safe now. No one will hurt you here. The goblins are not mean; they just want to play with you. It's ok."

He looked at her with big brown eyes and apparently satisfied that she was not a goblin, too, he reached out for her, and she took him and held him close, soothing him and murmuring comforting words to him, just like she would do with Toby when he was smaller and had hurt himself. The boy sobbed pitifully in her arms, and she noticed with horror the blue and black bruises on his arms and a patch of dried blood in his blond hair. This boy had been mistreated and beaten, and she felt the anger grow, as she held him. Here, and with Jareth as king, he would be safe.

As the boy's sobbing lessened and he began to calm down, the Goblin King suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, looking tired and disgusted. Sarah tightened her arms protectively around the boy at the thought of the abuser Questing the Labyrinth to get this child back.

"Don't worry, Sarah," Jareth said flatly. "His father is not coming to get him."

She felt the boy relax a bit more in her arms at the words, and smiled bitterly at Jareth. "Good! Then I won't have to ask you to drop him into the Bog for what he has done to this child."

"It's often like this, Sarah," he sighed. "I can't believe some people can be so cruel! I'll tell you about it later, but I have to go to the High Council as soon as possible, and I may be gone for many hours. Will you take care of the boy for me in the meantime? I'm sure the twins can help you if you need it."

"Of course, Jareth," she said and spontaneously blew a kiss at him. "Good luck."

He smiled sadly and disappeared again, leaving her alone with the boy.

"Who are you?" he whispered brokenly. "Where am I? Can I stay? I don't want to go back to him, ever!"

"Of course you can stay," Sarah replied in her most charming and reassuring voice. "I'm Sarah, and you are Daniel, right? Like Daniel in the Lions' den? Do you know that story?"

The boy shook his head and she held him closer and recounted the tale of brave Daniel, who had faced evil and dangers, but who had stayed true to his heart and faith and therefore nothing could harm him. "Just like nothing will harm you here, because you're such a good boy."

"My father doesn't think so," Daniel said in a small voice, but with a hint of interest. "He hates me!"

"Your father is wrong," Sarah replied steadily and thought fast to make up a story to soothe the child. "You are here and safe because you're such a good boy. We're going to have so much fun together. How about the story of Peter Pan – do you know that one?"

When he nodded, she continued: "This is just like Neverland, Daniel. You can stay here forever and play and have fun and never ever go back or grow up. Wouldn't you like that?"

"Are there evil pirates?" he asked and looked trustingly at her with his eyes that were red from crying.

She shook her head. "Nooo, not at all. There are dwarves and nice goblins and pretty fairies like Tinkerbell."

"Ok," he replied and smiled at her, "Are you like Wendy who can tell me stories at bed time and tuck me in? My mom is dead, so I never had anyone to tuck me in."

"Of course I will, sweetheart," Sarah whispered, and was almost on the verge of tears herself. She hugged him again. "Are you hungry? How would you like some milk and cookies?"

His smile was answer enough and Sarah laughed and stood up. "Come on, little rascal, let's go find something nice for you."


	18. Transformation

I'm not sure I will be able to update next week - I'm going away for management training the whole week, and I can only hope the hotel has a stable internet connection... :-( Otherwise, I'll be back Friday! 

Lady Saffron: I truly did consider throwing Daniel's father in the Bog, but since Jareth had to hurry to the Council and Sarah cannot travel the Labyrinth easily, there would be no one to watch him suffer and die... ;-) Besides, it would be out of character for the father to even try to get his son back.

Sanguinepetal: Unfortunately child molesting is more common than any of us wants to think about, and an unprotected child whose body would heal and whose memory would be wiped the next day, would be an extremely likely victem. About your uploads - are you using the right browser version? There are comments on the front of this site about Macs, OS X and IE?

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Taking care of Daniel made Sarah able to push aside the thoughts about her own situation and the dangers threatening Jareth and the Labyrinth. He was so like Toby, except more shy and polite, and she fed him and held him and told him fairytales to keep him happy. Fanny and Fenella came to help her as she sat with him in the large kitchen, and they showed her and Daniel to the large nursery in the castle, where they often brought the children whose parents did not even wish to try to take on the Labyrinth. Sarah and Daniel marvelled at the huge room full of toys and stuffed animals and at a separate room with three imaginative children's beds, shaped as a carriage, a swan and a teddy bear.

"I can't believe it," Sarah said to the twins as they watched Daniel run around the room and try to see everything at once. "Has this room always been here?"

"Well, there's always been a nursery; of course," Fenella answered, "but in His Majesty's time we've added a lot of new toys. And he's designed the beds. They were meant for his little nieces and nephews, but now that they are grown out of them, we have them here for the sake of the mortal children."

As Sarah sat by the teddy bear bed that evening and told stories from Peter Pan to the sleepy Daniel, she kept thinking about Jareth and how he was doing at the High Council. Would they be able to help him? And if not, what would she and Jareth do? They'd have to get all the goblins away, of course, but where on earth would they find room for hundreds of goblins and what would Jareth do without his beloved kingdom? No, the thought alone was too dreadful to contemplate – they just had to help him! After all, this business with the Bog was crazy! The kingdom had been safe for hundreds of years – to think that all this could be undone in just a few days was impossible.

When Daniel was finally sound asleep, Sarah quietly left him and went to the library of the castle. Hoggle was there, and at the sight of her crestfallen face, he hurried to her side and patted her gently on the hand.

"Ye know, don't ye?" he said kindly. "He showed ye the map of the Labyrinth and how close that damned Bog is coming."

"Oh, Hoggle, isn't it awful? Do you know anything about the High Council – will they be able to help him?"

"Of course they will, me friend," he reassured her awkwardly. "The Council knows everything. They will see that the Bog goes away and stays where it should! Too bad it's part of the Labyrinth, so they can't get rid of it completely."

Sarah smiled. "Yes, that _is_ too bad. Hoggle, did Jareth read about the mists only or about the Bog as well? Maybe some of these books could tell us something about the Bog that would help him and the Council defeat it? Even if it is Corran, there must be some way to counter it."

"No, I don't think he did," Hoggle mused. "He only asked for the mist books. But I have a few about the Bog if ye would like to see them?"

"Yes, please. I can't stand just sitting around and doing nothing!"

By the time Sarah went to bed, she knew more about the Bog than she had ever wanted to know. She knew how large it was supposed to be, she knew how many had been exiled there during Jareth's father's reign, and she knew that it had been there ever since the beginning of the Labyrinth. There wasn't much in the books about the creation of the Labyrinth and the Bog, except that she had been able to find references to three different kings before Jareth, and hints that the first one had been involved in the making of it. A copy of an ancient scroll revealed an early pact between the King and the Labyrinth, stating the "Laws of the Labyrinth" in flowery old-fashioned words, and this mentioned the Bog, calling it "Ye Mist-kept Marsh of Malodorous Essence", so she could tell it had been there already then. But it did not seem to have changed sizes before - at least if it had, it had not been written down.

Sleeping restlessly in her large bed, she awoke at dawn to the sound of Fanny calling for her.

"Lady Sarah, the King is not back yet, and he must still be outside the Labyrinth for we can't find him. The new goblin has been created. We need you!."

The new goblin? Sarah thought sleepily, but then remembered. Daniel! Of course, Jareth had said 15 hours, and this must be around now that the child would be claimed by the Labyrinth and turned into a goblin. She was suddenly wide awake and threw on some clothes without even taking time to bathe, and ran after Fanny down to the nursery. She felt all funny inside and didn't know what to think. Even though she had accepted the idea of children being saved from a miserable life above by coming down here, she couldn't imagine the sweet little boy from yesterday as a goblin and was afraid what she would find.

Fenella waited for them outside the nursery. "Remember, Lady Sarah, do not use his old name," she warned. "His Majesty never does – it would not mean anything to the goblin anyway. He has forgotten all about his past now. He might remember a bit from yesterday, but no details. It really should be the king taking care of him right now, but since he isn't here…"

"What do you want me to do?" Sarah asked nervously. "What does Jareth usually do?"

"You welcome him to the underground," they explained, "and then you give him a new name - whatever you see fitting. Jareth touches them, when he's thinking of a name. And then you take him to the throne room and present him to everyone."

Sarah slowly opened the door and went into the large nursery. A small figure was huddled in the middle of the teddy bear bed, but it was much smaller than the boy she had left there yesterday.

"Good morning!" she said, trying to sound more cheerfully and confident than she felt. "Are you awake?"

A small grey figure slowly emerged from under the covers and looked at Sarah with bewildered eyes. It was about the same size as all the other goblins and had smooth grey skin and large round yellowish eyes. Its hair was snow white and tousled and the ears were large and pointy, swooping upwards and framing the round face. It did not look one bit like the boy from yesterday, and yet there as something in the look, something in the posture and shy smile, that left out any doubt about who this was.

"Who are you?" the goblin asked timidly in Daniel's voice. "Where am I? I'm so confused."

"Welcome to the Labyrinth." Sarah squatted beside the bed so she was the same height as him. "Welcome to the Castle beyond the Goblin City. I am Lady Sarah, soon to be married to His Majesty, the Goblin King."

She hesitated a moment, but then held out a hand and placed it gently on the goblin's head. Something that felt almost like an electrical currant passed through her body, and she could see the goblin was affected in the same manner.

"You must be… Felix." The name came to her from nowhere, but the little goblin smiled in relief. "Yes, that is my name, I'm sure of it!"

"Come, Felix," Sarah said and removed her hand to grab his instead. "Let us go meet all your friends."

The throne room was filled with goblins, who were all chattering excitedly. At the sight of Sarah and the new goblin entering, they all rose and stopped talking, and the room became unnaturally quiet. Felix tried to hide behind Sarah, but she smiled and lifted him up on Jareth's throne for all to see.

"Good morning, everyone," she said and looked around at them. "Please welcome our newest little goblin – Felix."

Everyone rushed at them, and Felix was hugged and talked to and suddenly swept away in a crowd of goblins who wanted to show him the City. Sarah was left behind and stared after them with a smile. That had gone well, she thought, and she felt certain that the boy would be much better off here than at home with his abusive father.

"You did well," a familiar voice agreed from behind her, and she whirled around to see the Goblin King leaning against his throne looking tired and distant.

"You're back!" she breathed and wanted to run into his arms, but he seemed so royal and unapproachable that she didn't dare and almost thought she must have imagined the kinder side of him. "Did the High Council help you? Will they come? Was it Corran?"

He stared at her in silence for a long time with an odd and unreadable expression. "Yes, no and no," he finally answered in a strained voice. "They helped me, but it will not be necessary for them to come here and fight the Bog. And the reason for this mess is – amazingly enough – not Corran. I have received the means to drive back the Bog and return the Labyrinth to its normal condition on my own."

Sarah could only think of one reason why he didn't look happy about it, if it was true that they could all be saved. "They asked something terrible of you," she guessed and the pained look that swept across his face for a fleeting second seemed to confirm it. "They asked a price so high that you are not sure it's really worth it..."

"Go back to your room, Sarah," he said firmly, but not unkindly. "Stay inside and away from the Labyrinth. I need to rest and to prepare in order to save my kingdom."

She wanted to comfort him, not leave him, but the direct order could not be ignored, and she turned and walked away, trying to keep her head high. What could they possibly have asked of him that had hurt him so? And what could he do to save the Labyrinth that he had not already done before? She really wanted to be there for him, and she hoped he would share his feelings with her later, once he had had time to think about it.


	19. All is Revealed

Whee - I got the wireless internet to work! Here comes the long awaited chapter 19 - hope you'll like it as much as chapter 18.

Tiddlywinks: Thanks, have corrected it. No, I don't really have a story plan and usually only see about 3-4 chapters ahead. But that's why I don't publish chapters as soon as they're finished - I always end up correcting in them when a new idea strikes me.

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The time passed unbearably slow during the day, and after taking a long hot bath and trying on different dresses to look at nice for Jareth as possible, Sarah couldn't think of anything else to do in her room, except to sit in the window and look at the Labyrinth. Whatever Jareth was doing, it didn't show at the moment. The City was quiet and the closest parts of the Labyrinth seemed no different. At the very edges of the parts visible from her room, however, she could see the ugly brown border of the Bog which clearly showed that the danger had not yet passed away.

Fenella came into the room late in the afternoon, carrying a huge white box which was almost as big has herself.

"His Majesty requests the pleasure of your company at dinner tonight," she said and smiled at Sarah. "He sends you a dress to wear."

"Dinner?" Sarah was surprised. "He has time for dinner? Then it must have worked and whatever he's done to the Labyrinth, will make it go back to normal."

"We don't know," Fenella confessed. "He's locked himself in his room and we don't know what he's doing. Except that…" she looked carefully around to see if anyone was listening and crept closer to Sarah. "I think I heard him cry earlier today."

"Cry? Jareth? I don't believe it!" Sarah whispered in an equally hushed voice. "Are you sure?"

"No, but that's what it sounded like," Fenella looked sad at the thought. "Please be nice to him tonight, Lady Sarah, we all just want him to be happy."

"Oh, Fenella, I know you do. So do I!"

Sarah opened the white box and caught her breath at the sight of the exquisite dress that was revealed. It reminded her of the white dress she had worn in the ball room when dancing with Jareth, but this one was more elegant and adult, and not the puffy-sleeved glittery gown, that she had adored as a teenager. It had a low neck-line and was embroidered with real pearls and gold thread, and the skirt was full and with a suggestion of a train, almost like a wedding gown. As she held it up before her and looked at herself in the mirror, she knew it was the perfect gown for her and that tonight would be very special. It had to be a celebration for saving the Labyrinth.

After spending an hour setting her hair in an elegant hair-do and applying make-up to look her absolute best, Sarah carefully slipped on the dress and let Fenella stand on a chair to close the small buttons on the back from her neck to her hips. They both stared in silence at the beautiful Sarah in the mirror, and she could feel her stomach flutter in excitement at the thought of what Jareth would think of her in this gown. She hoped it would soften him up and make him Jareth again, not the distant and fearsome Goblin King that he had been ever since he had shown her the disaster on the map. After a moment of consideration, she took the necklace he had given her the first night and fastened it around her neck. It fitted perfectly in the neck-line of the dress, as if they had been made for each other.

She walked silently and smiling through the hallways, until she reached the dining room. Was it really only four days ago that she had come here first? It seemed like an eternity now. As she entered, she looked searchingly around, until her eyes focused on the man she had been waiting to see. Jareth. He had his back towards her, but turned as he heard her enter. He was clad completely in creamy white in an outfit that matched hers and a long feather cape swirling around him and Sarah found him achingly handsome. His mismatched eyes widened at the sight of her, and the look he gave her thrilled her to the core and made her blush. She curtsied and then slowly went to join him at the table.

"You look even more beautiful than I had imagined," he greeted her huskily and took her hand, kissing it gently. This was not the Goblin King speaking, she thought happily, but the Jareth beneath the façade.

"Thank you, Jareth," she said and smiled brilliantly at him. "Please do tell me – are we celebrating the victory over the Bog? Will the Labyrinth become what it was before?"

"Yes, it will," he assured her, but the hint of sadness crept back into his eyes.

"Tell me all about it," Sarah pleaded. "I know something is wrong, please confide in me and let me help you."

He took her other hand and held them both in his warm ungloved grip. Then he slowly stepped even closer and kissed her lightly on the lips. "In a moment", he said and led her away from the table and towards the doors. "I have something I've wanted to do ever since you came back to me…"

They entered the ball room, and Sarah gasped at the sight. There were candles everywhere in the grand hall, white fluffy pillows along the walls and soft music playing somewhere in the background. Except for the fact that they were totally alone in here, she felt like she was back in the dream again.

"Will you do me the honour of dancing with me?" Jareth asked quietly, and when she nodded breathlessly, he held her close and swept her around in a slow waltz, that made her dizzy and completely unable to sense anything in the world but him. And as he spun her across the floor and locked her eyes with his burning gaze, he started singing softly to her:

"_There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel, opened and closed, within your eyes, I'll place the sky, within your eyes_…"

And when the song ended and he held her closer and kissed her again, fiercely and passionately, Sarah finally admitted to herself that she loved him and would never love anyone else again.

She looked breathlessly up at the Goblin King with shining confident eyes. "Jareth, I…"

"Shh…," he said and placed a finger on her lips. His voice was filled with sadness. "Don't say anything, my precious. I had to get one last dance with you, don't spoil the mood for me."

"But I…" Sarah started, but then realised what he had said. "Last dance? Why ever would it be the last?"

He took her hand and led her back to the dining room, having her sit down on a chair, while he remained standing, looking very serious. She felt apprehensive and didn't have a clue to what was wrong with him.

"You asked me what the Council said and what they asked of me in return for advice," he started slowly. "They listened to my description of the Bog's behaviour and one of them remembered that something similar had happened before. I had no idea, but then again, since my father died so young and abruptly, he might not have had time to tell me everything he knew about the Labyrinth, before the fateful night. As they only needed to give me advice and not directly intervene, their price was not as high as it could have been. I have paid them already with a magic mirror I inherited from my grandmother."

Jareth poured himself a cup of wine, but Sarah politely refused a cup. She wanted to keep her mind as clear as possible for whatever he was going to tell her.

"When it happened the last time," Jareth continued heavily, "it was because the Laws of the Labyrinth were broken. Apparently the Bog is the centre of darkness of the Labyrinth and it is only held back by the strong mists of magic. A woman was Questing for her child in the reign of my grandfather, but due to a civil war in the Dryad kingdom, he was distracted and forgot to keep track of time. When she reached the Castle and he became aware of her, seventeen hours had passed. By Law, only one must remain more than fifteen hours, but both she and the child were still in the kingdom and the mists became impure and tainted. They lost their strength and immediately the Bog started to spread. My grandfather sent the woman back home and kept the child and order was quickly restored."

He sighed and let his fingers trace the rim of the cup. "Actually, my grandfather might not even have realised that he had been in a dangerous situation. The High Council have great powers and saw the disturbances at once. But as you know – you were there – this time the Bog had spread for four hours before I was informed."

"So the Council told you the mists have now been tainted again?" Sarah asked with concern, but then blanched. "It's me, isn't it? It started right after I came here!"

"Yes, Sarah," the king sighed. "The Labyrinth is dying because you are here."

"But why?" she cried and began to shiver. "It is because I'm not good enough to become Fae? Or to become your wife?"

"No, my dearest," he smiled sadly. "You would make the most beautiful Fae queen the kingdom has ever seen."

He began to pace the floor and the silence hung between them, until he stopped and looked directly at her.

"When you came here the last time, you were strong and wilful and desirable. Despite your young age, I felt myself enthralled by you, captivated and besotted. When you left me, I could not stop thinking of you. I wanted you. I needed you! Of course I knew about the strict Laws of the Labyrinth, but I had no idea that breaking them could be the undoing of the entire kingdom."

Suddenly he kneeled down before her and took her hands in his, holding her gaze with his fascinating mismatched eyes. "I knew you thought of me as a villain, but I had hoped that once you got to know me, your feelings might change. So I broke the Laws."

Sarah stared at him uncomprehending, but jubilantly at the thought that he might love her as she loved him. She started to tell him that her feelings had indeed changed, but he silenced her by squeezing her hands and continued in a broken voice. "Sarah, my sweet love, I have spent the entire day thinking about how to confess this to you, but have found no easy way. So I'm just going to say it. You _did_ win the last time. You _did_ get through the Labyrinth and you rescued Toby from staying in the Underground. On your birthday I lied to you and the memory from the crystal was false. The mists have been tainted and the Bog is spreading, because you are not supposed to be here at all."

Sarah blinked and tried to understand what he was saying. She had won? She had truly beaten the Labyrinth and the king back then, like she thought up until her birthday? And yet he had come to her and forced her to come back with him, to choose between herself and Toby, although he had absolutely no right to claim Toby. She felt like Jareth had slapped her and slowly drew her hands away from him, as a cold hurt spread inside her. He had lied to her! She trusted him, she had allowed herself to love him, and all this time, he had LIED to her?

"Sarah, please forgive me," he started, but she jumped to her feet and away from him.

"YOU LIED TO ME?" she screamed and felt some satisfaction at seeing him cringe at her words. "How could you! You would never have told me, if the Bog hadn't spread and ruined your plan, would you?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe in a few hundred years…"

"No! How could you, Jareth? Forcing me to stay here under false pretences? Forcing me to marry you?" She tore off the emerald necklace around her throat and threw it in his face, feeling nothing but pain and betrayal and an immense sadness, because he had turned out to be the villain after all. She was blinded by tears and didn't know what to do, except that she couldn't bear the sight of him, because the love she felt was still there and she didn't want to love that cruel conniving inhuman Goblin King.

He tried to approach her, but she backed away to avoid his touch. "Sarah, I know it sounds bad, but I was right, wasn't I?" he asked persistently. "You do care about me, don't you?"

"Take me back!" she demanded with a cold voice ignoring his question. "Take me back and let my family remember me again, do you hear me?"

There was a long pause. "Of course, my lady," Jareth answered in an equally cold voice then, and suddenly they were back in her old room Above, and all her things were there as they had been on the night of her birthday. "I had to take you back anyway, Sarah. That is the only thing which would save my Labyrinth. With you gone, the mists will resume their strength and drive back the Bog to where it belongs."

"Good!" Sarah shouted angrily. "Then you get what you want, and I get what I want!"

Jareth stared furiously at her, but then his face fell and the despair returned to his eyes. "No," he stated flatly. "Know that I do this for my kingdom and its subjects only, not because you ask me to. And not because it is what I want. It seems I will never get what I want!"

He suddenly grabbed her and kissed her brutally, penetrating her defences and making her respond involuntarily to the violent passion that soared between them. But then she came to her senses and started fighting him, and he immediately let go.

"Goodbye, Sarah," he whispered and then he was gone, and she was alone in her room. The absence of his arms around her made her shiver with cold, and blinded by tears she threw herself on the bed and sobbed desperately into her pillow. Why did he have to be a villain? How could he have done this to her? She had left her heart in the Underground and she could never ever return.


	20. Broken Hearts

Solea: Thank you for the long constructive review- always very welcome! Reg. Sarah - give the poor girl a chance... :-) after all she's been through all this in just five days, so the maturity hasn't become natural yet and she only had 2 minutes to react to him. But she'll compensate in this chapter, I promise.

Pretty racing: No, I did not know! Thank you, that was incredibly helpful. Maybe your tip and puppy eyes will persuade the mean writer to be nicer to Sarah and Jareth... ;-)

Saffy: ...because all is well that ends well. I promise some compensation for our heroes later.

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A whole week had passed since Sarah had returned from the Underground. Although she had been gone for five days, some aspect of Jareth's magic when restoring her identity had apparently kept everyone Above from noticing her absence. They all behaved in a perfectly normal way and chatted about the birthday party which had been so exciting and her presents and the nice weather they had had. In her rooms were present lined up from her friends and a brand new suitcase set, which was a gift from her father and Karen. Toby had given her a drawing of himself and his little puppy, and although she pressed him a little more than the others, even he did not show any signs of remembering that she had been missing. It was as if it had never happened.

The only proof that she had really been there, was her beautiful gown, but she had made sure no one else saw it. The first night she had been forced to tear the buttons in the back getting out of it, as it was one of those dresses you simply couldn't get in and out of without a maid, and then she had hid it inside her closet deep down, not believing she would ever want to too look at it again or have an opportunity to wear it.

In the daytime, she couldn't eat or concentrate, as her mind kept swarming with thoughts of what had happened after she left. She desperately hoped that the Council had been right and that the Bog had now retreated and restored the kingdom to normal, but she could think of no way to be sure. She wondered what Jareth had told the goblins and her friends. Had he blamed it all on her or admitted his lies to them as well?

The worst part was that she still loved Jareth with all her heart, but at the same time she felt that the five days in the Labyrinth had simply torn her up emotionally. The fear, the anger, the growing trust – and then brilliant love and painful deception. What was she supposed to think anymore, she thought with despair? Which feelings were right? His confession had taken her completely by surprise, so even though she knew she should listen to herself and trust her instincts, she didn't know whether to trust herself anymore. If that was a lie, what else had he lied about?

She did not sleep well either, for every night she was haunted by dreams about the Goblin King and the Labyrinth. In some dreams, he was dying and in others pleading her to come back. They almost all ended with the Bog flooding the Castle and herself waking with a start, eyes swollen with tears. Her heart and body screamed for him after these dreams and made her ache to have stayed him, despite his lies and despite that her presence there would have destroyed the Labyrinth. She usually cried herself back to sleep.

It was Saturday today and Sarah came down late to the kitchen to have breakfast by herself in her bathrobe. That had also been a shock – getting back to the mundane world with electrical appliances and everyday doings. She remembered her father and Toby would already have left to go shopping for the new school uniform and, if she knew them right, probably also some new sports equipment, like a baseball bat or basket ball shoes. They always ended up doing father-son stuff, when Karen was not with them. She had expected Karen to be out as well, but to her surprise, her stepmother was sitting in the kitchen and reading the morning paper sipping a cup of freshly made coffee.

"Good morning, Sarah." Karen smiled at her, but then frowned in concern and looked up and down at Sarah. "You look as if you need to be back in bed. Do you feel ill?"

Sarah shook her head in disagreement, although the sight in the mirror this morning had shocked her as well. "I'm alright, just so tired lately."

"Actually," Karen continued worriedly and got up to fetch Sarah a cup of coffee, "you look like you've been crying all night instead of sleeping. Are you in pain? Stomach cramps? Headaches?"

Sarah shook her head, but gratefully accepted the coffee and sat down with her stepmother. "I just have bad dreams at the moment," she whispered and sighed at the thought of this night's dream, where a desperate Jareth had lost the battle against the Bog and died.

After a moment of silence, her stepmother reached out and put her hand on Sarah's. "Sarah, you're in love, aren't you?" she asked gently, and Sarah started and looked up at her in shock. She opened her mouth to deny it, but then gave up all pretence, and started sobbing again. What did it matter who knew it? He was lost to her anyway.

"Shh, easy now," Karen said and patted her on the hand. "Did he hurt you? Leave you?"

"He deceived me," Sarah cried softly and every word hurt to get out. "He made me fall in love with him and then I found out he had been lying all the time to keep me with him. And now I don't know what to think or do anymore."

"Did he lie about loving you?"

"Well, he never said he did love me," she confessed and realised at the same time that she had never told Jareth those three small words either. "But he acted as if he did."

Karen thought about this for a moment. "Where is he now? Back in California?"

Sarah nodded. She couldn't very well tell her stepmother where Jareth really was – no one would ever believe her. "His lies were revealed and he had to let me go."

"Oh, sweetie, I know it hurts," Karen said softly. "Leaving your heart behind with a man. Especially your first love."

The wistful tone in the older woman's voice made Sarah look up in surprise. "You have lost as well?" she asked and for the first time thought of Karen as a woman and not just her father's wife. Karen nodded.

"I was even younger than you," she said, eyes clouded with the memory. "He charmed me so easily and I believe he did love me, too. But we were pulled apart by a jealous woman who lied and convinced me he was cheating on me with her, and I would not listen to his denials. Years later I found out the truth by accident, but by then he had moved on and was engaged to be married to someone else. I love your father now, but the purest part of my heart still belongs to my first love. The pain will go away, Sarah, but the dreams of what might have been – never."

Sarah knew these dreams all too well, but what really got to her was the image of Jareth with another woman. He was a king; he had a duty to get an heir, so of course he would marry in time. If not for any other reason, then to stop his brother from inheriting the throne. And the agony of imagining Jareth kissing another woman, making love to her, finally made her admit what she had to do.

"I have to get him back!" she whispered in wonder and stopped crying. Karen smiled knowingly.

"I have to get him back!" Sarah repeated and jumped up, almost knocking over the cup of coffee. She looked at Karen with shining eyes. "Thank you, Karen."

Running up to her room, she slammed the door shut and looked around searchingly. Now, how was she supposed to get back? Well, maybe the way she'd done it before?

"I wish the goblins would come and take…" She started, but stopped before she could finish the sentence. No, she had to make sure she was doing this right, so there would be no more threats and impure mists. It might work to wish herself to the Underground, but it was equally likely that something bad would happen or that she would be forced to leave within 13 hours again. She sank down on the chair before the vanity table and stared at her mussed reflection for a moment, weighing her options. Calling Jareth was tempting, but she almost didn't dare – it would be wonderful to see him again, but what if he didn't come? What if he had died like in her dreams, or was fighting the Bog? She sighed and decided to take the safe path and consult her friends first. If anyone could help her get back into the Labyrinth without violating the Laws, it had to be Hoggle.

"Hoggle, I need you," she said to her reflection and waited. Nothing happened. "Hoggle, are you there?"

"Ahh, Sarah, look at ye! Ye look dreadful!" The familiar voice made her spin around and she smiled jubilantly at the sight of the dwarf sitting on her bed. "What have ye been doing to yerself, girl?"

"Oh, Hoggle, I'm so glad you're here!" Sarah cried and ran to hug him. "Are you ok? Are the Labyrinth safe? And Jareth?"

"Well, I'm fine," Hoggle started, "and the Labyrinth is back to normal now. Sir Didymus left the castle yesterday to go back to his nest. But his majesty… well, we don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"We haven't seen him, since ye left," Hoggle confessed and Sarah felt a pang of fear. "He screamed at us to leave him and then locked himself in his room, and we haven't heard a sound from him since. It's been a week now, and all them goblins are scared to death."

"Oh, I have to go to him!" Sarah cried. "That's why I called, Hoggle. You have to find a way to get me back into the Labyrinth without breaking the Laws. There must be something in the books about it. Can I wish myself away?"

"No," Hoggle replied slowly, "that doesn't work. It has to be someone else wishing ye away, but in yer case it wouldn't work anyway, 'cause ye can only wish away children, not grown-ups."

"How about if I wished away Toby again?" she thought out loud, but realising how mean that sounded, she quickly added the point of this, "so I could lose and Jareth could let me stay instead of Toby?"

"Wishing only works if ye really wish it, girl," the dwarf said patiently. "Ye couldn't wish away the child just to go back yerself, because then ye wouldn't mean yer wish."

Sarah sighed. He was right. There was no way she could say the words and really mean them as she had six years ago. "I must go back, Hoggle," Sarah whispered fervently. "I love him!"

Hoggle's eyes widened at the confession, and he looked almost embarrassed. "Well, I suppose I can take ye there," he muttered and fumbled at his trinkets. "Won't be anything legal or permanent, but ye could at least stay for some hours. After all, he probably cares about ye, too. That's why he's locked himself in and all. Can't have a goblin kingdom without a Goblin King, can we? Damn goblins would roam all over the place and in me fine library."

Sarah was filled with hope and smiled broadly. "You can? Really? Oh, Hoggle, that would be wonderful. Even it it's only for 13 hours, I would be able to see him and talk to him again. And I'm sure he will know what to do, so I can stay longer."

"Well, come on then," Hoggle said and held out his hand, but as Sarah caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror again, she cried out at the thought of Jareth seeing her like this.

"Do you mind waiting ten minutes, dear Hoggle? I have to look nice for him!"

Hoggle groaned and waved her away. "Females!" he snorted in disgust. "Ok, I'll just be over here looking at ye fine books, then. Go ahead, girlie."

Half an hour later, Sarah emerged from the bathroom much cleaner and fresher and full of mixed expectations at the thought of seeing Jareth again. What if he had changed his mind? What if he asked her to leave? Hoggle was sitting on her bed deeply engrossed in her copy of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", smiling broadly and laughing to himself.

"This is hilarious," he commented as he closed the book and got up. "What mortals can imagine! Can I borrow it, please?"

"Go ahead," Sarah said, thinking only of getting back to the Labyrinth. She had dressed in jeans and a poet's shirt, similar to what she had worn the first time she ran the Labyrinth. She thought about bringing the white dress from the closet, but she would have to go back anyway, so that could wait. "Shall we leave?"

Hoggle offered her his hand again, and as she took it, the world shimmered and changed.


	21. Disaster Strikes

_And Sarah ran to Jareth and he kissed her and they lived happily ever after..._

No? Well, if you don't want more "suckitude" (as Solea calls it) for our heroes, please accept above line as The End. Everyone else can read on for more cruel cliff-hangers and story ;-)

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Sarah and Hoggle emerged inside the castle, in a darkened corridor. Hoggle quickly looked around as if to make sure they were alone and then smiled.

"Didn't think ye needed a row of goblins after ye, so I took us directly here," he said and Sarah recognised the doors close by as the ones to the Queens bedroom that she had slept in. Beside them was an even larger set of doors, which had to lead to the King's chambers. She slowly walked towards them, her heart hammering wildly at the thought of seeing Jareth again in just a few moments. How was he going to react, seeing her here once again?

As they reached the door, they noticed it was slightly ajar.

"That's weird," Hoggle said and stopped. "I'm sure His Majesty had locked it firmly the last time I passed by."

Sarah boldly pushed the door open and peered in. She drew a sharp breath at the sight. The room was as large as the Queen's chambers, but furniture and drapes were kept in a darker shade. The huge four-poster bed of mahogany was covered in raven black velvet, and the couches by the fireplace were a dark red, perfectly matching the curtains and pillows in the bed. A large skin of some black animal was spread out before the fireplace as well, and a fleeting mental image of herself and Jareth lying on that skin made her cheeks grow hot. However, even though the room was breathtaking, it was anything but tidy! Pillows were strewn here and there, the velvet on the bed was wrinkled, and everywhere were shards of crystal as if he had conjured a thousand crystals and hurled them in all directions. There was absolutely no sign of Jareth.

"Jareth?" Sarah called hesitantly, but got no answer. She waited for a moment before turning back to Hoggle. "I don't think he's there."

The dwarf looked worried. "We should find him soon – it's not like ye have all the time in the world here, is it?"

"I'll try the throne room," Sarah suggested. "Maybe another child was wished away so he had to come out."

"I'll tryme library, then," Hoggle conceded, "and if he isn't there, I'll join ye in the throne room."

They separated and Sarah quickly walked down the long corridors. The mood of the castle was disturbing, and she suddenly realized that it was because it was far too quiet. No goblins could be heard at all, as if something had scared them all away. Her breath quickened, and as she neared the throne room, her steps began to falter. Then a voice suddenly broke the silence, and even though she recognized it as Jareth's, she froze in shock at the hatred that was etched into it.

"My business with the Council is no concern of yours, brother!"

A clear and sarcastic voice answered him lightly. "Why, it's always interesting to see how you're faring, Jareth! And such grave news about our beloved kingdom is surely my concern."

Sarah felt cold with fear and loathing at the realization of who was in there with her Jareth. It could be no other than his treacherous brother Corran! She darted into the shadows along the wall to hide in case they ventured out here, and stayed to listen.

"I advise you to leave!" Jareth's voice was icy. "You know very well that this kingdom is off-limits to you now and forever!"

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Corran answered subtly, and Sarah could hear foot steps coming her way. She pressed herself closer against the wall. "But of course I'll leave. After all, I already know most of what happened and why the Bog grew. I have my sources, you know."

"GO!" the Goblin King roared and his voice was so frightening that even Sarah gasped.

Someone was coming her way, and suddenly a man turned around the corner. He looked about the same age and height as Jareth and was clearly a Fae, but there the resemblance stopped. His hair was blue-black and greasy and gathered in a long braid down his back, and his clothing was red and dandy and so outrageously frilly and lacy that they made Jareth's outfits look like a school uniform. There was an elegant sable hanging at his side and the hilt of a dagger protruded from his boot. His long sharp face glowed with anger, and the dark eyes gleamed cruelly. Sarah was clearly visible despite the shadows, and as their eyes met she was overcome with horror, especially at the malevolent smile that suddenly grazed his face.

"Well, well, what have we here?" he murmured, but when Sarah opened her mouth to scream for Jareth, he lashed out towards her and she felt herself gag. Corran walked up to her. "A maid? A mistress?"

He stared at her greedily, but no matter how hard she fought, she could not move a muscle or cry out against the spell he had obviously put on her. "A mortal," he mused and let his hand run over her in the most humiliating way. "Too old for my taste, but probably interesting enough for my brother…"

As if suddenly realising something his cruel smile grew even wider. "You are his Sarah! My my, I don't believe my luck today!"

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he whisked them away, and suddenly they were standing in a small dark cellar, where the only light came from a crystal held in Corran's hand. As Sarah felt the paralysis disappear, she wrenched herself free and moved as far away from him as possible, but a quick scan of the room revealed no exits or other means of escape.

"This should be interesting!" Corran laughed and disappeared. The room instantly went pitch black and Sarah cried out and fell to her knees. It was as if she had suddenly gone blind and even though she waved her hand in front of her eyes and blinked, she couldn't see a trace of anything. The room was cold as well, and she crawled on hands and feet until she reached a wall which she huddled up against.

How could this have happened, she thought frantically! What was Corran doing here at the Castle, and what was he going to do to her? She wondered where she was – was she still at the castle or had he whisked them far away? Well, if she was at the castle, Jareth was sure to find her!

"Jareth!" she shouted, but her voice fell flat in the small room without even echoing. "Hoggle! Help me!"

Nothing happened and Sarah broke down and started crying. What Corran had called luck had to be the worst timing she had ever done! How could she have let him catch her there? What if no one found her? She refused to give up just yet and with a hand on the wall beside her and one on the floor, she carefully tracked the whole room looking for indentions, secret passages or any other ways out. There seemed to be a door of stone in one of the walls, but even though she could track the outline all the way up, there seemed to be no doorknob or lever to open it, and pushing with all her weight did not help either. She gave up and sank down again, sobbing bitterly. At least Hoggle would tell the King that she had been there, and maybe they would guess that Corran was involved and come to rescue her.

Sarah waited for what seemed like hours in the darkness, and for every moment she grew more and more desperate and worried. What if she really was in the Labyrinth – then the Bog would begin to grow again soon. She was also cold to the very core and had rolled up into a tight ball on the floor shielding herself as much as possible.

Suddenly a light flared up and she cried out and protected her eyes against it. Corran's muffled laughter made her anger flare and she blinked and tried to focus on him.

"Let me out of here!" she screamed at the tall red figure that were prancing before her and looking exceedingly smug. "Jareth will kill you for this!"

"Oh, the kitten talks!" Corran snickered and played with his crystal in a way that reminded her painfully of Jareth. "I assure you, my pet, that he will not. Once I'm King of the Goblins _I_ will have the power and he will be easily disposed of!"

"You will never be king!" she spat and wanted to strike him.

"Oh yes," he answered, "and all because of you! I know how the Labyrinth acted the last time you were here, and I expect this time will be no different. If Jareth wishes to save his precious Labyrinth and goblins from drowning in the Bog, he will have to give up the Golden Pendant – the symbol of the King. Only then will I tell him where I'm hiding you."

"You can't!" Sarah whispered in horror and shrank back from him. "I don't believe you!"

"And then I will be King," Corran continued as if he hadn't heard her, "and I will get the power to go to your world Above that is so full of sweet little mortals. I've gotten quite a taste for your lively flavour, you know. I'll drop you off on the way, don't worry – I can't have a kingdom covered in stinking mud, can I?"

"You monster!" Sarah cried at the thought of what Corran was implying. "Jareth won't let you do this!"

"Oh, I think he will, and it will be even funnier to tell him that you are to blame for this." Corran strode towards her and cornered her, and suddenly he yanked at her hair so she screamed, and triumphantly held up a long lock of her dark brown hair. "This should convince him nicely."

Sarah launched herself at him wanting to hurt him as badly as she could, but he simply held up a hand and she was hurled against the wall. Her head struck the stone, and as the pain seared though her, she heard his laughter again very distantly, before she slumped to the floor unconscious.


	22. Goblin Bonds

Thanks for all the reviews - I just love getting feedback, and I do alter slightly in already written chapters, if it appears that an idea or a concepts needs to be clarified. 

I have been cruel uptil now, but I can be generous... so... are you ready for the M-rating now? If not, please do not read the last third of this chapter... ;-) Hope it doesn't exceed the M-rating #worried frown# - if anyone is truly offended please tell me first and I promise I'll tone it down even more.

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When Sarah slowly awoke, she was enveloped in darkness and pain, and her body was numb with cold. She was sprawled on the floor of the cellar, and for a long time she couldn't move at all. Slowly she became aware of what had roused her – a dull hammering sound seemingly coming from far away. She tried to focus and get up, but her body would not respond. When she tried to just lift her head, sparks of light danced in front of her eyes, and she felt so nauseated, she had to lie very still not to be sick.

The hammering continued for a long while, but suddenly it stopped with a thud and splintering. She flinched and shielded her eyes as a ray of bright light suddenly poured into the chamber.

"Sarah!" If she had ever had doubts of the Goblin King's feelings for her, the tone of his voice swept these away. She started to sob with relief although this made the pain even worse.

"I swear I'll kill him this time!" Jareth cursed and then she was lifted gently into his arms and his warmth and spicy smell surrounded her and soothed her. She could not speak, but registered as in a daze that she was carried out of the room and then suddenly they were in the Queens chambers. Jareth gently put her down on the bed and she whimpered as he left her.

"Is she going to be all right, Your Majesty?" a small voice asked with concern - a voice she thought sounded familiar.

"She will be just fine," the goblin king assured and returned to the bed, and as Sarah felt his hands on her forehead, the pain slowly started to leave, being replaced by drowsiness and calm. "You did well, Felix, we wouldn't have found her nearly as quickly without your help."

Sarah wanted to speak and move, but as the calm reached every part of her body, she fell into a dark oblivion again.

The room was bathed in silvery moonlight when she awoke next. She felt rested and warm and wonderful, and at first she hardly even remembered what had happened. Then it slowly came back to her, and she marvelled at the quick healing Jareth must have performed on her. Even the gash on her head where she had hit it against the wall was gone – as she carefully touched the place there were no trace of blood or a scar. Her hair was combed and hung loose around her face, and she was wearing a long white nightgown.

A soft snore drew her attention to the large chair beside her bed. A tired haggard-looking Jareth was slumped in the chair, sleeping in his clothes with a deep frown etched on his forehead. Seeing him again made her heart beat wildly and without thinking about anything but being close to him again, she threw the bed covers aside and jumped out, walking the three steps to the chair.

"Jareth," she called softly and as he opened his eyes, she let herself fall into his arms. He hesitated a moment, but then crushed her in a tight embrace and buried his face at her neck. She moved closer and slipped her arms around his shoulders, and for the longest time they simply stayed there, clinging to each other as if the world would fall down the moment they let go.

Finally he lifted his head and looked at her with such a tender gaze in his beautiful mismatched eyes that she felt like crying with joy. "You came back to me," he whispered brokenly. "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"I couldn't stay away," she breathed and touched his cheek with her hand. "I love you, Jareth!"

His eyes grew even wider and his hands crept around her neck, sending shivers though her whole body. "Oh, Sarah… If you only knew how much I've longed to hear you say that. I love you, too; you know that, don't you?"

And then his mouth claimed hers and the world disappeared as they kissed fervently, losing themselves in each other. Her body was pressed tightly against him and though the chair was much too small for the both of them, none of them minded the cramped space and that she was forced to wiggle even closer to him. His hands were buried in her hair and she let her fingers run over his face and shoulders, making him tremble with suppressed passion. When they at last broke apart, he gasped for breath and rested his forehead against hers, but without loosening his grip on her.

"I'm so glad you found me," Sarah whispered. "I was so scared."

"I will never forgive him for laying a hand on you," Jareth hissed. "He's gone too far this time, even though he is my brother and that has stayed my hand before. But now… I have to end it!"

Sarah suddenly remembered that her time in the Labyrinth was limited. "Jareth, how long has it been? I must go back before the Labyrinth reacts to my presence again."

He laughed softly. "Too late, my love. You have been here for two days already, and the Bog is getting out of control again, much to the annoyance of your furry little friend, the knight."

"Shouldn't I go back then?" she murmured and snuggled closer to him. "I knew the time was limited, but I just had to see you again."

"No, you can't," he said firmly. "That would ruin my plan. Corran must not know that his plans have been thwarted. He will come again tomorrow night, and there I will deal with him once and for all."

"Oh, Jareth, please be careful," Sarah begged and shivered at the thought of any harm coming to her goblin king. "He's dangerous!"

Jareth rose and carried her to the bed, tucking her under the covers again and stretching out beside her, so they were both more comfortable. His arms held her possessively against him, as he pulled her close so her back rested against his chest. Even though both the covers and their clothes were between them, Sarah trembled at the thought of being in bed with him and pressed herself closer to him; half wishing that nothing was between them.

"He came back yesterday," Jareth started in a suppressed voice that clearly showed his fury. "After prancing around, he produced a crystal and showed me the Bog, which was just beginning to grow again. He laughed and told me that he'd found a juicy little mortal that I might know, and then presented me with the lock of your hair. We had been searching everywhere for you after Hoggle confessed to me he had brought you, but you seemed to have vanished into thin air. My worst fears were realised when he confirmed that it was he who had taken you, but then at least I knew you were in the Labyrinth somewhere and not back above."

He began stroking her hair and playing with it. "He had taken you deep down below to the ancient oubliettes that I didn't even know existed anymore. If it hadn't been for little Felix…" His voice trailed off.

"Felix found me?" Sarah asked surprised. "But he has only been in your kingdom for a little while, he cannot possibly have known about any oubliettes."

"No, but he is apparently _your_ goblin, Sarah," Jareth replied and she could hear his smile. She turned around in his arms, so she came face to face with him, and he quickly stole a kiss before he continued. "You welcomed him, you named him, and by doing so, a bond was created between you. I have this bond with most of the other goblins, which is why I can never hide from them, but Felix is yours. As long as you are in the Labyrinth, he will always be able to find you."

"Really?" Sarah thought of the electrical currant she'd felt when she first touched the goblin.

"Well, I hadn't thought it was possible at first," Jareth admitted, "but after Corran had left, Fanny and Fenella came to me, dragging little Felix after them. They said he'd claimed that he knew where you were. Usually only the King of the Goblins creates the bond, so I didn't know it could happen to anyone else, least of all a mortal, but he seemed very insistent. He led me straight to you although I had to break down a few doors to reach the oubliette."

"I'm so glad you came," Sarah repeated, but then grew serious. "Jareth, love, what do we do once this business with Corran is taken care of? I can't live without you, but apparently the Labyrinth won't let me live _with_ you."

His face darkened and she could feel his body stiffen. "We'll have to find a way, Sarah. I'm not giving you up again!"

He kissed her violently and possessively, as if he wanted to make certain she was his, now and forever, and she yielded to him and answered with all the passion and longing she felt. The recent events had been too much for her, and the thought of the confrontation between Jareth and his brother tomorrow and the uncertainty concerning their future together made her cling to him in realization that this night could be their last together.

"I have to leave you," Jareth said in a hoarse voice and reluctantly drew away, getting off the bed. "I cannot guarantee your safety with me right now, love, and I will not betray your trust."

Sarah's whole being screamed for him, and she sat up and reached out for him pleadingly. "Jareth, don't leave me! I want to be with you every second of the time we have left together."

"Sarah, you don't understand what you're doing to me!" he growled and retreated further away. "I want to rip that nightgown off you and bury myself in you, feel your body become mine and hear you cry out beneath me! I cannot control myself if I stay."

The naked desire in his eyes and his voice dissolved the last fraction of fear or reluctance that Sarah might have had, and she knew at that moment that she wanted the last barriers between them to fall. Taking a deep breath, she slowly took hold of the nightgown and pulled it over her head, leaving her completely nude and exposed, except for the covers on her lower body.

"Get back here, Your Majesty," she said and tossed her hair in a manner she hoped was seductive. "Or I swear I'll never forgive you."

He remained completely still for a moment as if in shock, but then slowly approached the bed again, and his eyes were gleaming. "As my Queen commands," he whispered roughly, and then he was beside her, pinning her down and kissing her again, with a craze that matched the flames burning in Sarah.

His hands traced her body, every inch of it, and she let herself go and surrendered to him, whimpering under him as he kissed and licked her tender skin. This time there was no turning back. She tore at his shirt to feel him, too, and he drew away for a moment, quickly removing his own clothes, before he turned back to her. His naked body was pale in the moonlight, but glowing with heat, and she hesitatingly let her hands wander over it, exploring his lean muscles and smooth skin.

"You are so beautiful," he breathed in her ear and sent little shivers through her whole body. He let his hands cup her delicate forms and grazed her nipples with his nails, and she gasped at the unexpected surge of warmth this provoked in her. As his caresses became more insistent, she moaned and arched up against him, wanting more, wanting all of him. Pressing herself closer, she felt again his hard member against her hip, but this time she wasn't scared, but rather curious. She let her hand glide down his side, until she reached it, and letting her fingers trace it, she heard his sharp intake of breath. She hadn't known exactly what to expect, but as she gently explored it, caressing and stroking it, she was rewarded with the sight of Jareth writhing beside her, gasping for breath under her exquisite torture. When she at last touched the tip of it and felt a sticky wetness, he gave a strangled cry and gently pushed her hand away. "No more, please… my love."

He held her close for a moment to get his breathing under control, and then with just as wicked a smile as hers had just been, he rolled on top of her and pinned her down gently. "Well, dear innocent Sarah!" he whispered with a gleam in his eyes, "I believe I must let you in on the rules of this game!"

"You are _my_ prey," he started and catching her wrists with one hand, he held them fast above her head. The other hand glided down her shoulders and side, leaving a burning trail on her skin. He lowered his head and sucked gently on her nipples, making her gasp and shiver. "You are _my_ prize, and I can do anything I want with you…"

As he spoke, his hand caressed her back and buttocks and then slipped in between her legs and slowly up her inner thighs towards the burning throbbing ache in her most private parts. She meowed and moved under him, wanting him to touch her fully, but not before she was almost sobbing, did he lift his head and smile roughly down at her.

"Remember you are mine!" he hissed, and then his gentle hand finally found her wetness and caressed the small centre of her pleasure with sure and deliberate circling movements. Sarah was swept away and the pleasure exploded and was spread to every little part of her body. She stiffened, could not breathe or scream, but only arched against him for the longest time, until the wave passed and she fell back whimpering. His mouth covered hers in a gentle kiss, and when she finally opened her eyes, she looked into his dark intense gaze and kissed him back.

She reached out for him, a wordless plea in her eyes, and then he was on top of her, his manhood hard and ready, and as he entered her in a single stroke, she cried out against the sudden pain. He held her close and murmured sweet words in her ears, and as he moved in her, the pain abated and was replaced by a deep ancient feeling of satisfaction. His breathing became troubled, and very quickly he cried out and thrust a single time, before collapsing on top of her. She relished in the feeling of his weight upon her and snuck her arms around his neck, sighing contentedly.

Tomorrow did not matter; the duel between the brothers seemed far away as did their inevitable parting to save the Labyrinth. This night belonged to them, Jareth was hers, and come what may, they would have this night as a sweet memory of how it should be, if the world around them for once decided to be fair.


	23. The Last Day

Glad you liked the chapter :-) Here's another one to get us closer to the final confrontation...

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"When do you expect Corran to be back?" Sarah asked, as she put down the brush and started braiding her hair. Jareth, who had just returned fully dressed from his room next to hers, was sitting in her window, looking out over the Labyrinth. It was cloudy outside and the air was heavy and stifling, as if a thunderstorm was approaching.

"When it gets dark," he said slowly and toyed with four crystal balls that he had conjured. He looked younger today, more relaxed and self-assured. He was dressed in his white shirt and trousers, and a bright red scarf was slung around one shoulder. "He will arrive believing me to be ready to surrender the throne, but he's not an idiot, of course, so he'll take his precautions as well."

"If there's anything I can do to help…" Sarah started, but Jareth whipped his head around and held up a hand to stop her.

"You must stay away!" he said savagely. "Do you think I could bear it if anything happened to you now? Besides, he's not supposed to know you're free."

"What will it be like?" she asked quietly. "Will you fight with swords or magic? And will he not just run away like the last time after your father's death?"

Jareth turned back to look at the Labyrinth. "You know, I've asked myself that as well. What I really want is to keep him in one place, and then it won't matter whether I kill him with blade or crystal."

"So you will have to take away his ability to transport. Can you do that?"

"No, that's his birthright as being a Goblin prince. He can still control the mists as he like."

Sarah pondered about this for a moment while tying her braid with a green ribbon. The mists again… "Jareth, how about exploiting what is happening to the Labyrinth…? Luring him out into the mist-less rim around the growing Bog? Your transport magic didn't work there – why should his?"

Jareth was dumbstruck for a moment, but then smiled at her and jumped up. "You're right, that _could_ work! He doesn't know exactly how the Labyrinth mists are reacting to your presence – he only thinks the Bog is growing. If we fly out there as owls…" He excitedly started pacing the floor, discussing the various options with himself. Sarah looked tenderly at him, hoping and believing that the encounter tonight would turn out as planned, as the alternative was simply too dreadful to contemplate.

"Sarah," Jareth suddenly stopped and turned to her, coming to stand behind her and placing his slender hands on her shoulders. "I need to prepare in earnest for this duel. I would love nothing better than to spend the entire day with you, but half a day is all I dare give you. After we have had lunch, I will leave you, and you must promise to stay here. In your room or in the library with your friend, but it must be far away from the throne room, so you don't risk running into Corran."

She nodded compliantly, but the seriousness in his voice made her spontaneously jump up and throw her arms around his neck. "Oh, sweet love, I wish you didn't have to do this!"

Suddenly their attention was caught by a polite knocking on the door, and when Jareth reluctantly answered, the door was flung open by Fanny and Fenella, who threw themselves at Sarah and chatted eagerly to tell her how happy they were she was back. Behind them, little Felix was waiting with a huge tray with breakfast, that Jareth quickly went over and relieved him of, while Sarah was busy with the twins.

"So, Felix," Sarah said when she could finally be heard over the noise. "Jareth tells me I have you to thank for finding me? You are so clever, and I'm very grateful."

Felix blushed and cringed under her words, and shuffling his feet he quickly retreated and almost ran out of the room. Jareth and Sarah laughed and started on their breakfast, patiently answering questions from the twins about the rescue.

What they most wanted to do that morning was just to be alone and spend time together, but with all the eager goblins around, they didn't get much of a change. Instead they walked slowly around the castle, hand in hand and occasionally stealing a burning kiss in a corner. Jareth told Sarah more about his upbringing at the castle and his sisters in the Dryad Woods.

"When all this is over," he said, "I will take you to them instead of back to the Above. It might just work, so the Labyrinth will believe you gone. After all, it works for the babies I bring there to get them out of the influence of the mists."

He stopped and held her head between his hands, forcing her to look directly into his eyes. "And if everything else fails, Sarah, I will build you a palace there, I swear. And we will be together as often as possible. And the next full moon is only two weeks away – that is when we will marry."

"Marry? Aren't you beginning to take everything for granted…?" she teased him, but as his look darkened, she quickly added. "Of course, I'll marry you, my love. I thought I made it quite clear tonight how much I love you."

"Oh, you did indeed…" he smiled wickedly and caressed her face with small lingering kisses that made her quite dizzy. "But I'm afraid it wasn't enough. I think you will need to repeat that as often as possible after we're married to make your point."

She pressed herself against him and smiled. "As Your Majesty demands…."

A few hours later, Jareth had taken Sarah back up to the panorama room for lunch. The light and view through the windows was not quite as spectacular as the last time, since the heavy grey clouds were still hovering over the Labyrinth, but the map was still clear and Jareth outlined his plan for her. He would greet his brother with disbelief and insist that it was a trick – that the Bog was not spreading again. Corran would have to prove it. After they transformed into owls, he would then fly ahead and guide Corran to the mist-free zone, most likely the raft labyrinth, since as far as he could figure out, this was where the Bog would have extended to at that time. Since no magic could be used, the fight would most likely be a sword duel.

"Jareth, I don't like it," Sarah said concerned and looked at the Bog spreading on the map. "He'll try anything to trick you or kill you – he's surely not planning to let you live, even if you surrendered the throne willingly!"

"I know, love," Jareth sighed, "but what else can I do? At least I know I'm a much better swordsman than he is. Or I was when we were young anyway. And if I don't take care of him now, he'll always be there to threaten us. Once he finds out I'm actually going to marry and start a family, he will be even more persistent."

Sarah sighed. "I wish I could send an army with you to help you, but without the mists, the goblins won't be of much use."

"I'll be fine," he promised and kissed her reassuringly.

Sarah clung to him as they said goodbye, and reluctantly stayed to stare after him, as he walked away to prepare himself. She could do nothing but wait and stay away as he had made her promise, but it felt horribly frustrating not to be able to help and make a difference. With drawn face and clenched fists, she went back to her bedroom and threw herself on the bed, where she lay back and stared up at the ceiling, trying very hard not to think of all the things that could go wrong.

Being alone and relaxed she slowly became conscious of a strange warm feeling inside of her. It felt like she had been drinking something very warm, but the sensation wasn't just centred on her stomach but mostly around her heart. She stayed very still and tried to think about what it could be, and whether it was getting worse. After five minutes she thought it possibly was, but it was growing so slowly that she was almost sure she was just imagining it. Dismissing it and getting restless with just lying here, she jumped up and went to the library to see Hoggle.

The feeling did not go away. When she returned a few hours later, the warmth had spread and now stretched all the way from her shoulders and chest to her hips. And it was very gradually increasing in both strength and extension. She stripped in the bathroom and examined her body, trying to see if anything was different, but she looked mostly the same, except perhaps a bit paler. She wished she could have asked Jareth about it, but she didn't dare disturb him. She was probably just coming down with the flu or something, she tried to convince herself. Suddenly her vision began to blur a bit and she got quite dizzy, having to cling to the wall to stay upright. Her legs felt weak and alarmed, she tried to drag herself into the bedroom again. However, before she reached the bed, her knees buckled and she fell to the floor and couldn't get up. She called out for help and thought she saw Fenella and Fanny hurrying towards her, but her vision faded completely and then she fell into oblivion.

When she awoke again, she noticed through the windows that the gloomy sky had grown even darker and felt a pang of fear. Corran would be here soon! Then she remembered the strange sensation that had made her pass out, and to her relief, she could feel that the warmth had disappeared and she felt quite normal again. Sitting up, she looked right into the eyes of the goblin twins who were sitting on her bed, and staring at her with wide eyes and shocked faces.

"What?" she asked and felt a pang of nervousness. "Is it Jareth? Has he left with Corran yet?"

"Not that we know, Lady Sarah," Fenella whispered in a strangled voice and kept staring at Sarah.

"Then what?" she asked confused, until she suddenly looked down at herself. She was only wearing her underwear, and the lack of clothes clearly revealed that her body were a shimming smooth pale white, even paler than Jareth now. The body hair on her legs and arms had paled, too, and grown so thin and transparent it almost wasn't there. She lifted her hand in wonder and saw the same colour there, and her fingers looked a bit longer and more slender and graceful than usual. Sarah felt a chill running through her. What had happened? Then an explanation struck her, and almost afraid of the answer, she let her hands touch her ear and follow the curves. This was not a mortal ear but definitely a bit pointy.

Sarah yelped and jumped off the bed, running to stand in front of the full-size mirror. Her reflection confirmed the obvious – the pale smooth skin, these ears, fuller more lustrous hair and a shimmer of fairy dust on her more slanted eyebrows. She had become Fae!


	24. Foul Play

Wow - more than two hundred reviews now and chosen as 61 times as a favorite story. #Author humbly bows to the yay-ing audience#. The confrontation is approaching, the thunderclouds are gathering and Sarah is about to find out what it is to be Fae...

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"Oh, my God!" Sarah cried and touched herself in wonder. She was Fae? She didn't know whether to feel terrified or exhilarated, but a combination of both filled her and made her tremble all over.

"You look great!" Fenella said, coming to stand by her and patting her hand comfortingly. "Now you're truly one of us."

"But what happened?" Sarah whispered in a half choked voice. "This… I thought… How can I suddenly be Fae?"

"Maybe His Majesty will know?" Fanny suggested. "You look really pretty, Lady Sarah!"

And she did. This Fae version of Sarah was graceful, unearthly, aloof and yet with all the looks of the old mortal Sarah as well. With a bit of make-up and the right hair style she might even pass for human to the people Above, should she want to. Above? Sarah's mind whirled. Hadn't Jareth said that once she turned Fae, she would be tied to the Underground forever and never get to leave? So she could stay!

"I can stay!" she said out loud and the biggest smile spread on her face in the mirror. She spontaneously lifted up Fanny and swung her around in joy, making the little goblin squeal in surprise. "I can stay! I won't have to leave him!"

Setting down Fanny, she ran to the door. "I have to tell him! He will be so happy!" Then she stopped, feeling the cold stone floor under her bare feet and remembering she was half-naked. She ran back to find some clothes, but suddenly remembered while dressing that Jareth had forbidden her to interrupt him before he had dealt with Corran. She mentally fought with herself to contain her exhilaration and finally, as she tied the bodice, she relented and went over to the window and looked out into the evening instead of rushing out the door. The weather had gotten worse and it had started raining. In the distance, she could hear the rumble of thunder. A perfect night for a dramatic confrontation, she thought, but not a perfect night for flying out to a magic-depleted section of the Labyrinth.

"Fenella." Sarah turned. "Is there any news about Jareth and Corran yet? Has he arrived?"

"We don't know, My Lady. His Majesty has forbidden us access to the throne room, and most are huddled in the kitchen below anyway, being scared of C...C…Corran." Fenella stammered slightly speaking his name, and Sarah realized the twins were scared as well. She felt the anger against him stir in her and kneeled down by the goblins, giving them a quick reassuring hug.

"Don't worry. It will be all right – I won't let anyone hurt you. But I just wish I could see Jareth right now."

Something hard and round pressed against her right hand, and as she snatched it away, a crystal ball bounced to the floor and rolled away from them.

"Jareth?" Sarah called in surprise and stood up, looking around. "Are you there?"

"Did you do that?" Fanny asked timidly, but Sarah shook her head in denial.

"Of course I didn't. It must have been Jareth."

Fenella closed her eyes for a second and then shook her head. "He's not here – he's down in the throne room."

Sarah slowly picked up the familiar crystal ball and looked at it. A small picture was visible inside, showing Jareth sitting casually on his throne and staring out into the room. He was completely alone and dressed all in black. The hair was tied back and he was wearing an open shirt clearly displaying the royal pendant resting on his bare chest. At his side hung a long rapier with a golden handle, and he was fingering it impatiently. It seemed clear that he was still waiting for Corran and was as restless as Sarah.

The feel of the crystal in her hand was strangely comforting and she wondered how he could have known she wanted it. Then a thought dawned on her – maybe it was her own doing?

"Show me Corran," she said, but the picture didn't change. She shook the crystal like a child's snowball, but it remained the same. Concentrating, she tried to remember how she had done it the last time. "I wish I could see Corran right now."

The picture immediately changed, this time to show Jareth's brother. He was walking down a corridor that she recognized as being inside the castle, and Sarah drew a sharp breath knowing the confrontation would come soon. He was still dressed in red, but this time slightly less frilly and more practical, and he looked self confident and cocky – too cocky for Sarah's taste. He was brandishing a light sword in front of him and slashing the air with it, as if fighting an invisible enemy. Passing a bewildered brown chicken in the corridor – which made Sarah sure he was close to the throne room – he stopped and looked at it with a nasty smile. He poked at it, lightly tapping it on the head with the sword, and to Sarah's horror, it gave a jerk and collapsed. There were no blood and no apparent injury, but the mere touch of the weapon had felled it.

"What on earth has he done with it?" Sarah asked the crystal, but it only showed Corran sheathing the sword with a satisfied and determined look on his face, before he moved on. Sarah rephrased: "I wish I could see what Corran has done to the weapon."

The picture blurred again and showed a differently dressed Corran standing in an ill-lit cellar room, staring a range of bottles on a dusty shelf. Slowly he picked a bottle and turned around, and Sarah shuddered at the hateful smile on his face. He went to a nearby table and drew his sword, putting it carefully down. Putting on a thick pair of gloves, he opened the bottle and tipped it, letting a small stream of dark liquid follow the length of the sword so the blade was covered in it. Turning the sword, he emptied the bottle on the other side and threw it into a nearly fireplace, where it splintered. The crystal grew dark.

"Poison!" Sarah murmured between clenched teeth. That sneaky little bastard! She sprang up – promise or no promise, she had to find a way to warn Jareth.

"Do you know a short-cut to the throne room?" she asked the twins impatiently. "We must get to Jareth before Corran does!"

"Of course," Fenella said and resolutely headed for the door. "This way."

Running down the corridors after Fenella, who were keeping a good pace considering her size, Sarah concentrated on being silent and calm. Fanny was trying to keep up with them, looking extremely nervous and unhappy. Passing familiar places, Sarah was distracted by the feeling that something was different about the castle, and suddenly she noticed the little specs of light everywhere – it almost seemed as if everything had been touched with fairy dust. When the dust began to swirl in a corner and sparkled like confetti, she realized she was seeing the mists of magic for the first time. The twins had been right – it was really beautiful, and if she hadn't had so much else on her mind, she would surely have stopped to investigate. After passing through two small doors that Sarah would never have thought of using herself, Fenella stopped in front of an insignificant wooden door.

"In there," she whispered and pointed. "We dare not follow you – His Majesty has absolutely forbidden it!"

Sarah wavered as well, thinking how furious Jareth would probably be at her for being there, and maybe he already knew that this was the kind of trick that Corran would play? But the way he had talked about their duel earlier that day had suggested that he thought it would be a reasonable fair fight, since none of them would be able to use magic. She looked at the door again and then took a deep breath and turned the knob.

"So, dear brother, are you ready to give me what is mine at last?" Corran's voice was confident and taunting. Sarah's heart stopped as she realized she was too late after all. Corran was already there and the confrontation had begun. She could not see them, but through the half-open door their voices reached her easily.

"Yours, little brother?" Jareth drawled in a bored and casual voice. " Aren't you taking a great deal for granted now?"

"You know I have your little wench!" Corran sneered. "As before she will be the destruction of the Labyrinth unless I release her. Will you really allow your love of the throne to come before the Kingdom and your subjects?"

Sarah winced. What would Jareth have done, if Felix had not found her? This was an impossible choice – no matter what he did, the Labyrinth would lose.

"I know your tricks," Jareth answered after a pause. "I sent the girl back, and that's where she has stayed. How could she have entered the Underground without my knowledge? This is a trick and I will give you nothing!"

"You fool!" Corran sounded angry. "Of course I have the girl. Just take a look at that precious Labyrinth of yours in this crystal."

"Which you will have bewitched so I see only what you want me to see? No, I believe only my own eyes when it comes to you, and yesterday when I flew out, the Bog was no different than always."

"You try my patience, brother," Corran hissed. "Why don't we go there, right now, and I'll show you the state of the kingdom!"

"In this weather?" Jareth had apparently got up, for his mocking voice sounded closer now. "Since we cannot know the exact location of the Bog, if you have done what you claim, we'll have to fly and not transport ourselves there. You always were a bad flyer, Corran, are you sure you want to take on a thunderstorm?"

A hard laugh echoed in the room. "As this is one of the theatrics that usually comes with picking up children from Above, I expect I might as well get used to it. Or maybe you are scared of what you're going to see?"

"I can see I must indulge you in this," Jareth sighed. "Very well, I'll race you to the Bog, then."

The room grew silent and Sarah waited a moment, before she slowly opened the door fully and peered out. The room seemed empty, but through the window she was just able to see two shapes flying away, before they were lost in the darkness. She shuddered and felt hopelessly lost – if only she had had the time to warn him.

"Will you follow him?" Fenella had dared to enter the room now that Jareth were obviously gone and she looked up at Sarah with a concerned frown, biting her lower lip.

Sarah shook her head. "How can I?" she whispered. "They are going towards the raft maze, but I have no idea where they will end. And even if I did, you couldn't take me there, because the mists will be gone."

"But – you could fly!" Fanny suggested from behind the door, not wanting to enter the throne room. "You're Fae, you can fly like His Majesty, can't you?"

Sarah looked out the window into the storm. "You mean – like an owl? I don't know. How does he do it? And will it work?"

She didn't wait for an answer, but closed her eyes and clenched her fist, concentrating deeply and taking a deep breath. She didn't have the faintest idea of how to do it, but since Jareth had said it was part of the Fae nature, this might actually be the one magic she _could_ do. And the crystal had responded to her. _I want to be an owl, I want to be an owl… I wish I could be an owl right now…You can do this, Sarah, you must go to him… how difficult can it be to be an owl…?_

And suddenly she felt her arms grow and her legs shorten, and with a shriek she opened her eyes to a world where everything was drained of colour and she could see much more at once and much sharper with her new round eyes. She reacted on instinct and flapped her wings, soaring into the air and almost crashing directly into a wall. At the last moment she managed to turn away and instead made a crazy loop and dive, nearly grazing the little dumbstruck goblin near the throne. She tried to focus and slow down, and by really concentrating she managed to fly around the room three times.

_Enough practice_, Sarah the Owl thought, _I must not lose them_. Gathering all her courage, she hooted and dived recklessly out into the thunderstorm, just as a great lightening flickered over the sky and illuminated the Labyrinth. In the distance her sharp owl eyes could easily make out the outline of two fellow owls, and she set the course after them, thinking only of not losing them of sight.


	25. End Game

Thanks to you all for reading. No more cliff-hangers - I promise. Here are the final chapters and the story is now complete.

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Sarah beat her wings furiously against the rain, so she wouldn't lose sight of Jareth and Corran. They were too far away for her to see in the darkness, so her only guidelines were when the lightening lit up the sky and she would catch a glimpse of them. Jareth had been right in his warnings to his brother; it was definitely not easy to fly in this weather and Sarah was grateful that she was even able stay aloof. As she passed over the Goblin City and then the beginning of the Labyrinth, she was astonished to see how it looked with her new vision. She didn't know what was because of her Fae traits or what was due to her owl eyes, but the sudden lack of colours had to be caused by the owl form. It was very weird, almost like being in an old black and white photo, but at the same time it made everything much sharper and easier to see, so even without the lightning she could see clearly at least 300 feet away. Being Fae inside, she was also able to see the mists of magic this time. They were swirling slowly around in the Labyrinth and didn't seem to be affected by neither rain, nor wind, nor the walls of the corridors. The shimmering glitter seemed almost ghostly, as if it was the remains of a current or a river long past, that had left a fain trace of magic and wonder in the Underground.

Her speed was good, but no match for the experienced flyers, and every time she was able to see them, they seemed a bit further away. She desperately hoped that the raft maze wouldn't be that far away, and tried to forget the impressive distance she knew it was after having seen it on the map in the panorama room. After a while she didn't even peer down anymore, but simply focused on moving her wings and looking straight ahead. She desperately needed to rest and get out of the rain, but she knew that if she stopped even for a little while, she would never find the brothers again and probably not even have the strength to get airborne again.

Finally she noticed some changes in the Labyrinth beneath her. It seemed as if the Mists grew sparser and didn't move as gracefully as before, and suddenly they were gone and the maze beneath her seemed gloomy and disturbing. She could easily see why the goblins had been so scared of walking in the mist-less maze – if they had been used to all this magic sparkle all their lives, the darkness would surely be horrible to witness. Further out in the distance, she could just spot a glowing rim of sparkles that she knew must be the wild mists. In the next lightening she saw the two owls suddenly much closer, and they were circling downwards as if to find a good spot to land.

This was not the raft maze, Sarah could see, as she full of relief attempted her first landing, but instead a thick jungle-like forest with only a faint traces of paths leading through it. If she had not had the night-vision of the owl it would have been completely impossible to find a safe spot to land, but she could make out enough of the treetops and branches to determine a safe route down. She dared not land right next to the brothers, but decided to go down a bit further away, so they would not notice her. Folding her wings closer and aiming for the ground, she suddenly lost balance in the air and flapped frantically to get it back. Her already tired wings could hardly keep her up anymore, and she hit a branch and then another, as she tumbled to the ground in a wet and miserable heap of feathers. The ground was soft and mossy, but still Sarah's breath was knocked out of her as she hit it hard.

Gasping for breath, she wanted to feel normal again and be herself, and she furiously wished to be herself again. _I want to be Sarah, normal Sarah, not owl, but Sarah!_

Feathers vanished, fingers returned, and her wet naked face was pressed against the moss she hadn't been able to feel before. She kept still for a moment trying to find out if she had been seriously hurt, but checking arms and legs, she felt only a bit soreness and the tiredness from flying, not anything broken or truly hurting. With relief she slowly lifted her head, only to find herself surrounded by almost total darkness. She mentally cursed herself – of course she wouldn't be able to see anything in this darkness without her owl eyes – there was no moon, no stars, no artificial lightning of any kind nearby. She had never really experienced anything like it – back home, there had always been some light in the sky from a nearby city, or she would have had artificial light with her. And in her previous night in the Labyrinth she had had the crude homemade torch. How was she ever going to find Jareth and Corran now?

A furious roar of anger tore through the silence of the forest behind her. She jumped up, but couldn't see a thing except the faint outlines of the closest trees.

"What is this, Jareth?" she heard Corran shout. "You accuse ME of trickery and look what you've done to the Labyrinth! Where are the Mists?"

Sarah's heart began to beat faster, and holding her hands out before her, she walked as fast as she dared towards the sound to get close to them.

"Corran, what did you do to her?" Jareth's voice was quivering with suppressed rage and the cold indifference had completely disappeared. "Where is she?"

"What do you mean? You know very well you'll not get her before our business is concluded."

Sarah was almost there, and as another lightning gave her a chance to see her surroundings, she could see the brothers in a clearing, standing close to each other and glaring at each other. Jareth reached into a pocket and threw something at a group of vines, and they exploded into flame, illuminating the mist-less clearing where magic could not be used. The silent rain made the fire smoke and sputter, but it did not go out.

"Corran, I warn you!" Jareth drew his sword and advanced on his brother. The fire was reflected in his eyes and he looked as if all reason had left him. "The Bog is clearly retreating. Your plan has failed! But that also means that Sarah is no longer in the Labyrinth. Now, tell me what you did to her or I swear you'll regret it with your dying breath!"

Corran drew his own sword with narrowed eyes. "Dear brother, I had no idea you cared so much about that wench. I should have had some fun with her then, while I had the time. So, maybe she's dead – I don't care. I waited long enough and the throne is mine!""

"Liar!" Jareth screamed and struck out, and the ring of their blades meeting sounded louder than the thunder above. Sarah suddenly realised that her transformation to Fae had also reversed the Bog's spreading, and Jareth could not know why, as he didn't know about it. He must think she was dead or gone from this world! Their blades met again, and Sarah could see from the grief etched in Jareth's features and the savage uncaring way he fought that he did not care whether he lived or died, as long as the person whom he thought had killed her would die as well. The brothers circled each other, ready to strike, and the cruel knowing smile on Corran's face was more than Sarah could bear. She looked around frantically, wishing Ludo was here to help her, but managed to find a good round rock on her own. Taking careful aim, she threw it with all her might at Corran, and it hit him square on his arm, making him yelp in surprise and pain, and both of the brothers spun around to face the unexpected attacker.

"Jareth, be careful!" she cried and stepped out into the light where they could see her. "His blade is poisoned!"

Jareth jumped back, just in time to escape a furious attack from Corran, who has lost his composure at the sudden appearance of Sarah. Jareth, on the other hand, seemed to grow in size as the presence of his beloved registered and he could see she was safe. His confidence and superiority returned before their eyes, making him truly look like the invincible Goblin King, and Corran shrank back in fear.

"This time there's no escape, brother," the King stated flatly and whirled his sword easily before him, showing off his skills. "You're no match for me, even with your pathetic attempt at cheating."

And then he lunged at Corran and the air was ringing with the sound of clashing swords. To Sarah's untrained eyes they were both good swordsmen, and the grace and dexterity with which they handled the long slender swords was amazing. Their feet danced across the ground as they attacked and parried each other's attacks, and the steel blades seemed a blur that she could hardly follow with her eyes. But Corran quickly began to pant and sweat and she could see bloody scratches appearing on his face and arms as the King's attacks rang true and penetrated his defences. They were both soaked to the skin by the continuous rain, and their hair hung in wet strands plastered to their necks.

"Damn you, Jareth!" Corran cried frantically. "I'm your brother! It's me, Corry? You can't do this! Remember all the good times we had together? "

The Goblin King's face hardened and he didn't respond, but kept attacking. Corran tried to keep up with him, but his movements grew slower and more strained, and suddenly threw away his sword and dropped to his knees before his brother.

"OK, you win," he panted and spread out his arms in surrender. "I give up. The throne is yours as it has always been. I promise I'll go away and not bother you again."

The Goblin King stopped and Sarah could see the conflict in his face, as the regal façade slipped away. For a moment it was just Jareth looking at Corran, an elder brother looking at his wayward younger sibling, who was completely at his mercy, like he had surely often been in the games they had played as young princes. She could see the pain in his face, his fervent desire to go back to the way it had once been, to reach down and help his brother up. She held her breath and her heart went out to Jareth, who stood completely still as if frozen in time, while the rain streamed silently down his face like tears.

"Please, Jareth?" Corran begged in a child-like voice as if he too could see his bother's internal conflict. "I'm sorry, please forgive me…"

Jareth slowly lowered his sword and Sarah could see real tears glittering in his eyes as he looked directly at Corran. "I'm sorry, too, Corry," he murmured softly. And with a swift and sudden move, he lifted his sword again and thrust it into his brother's exposed chest, causing him to scream one last time and then collapse in a crumbled heap at Jareth's feet.

Sarah stood completely still and didn't know what to do. The fight was over, her beloved had won, and yet the scene before her had been so horrible and heartbreaking to watch that she could not rejoice. Tears started running down her face, and as Jareth let go of the sword and turned to her, she ran out in the clearing to him and threw her arms around him, pressing her wet body against him and clinging to him as if her life depended on it. He returned her embrace, almost crushing her, and then carried her away from the body on the ground and in under the trees for shelter from the rain.

"I can't believe you are here," he whispered brokenly in her ear, as he sat on the ground keeping her close on his lap. "Don't ever leave me, Sarah!"

"I never will," she sobbed and looked into his burning eyes, as she stroked his forehead and cheeks, brushing away the wet strands of hair. "I'm so sorry it had to end like this."

"How did you get out here? Did the goblins show you the way?"

Sarah smiled faintly. He hadn't even noticed yet! "No, love," she said gravely, "I flew after you."

He stiffened and grabbed her harder. As he got a good look at her, his eyes widened in realization, and he let his fingers trace her changed ears and eyebrows, stroking and prodding her curiously.

"I don't believe it," he murmured incredulously. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know – it started this afternoon. I passed out, and when I awoke, I was Fae."

"So that's why the Bog is retreating," he said, still touching her in the dim light as if to make certain it was really true. "And you flew? As an owl?"

She nodded. "But I could use some practice on my landings."

"I bet you could," he smiled and kissed her lightly. "I remember my own first tries very well, even though it has been centuries."

"I love you, Jareth," she said solemnly and returned his kiss. "I admire your strength today – I could see how much it hurt you to do what you had to do."

He drew a deep shuddering sigh and let his hand drop. "Please, let us not speak of it. This is also a night I will remember for centuries. I know with absolute certainty that he would have broken his vow and tried again, but that doesn't make it any easier."

"Of course it doesn't," Sarah whispered and took his hand. "Just remember, you saved us all. The goblins, the children, the Labyrinth. And you avenged your father."

"Yes, it had to be done." Jareth's voice was tired and strained. "But I will never forget the look in his eyes. My poor little brother…"

Sarah hushed him and kissed him gently, pouring all her love in the kiss and he returned it desperately. He tasted of salty tears and sweat and his body was warm and firm under her, despite the wet clothes. He tightened his grip around her and lowered her to the ground, kissing her furiously on her face and neck.

"Help me forget, Sarah," he pleaded and pushed up her skirts. "Show me you love me, please." She felt the passion surge through her at his need for her, and gave into him willingly, easing him into her and clinging to him, as he thrust into her again and again, as if he wanted to claim her body and soul. She murmured reassuring words of love in his ears and as he climaxed, his cry sounded more like a sob that racked through his body. Sarah held him close, and he continued sobbing against her, burying his face against her neck. The burning vines in the clearing were slowly extinguished and the darkness of the night grew deeper, gently covering the King and future Queen of the Goblins who lay huddled together on the soft moss.


	26. Epilogue

"You look so beautiful!" Fenella said with awe as she and her sister stared at Sarah in the mirror with awe.

Today was the long awaited wedding day of King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom and Lady Sarah of Above, and said Sarah was standing in her bedroom dressed in the same white gown that she had worn dancing with Jareth and when returning to Above to save the Labyrinth three weeks ago. She and Jareth had paid one last visit to her old home Above to fetch it and to erase the memories of her family once again. This had not been an easy decision for Sarah to make, but she had taken Jareth's advice and were convinced it would be the best for all of them. Her family would never understand and this way they would all live much happier ever after. With her crystal magic, Sarah would still be able to keep an eye on them as long as they lived and be there for them if anything should happen.

The dress was repaired and a delicate veil created to match it – the Fae had no specific traditions as to what a bride should wear, so Sarah had decided to dress as she would above. And together with the necklace from Jareth and his most recent gift – a sparkling golden tiara embedded with green emeralds – she felt like the perfect bride.

"Have you seen Jareth today?" she nervously asked the twins, carefully stroking her veil and turning in front of the mirror to make sure she would look good enough for him. "Is he ready?"

"My Lady, he has been ready for hours," Fanny laughed. "He's been pacing the floor and snapping at everyone. And asked about you, of course."

Sarah forced a smile and looked at the clock again. It was exactly one minute later than the last time she looked. "Well, at least I know that it isn't him who has messed around with the clocks this time and made time pass so slowly," she joked. She thought about making a crystal to be able to see him, but decided against it. After all, she had made him promise that he wouldn't spy on her today, because it was bad luck to see the bride before the actual wedding. If he found out that _she_ had spied on _him_, she would never hear the end of it.

"We can begin to go down in a minute," Fenella said. "Would you like something before we leave? Water? Wine?"

"No, thank you," Sarah replied and her smile turned secretive, as her hand instinctively came to rest on her abdomen. "And certainly not wine right now."

Fenella stared uncomprehending at her, but then began to smile as well. "My Lady, are you implying what I think you are implying?"

"Maybe," Sarah winked at her and smoothed the white dress over her flat stomach. No, it was much too early for anyone to be able to notice it. "But don't tell anyone – I want to surprise His Majesty later tonight."

Fanny was completely blank and looked from Sarah to her sister. "What is it we can't tell?"

Fenella did a double-take. "So that's why you turned Fae that day?" she exclaimed and stared at Sarah, who nodded.

"I think so," she said slowly. "At least it would fit very well, as it was just after we… after the baby could have been made." She blushed at the memory.

"A baby!" Fanny cried in surprise and jumped up and down. "You're having a baby?"

"Shh…!" Both Sarah and Fenella hushed her. "Don't say it so loud – someone might hear! And it's a secret!"

The little goblin shut her mouth tight, but she was almost quivering with excitement, and Sarah decided with a sigh that she would have to tell Jareth as soon as she could get him cornered and be to be alone together with him. It was clear that no matter what she made Fanny promise, the news about the baby would be common knowledge in the entire castle within hours. But she didn't regret telling it, she was almost bursting with joy and wanted the whole world to know. And especially Jareth. Fenella's idea that this was why she had turned Fae was also the first thing she had thought of herself, but she still didn't know why it had that effect on her. Was it the baby's blood mingled with hers that did it? Or some reasoning from the Labyrinth that she was now worthy to stay? She was not sure they would ever know – she and Jareth had been talking about her transformation ever since the dramatic night with the duel, but he had not been able to come up with any explanation.

She smiled at her reflection in the mirror and decided that it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was going to marry the Goblin King in less than twenty minutes.

A knock on the door mad them all turn, and a slender blonde Fae woman with familiar mismatched eyes entered. She was clad in a delicate forest-green gown and had flowers in her hair.

"Are you ready, Sarah?" she called and held out her hand. It was Jareth's younger sister, Elena from the Dryad Woods, who had arrived at the castle very soon after the duel together with her sister. Jareth had sent them a message about Corran's death, and despite his crimes against the family, the three of them had performed a secret burial of Corran's body deep inside the Labyrinth. Sarah had not been present as she was not yet a true part of the family and Jareth had not wanted to talk about it when he got back.

Hearing about their brother's upcoming wedding to Sarah, however, his sisters' sadness about their brother's confrontation had turned to joy. They had insisted on taking over the entire arrangement and Sarah did not mind. At least she would be sure that it was done properly so no one would be able to find faults at the wedding. And it had also allowed her a great deal more time with Jareth, Sarah thought slyly, than if she had had to be the one to decorate and write invitations and arrange the ceremony and following ball.

"Yes, I'm quite ready," she replied and carefully made her way to the door, smiling at Elena. Fanny and Fenella followed her quickly – while not invited to the ball, all the goblins had been allowed to witness the ceremony itself.

They walked though the mist-rimmed corridors towards the ball room where Sarah knew everyone would be waiting for them. The Fae guests had been arriving all day, and as they got closer they could hear the sounds and laughs of the assembled guests.

"Do I look alright?" Sarah asked Elena apprehensively at the thought of entering a room full of beautiful Faes, who would all be staring at her. Her steps became slower until she almost stopped.

Elena laughed softly. "You look fine, Sarah. Far too good for that arrogant oaf of a brother I have," she added affectionately. "Come on, we can't be late."

As the doors opened to let them in, the entire crowd fell silent and turned to look at her.. The guests were dressed in colourful robes and gowns and ballroom had been decorated with crystal shards and ribbons, making it all look very much like the ball room from her teenage dream, except that all the masks and all pretence were missing. Even the music playing softly in the background was the same. She tried to smile, but was so nervous, she could feel her jaw trembling. As Elena gently urged her forward, Sarah saw the crowd part before her, until she was able to see the one person she was looking for. The Goblin King.

He, too, was dressed in the same outfit as on the day they danced together, the creamy white shirt and tight pants and a long feather cape swirling around him. He wore a golden crown on his head and looked very regal. Sarah felt her heart almost stop at the sight of him, knowing that in just a few moments, he would claim her as his bride in front of all these people, these Faes. All these beautiful women around them and still it was her that he wanted. Her that would rule beside him and give him the heir she already carried in secret.

Jareth was looking directly at her and his stunned proud smile and shining mismatched eyes warmed her like a ray of sun on a spring day. All her hesitation vanished, and she smiled back at him radiantly and with so much love, that the women around her sighed with joy. Sarah, the Goblin King's bride, lifted her head high and gently walked through the crowd towards him. This was her future and her dream, and forever with Jareth would not be long at all.

THE END


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