Chapter 1

Sarah looked out her window hoping to catch a sign of white feathers. She hadn't seen him in months, not since she and Robert had gotten engaged. Not that she enjoyed being stalked by that pervert. She'd completed extensive research on him over the years and realized that he was most likely a fae, royalty at that, and probably hundreds if not thousands of years old. He was old enough to be her ancestor for Christ's sake and what had he done when she was barely fifteen years old? He came onto her. What was that? It's like Catherine Zeta-Jones married to what's his name when he is like fifty years older than her.

She still remembered his words "Fear me. Love me. Do what I say and I will be your slave." What was that? Was he really offering to make her his queen or was it just some ploy to force her to wasteher time so that he would be able to keep her little brother and destroy her? She shook her head trying to clear the memories from her mind. It all happened so long ago when she was a different person, filled with imagination and dreams, before she was forced to grow up.

After her adventure in the Underground she began to have dreams…or were they nightmares, sometimes she wasn't sure which. The dreams reflected her possible life if she'd accepted Jareth's offer of her every dream, her every wish.

When she was younger the dreams were similar to the ball that Jareth had conjured up for her when he forced Hoggle to give her the poisoned peach. He would serenade her and dance with her for the entire night. As she grew older the dreams grew more adult as well. A lot of groping and ... (she blushedjust thinking about it)... other things. She tried to be interested in the boys her age but nothing ever clicked. She always thought of him while they kissed and it always made her feel so guilt that she broke up with them immediately. He was always on her mind and the only people she could talk to about him were her labyrinth friends.

Her parents grew concernedabout her. She stopped going out with her friends and spent so much time in her room talking to Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus that they her parents fearedshe was becoming a reclose so they sent her to a 'stherapist suggested that all of her dolls and costumes be put away. Dr. Wilson explained that Sarahspent toomuch time in her own head and her imagination was much too active, and that wasn't healthy. He told her parents that she needed to learn how to live in the real parents forced her to go out; they even went so far as to set her up with their friends' children on play dates. It was so embarrassingthat she started to go out on her own and eventually stopped speaking to her friends from the labyrinth altogether. Soonafter that the dreams began to stop and she finally went months without thinking about traveling through the labyrinth or its very confounding ruler.

It was soon after that that the owl started appearing outside her window. He would follow her to school and to the park when she met with her friends. At first she didn't think anything of the animal, but then every time she would go on a date the owl would follow and a familiar voice would whisper into her mind that she belonged to him. Like Hell!She belonged to herself and she had proved that on their last face to face encounter. She had said the words. He had no power over her and she was still trying to prove to herself that he really didn't have any power over her. When in fact if he came to her in human form she would have probably crumbled at his feet in despair or desire she wasn't quiet certain.

On her first date with Robert Jareth hadn't showed up. Sarah had deliberatelypicked someone he would think was non-threatening just to get a night away from him. Robert was a Math major. He wanted to be a CPA, and had the personality to prove it, he had boringdown pat. So she thought. On their first date she expectedto go to a movie and dinner at a nice restaurant and some boring conversation. What she got was bumper cars and a rock concert; he surprised her. He was fun and interesting and he truly loved her. It didn't take her long to fall in love with him as well.

The first time Robert spent the night at her place Jareth disappeared for almost a month. When he finally showed up again the dreams come back, with a vengeance. He did things to in her dreams she couldn't imagine possible. Sarah would wake up in a sweat with Robert'sarms around her (Robert didn't think it was safe for her to live alone and he respected her wishes) and begin to really hate Jareth. That he could do this to her whileshe was with this amazing guy was completely unfathomable.

When she and Robert celebrated their one year anniversary Jareth had flown in through an open window and ruined the meal Sarah spent the entire day slaving over. She ended up chasing Jarethall over the houseto get him out. By the time Robert came over after class she had sunk into a sound sleep. She was so tired that nothing Robert attempted woke her that incidents like that occurred throughout her relationship with Robert that it was a wonder that they have ended up at this point. Tomorrow was her wedding day. She couldn't believe that it was actually here. She had been sure that Jareth would have done something to try and ruin it for her,to somehow stop her from going through with it. If truth be told she was a little disappointed that there hadn't been so much as a peep out of him, so far. She loved Robert with all of her heart, but she had to admit that she missed Jareth, in a strange sort of way. She really didn't understand it.

"Where are you?" she whispered to herself.

"Right here, you precious thing." A very male, very European voice said from behind her.