Okay, I admit - I only wrote a sequel because I couldn't resist doing more Bowie jokes.

This is PG due to some sexual references and because of the swearing in it. As Bowie is now a character in it, it would appear that bad language is now unavoidable! I have this from a die-hard fan, so I have to believe her!

All fictional characters - apart from Saint Patrick, Bowie and Jovreel belong to Henson Productions. Needless to say, I'm not making any money from this. Saint Patrick is borrowed from history and folklore, Bowie is owned by himself (I hope, heehee). Jovreel is mine but is loosely based on a character called "Lucas" created by another fanfic writer.

The chat room characters are quite real and you can meet them on www.rattlebeak.com at their chats on Sunday and Wednesday nights.



1.1 RE-BUILDING II



"It's way too weird," she said to Jareth over dinner one night.

"What is?" he inquired, confused.

"Being engaged," she replied, as though it should be obvious.

"Why?" he asked, now frowning.

"Well, it's just totally un-cool to be engaged so young," Sarah replied frowning. She had never actually asked herself why it was weird before. She just felt it was.

"Why?" he repeated infuriatingly.

Sarah pondered deeply for a moment. "I guess people are expected to have careers and forge a place for themselves in the world. So, of course you can't get married too young and still do that. Or at least, that's the assumption," she finally replied.

"I've heard of this 'career' thing before in some of Earth's more modern books. What is it?" Jareth asked, his pale forehead creased in a slight frown.

"Ummm, it's like what you do. How you make a living. You know, your life's work," she explained, not terribly well.

"Work?" Jareth repeated, looking disgusted. "You put off marriage for the joy of work?"

"Hmmm. I forgot you were an aristocrat and the idea of work is totally foreign to you," Sarah mused, her green eyes filled with amusement.

"But why would you put off marriage for work?" Jareth persisted, the idea seeming utterly ridiculous to him.

"Because what you do for a living defines who you are in the modern world - at least to others. So, it's important. It defines your worth to certain people," she attempted to explain.

Jareth snorted disdainfully. "Well, your worth won't be defined by work here," he assured her.

"No. It will probably be defined by the fact I'm married to a King of a fae realm," she replied with a sigh, her expression suddenly pensive.

Jareth's face tensed. He hated it when Sarah looked unhappy. "Is that bad?" he asked.

"Well, would you like it if people measured your worth solely by the fact that you'll be married to me?" she posed.

Jareth tried to imagine it but couldn't quite do it. He had been a King for far too long to imagine anyone else defining his worth. "Well, people will certainly make judgments about me based on who I marry. After all, I've been single for over 80,000 years," he pointed out logically.

She grinned. "Don't you think marrying a 17 year old when you're over 80,000 years old is a serious case of cradle snatching?" She started laughing.

"I think it goes beyond cradle snatching," Jareth said sardonically. "Besides, you know why we have to marry almost immediately."

"Yes," she agreed, suddenly serious. It had to do with major adjustments in time and matter. Once they were married, Labyrinth time would merge with Earth time so that they began to run parallel. It would no longer be a case of 50 Labyrinth years to every 1 Earth year. Sarah could then age at her normal rate. Once Sarah reached the same age that Jareth had been when he was cursed by Saint Patrick, he too would begin to age normally. It had been prophesied long ago that they would die together. "It still feels weird," she muttered.

She looked straight into her beloved's mis-matched eyes lovingly and reached out a pale hand to trace one side of his fine-boned face. He placed a kiss in her palm. She was surprised at how she felt no shyness when she was with him. In fact, she never had. She had been afraid of him once but that was a dim memory.

She took her hand away and propped her chin in it, and contented herself with gazing at his beautiful face. He smiled at her, still unused to her looking at him with anything other than aggravation. He got up suddenly and walked around to her side of the table. He held out his hand and Sarah took it without hesitation. Half a moment later they were in their favorite room - the library. He sat down in front of the fireplace in one of the red velvet chairs and pulled her into his lap.

"We should tell Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo," she said, her cheek nestled against his throat and her eyelashes tickling the delicate skin.

"Won't they be amazed," he said, his velvet voice rumbling deliciously next to her ear.

"Mmmmm," she agreed. "I think I'm still amazed," and she laughed.

"Me too, darling" he echoed her, one slender hand playing with her midnight dark hair. "But I think I want to keep this delicious secret to ourselves for a few days more," he added.

"You romantic," she teased and pulled away from him slightly to look into his face. Jareth found it a perfect opportunity to kiss her.

***

A couple of days later Jareth found his fiancé dancing around in the library with her CD Walkman plugged into her ears.

"JOHN, I'M ONLY DANCING! SHE TURNS ME ON. AND I'M ONLY DANCING!" she was singing away, oblivious to his presence. He stood watching her with his fists on his hips, looking very unimpressed. He knew exactly who she was listening to - again! In the past 6 months that Sarah had been in his Labyrinth, Jareth was sure he had learnt every word to every David Bowie song ever recorded - completely against his will!

"This has to stop!" he hissed, eyes narrowed at his fiance's slender back as she danced around.

"AND THESE CHILDREN THAT YOU SPIT ON AS THEY TRY AND CHANGE THEIR WORLDS." she sang on unconcerned.

He stalked through to the throne room, too angry to simply translocate himself the way he usually would.

"Where is this freak?" he demanded as he conjured a crystal. He saw the unattractive little spiv staring at the modern world's equivalent of his own crystals - a computer. Quick as lightening he had transported himself there. He grabbed his collar and quickly transported them both back to the throne room.

Jareth let go of him and stepped away, drawing himself up to his full intimidating height with his arms crossed threateningly over his chest.

David, who was wearing jeans and a cotton shirt rather than the usual designer duds his wife bought for him blinked at the sudden change of scenery. Did he accidentally surf to another web site? No - that can't be it, he thought. He was definitely completely someplace else. There was not a computer screen in sight. "F**k, ay?" he said. Slowly he turned around 180 degrees. If he didn't know better, David thought, he'd think he was in a medieval castle. "I did get off those illegal substances, I know I did," David muttered to himself, frowning. "It's been years since I've hallucinated like this." Suddenly he caught sight of Jareth. His eyes widened disbelievingly. Who is that f**king weirdo, he thought?

"Funny, I was just thinking the same about you," Jareth answered, rather rudely reading his guest's thoughts and raising an eyebrow at his guest's distressing language. "Actually, you look remarkably like that loser Vic from that dreadful Blue Jean video."

David gaped. Was he on a movie set? If so, there was something horribly familiar about this actor. He looked just like himself only with a very bad 80s punk hairdo! "Are you an actor?" David inquired, glad that his voice sounded normal.

Jareth looked daggers at him. "A what?" he said brusquely. "You must be joking! I am the Goblin King," he announced imperiously, eying his visitor coldly.

David suddenly burst out laughing, not realizing that this odd person was being totally serious. Until Jareth threw a crystal at him and he found himself suddenly sitting on a strange looking throne, completely unable to move. He frowned as he tried to wriggle his limbs and found he couldn't. "What the f**k have you done?" he demanded irritably, his British accent weirdly echoing Jareth's own voice.

As he suddenly had nothing else to do, David took a good look at the man standing before him casually adjusting his gloves. The more he looked, the more uneasy he became. Not only did this weirdo look like him - he looked exactly like him! Even his eyes were the same - one blue, one dark from a dilated pupil. The only real difference was the hair. If you put me in the same clothes as this bizarre person with a wig, I would be his twin David thought feeling seriously disturbed. "Um, can you let me up? I won't laugh again, I promise," David finally asked.

Jareth casually waved his hand in David's general direction and he found he could stand up. "Thank you!" he said standing up, then looked at Jareth sideways. "Okay, Goblin King. What's your name?" he asked, fishing a cigarette packet out of his shirt pocket and lighting up.

Jareth looked with disdain at the smoke. "Jareth. Not that it's any concern of yours," Jareth replied coolly.

David raised his eyebrows at this discourtesy and tried to hide a smirk. "And um, where the bloody hell am I exactly?" he asked.

"The Labyrinth," Jareth answered unhelpfully.

"Okay - and where is the Labyrinth?" David asked, as though playing a game.

"Another realm. Another universe, actually." Jareth responded, eyeing this 'rock star' derisively.

"Bollocks!" David answered, thinking this guy was taking the game a little too far. "Can you prove it?"

"Look out of the window," Jareth said, completely nonchalant.

David sloped over to a window and looked out. He drew in his breath sharply. "F**k!" he exclaimed. This was no film set. And it was no place on earth either - he'd been all over the world. David began to feel dizzy. Am I having a flashback, he wondered woozily?

"No, you're not!" Jareth snapped, reading his thoughts once more. "I brought you here and once I've finished talking to you, I'll take you back!" Jareth watched as David became very pale looking. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"I think I'm having an existential crisis," David murmured, leaning against the castle wall and shutting his eyes.

"Well, snap out of it! I need to talk to you," Jareth commanded.

"I am in another f**king realm, talking to a bloke wearing f**king tights," David muttered, opening his eyes and taking another good look at Jareth as if to be sure it was true.

"You can talk!" Jareth bristled. "I've seen some of the weird get-ups you wear. Your clothes are far stranger than mine! And show a great deal less taste," he added loftily.

"Excuse me! Those are costumes!" David pointed out. "I don't wear them as a bloody personal fashion statement on a daily basis." David suddenly stopped to carefully consider Jareth's outfit. "I do like your gear though. I may borrow it if I decide to invent another character," he mused.

Jareth glared at him. "If you dare even think of using my wardrobe as the basis of one of your peculiar little flights of fancy I'll tip you head first in the Bog of Eternal Stench!"

David blinked a bit in surprise. "The what?" he said.

"Never mind. Just be assured your dear wife won't want to go near you once you've visited the Bog!" Jareth snarled.

David looked surprised, then frowned. "And what do you know about my wife, anyway?" he asked defensively.

"Not much," Jareth replied offhandedly. "It's not a topic I'm particularly interested in. I am however, interested in what ridiculous hold you have over my wife-to-be!" he added, teeth bared.

"Who?" David said blankly.

"My fiancé, Sarah," Jareth said, folding his arms menacingly again.

David franticly searched him memory. Sarah? Sarah who? He probably had met dozens of them in his life but he certainly didn't remember any. So he shrugged, "I have no bloody idea who you're talking about."

Jareth impatiently conjured a crystal and held it up in front of David's face. David, looking impressed by this trick peered into it. "That's Sarah," Jareth said.

Sarah was back in her room dancing around her bed with Hoggle. "THERE'S A STARMAN WAITING IN THE SKY. HE'D LIKE TO COME AND MEET US BUT HE THINKS HE'D BLOW OUR MINDS," she was singing.

"What the f**k is that?" David said, staring at Hoggle.

"A dwarf," Jareth said testily. "And do you see Sarah?"

"That young girl? She's barely more than a child! I hope you're not marrying someone that much younger than you?" David commented, looking mildly alarmed.

"You don't know the half of it," Jareth said sardonically.

David smirked. "She's got excellent taste in music though," he said smugly.

Jareth hissed through his clenched teeth. "That's the problem! She spends so much time listening to your horrendous. er, music for want of a better word."

"Yeah, and?" David replied carelessly.

"And I don't like it!" Jareth spat, pacing restlessly.

"Oh, and you're jealous," David suddenly realized. "Well, I wouldn't be. I've never laid eyes on the child before today and I'm very happily married," he said reassuringly, relaxing.

"That's not the point," Jareth snapped, stalking over to where David stood and trying to stand threateningly over him which was rather difficult as they were both exactly the same height.

"Jareth," a familiar voice suddenly called. A moment later Sarah stepped into the room out of thin air.

David stared open-mouthed, his cigarette falling out of his mouth. "F**k!" he said. Rather predictably, Jareth thought scathingly.

"Hoggle was just saying.." She began but didn't get any further as she saw Jareth turn and walk away from a guest towards her. Her eyes stayed fixed on the guest she could see over Jareth's shoulder. "Darling," she said, "Um, why is David Bowie here?"

"He and I were having a chat," Jareth said, coming to stand possessively next to her. Sarah unconsciously slipped her hand into Jareth's and leaned slightly towards him.

David grinned. Any fool could see the girl was smitten with this weird bloke, except the man himself. Was he a man, David wondered?

"Darling, you don't like David Bowie," Sarah reminded him, still staring at the rock star disbelievingly.

"Well, I am a little tired of listening to his music - yes," he agreed tiredly.

"You think he's a complete fruit loop!" Sarah corrected bluntly. David snorted.

Sarah smiled at him. "You look like Vic from the Blue Jean video," she commented. David rolled his eyes. Of course he bloody did - Vic was one of the few characters he played without a ton of deliberately outlandish make-up!

"Look Jareth," David said suddenly. "I have no idea why you're jealous of the fact Sarah likes my music. I mean, all that shows is good taste." It was Jareth's turn to snort scornfully. "If she thought she was in love with me she wouldn't be standing there holding your hand, would she? Trust me, I've dealt with enough fanatics to know when someone's got an unhealthy obsession. She's totally in love with you," David said. Then he winked at Sarah like a conspirator. "Besides, she hasn't even asked me one stupid question.

Sarah smiled at him again. "I do have one question," she said shyly. Jareth groaned. "When is your next album coming out?"

David laughed. "When my little girl is a bit older," he promised.

"I can't believe you were jealous Jareth," she scolded him gently. "For goodness sake, you've seen his wife! As if he'd ever look at anyone else anyway with her around!" And she winked back at David.

"Well, if I'd never met my wife I may have given Jareth a run for his money just for the fun of breaking his heart," David teased, laughing. Sarah clung to Jareth's arm and laughed too, knowing David was merely baiting Jareth.

"Time for you to go home!" Jareth growled.

"About f**king time!" David said. "Now that we've cleared that up."

"I know it's a cheek but will you come to the wedding?" Sarah asked diffidently, standing slightly behind her fiancé.

David grinned. "I think I'd better. Otherwise I'll convince myself this was a psychotic episode."

"Bye David," she called as he faded from view, still grinning. She put her head on Jareth's shoulder. "I'd rather have you any day," she said honestly. "But you know, he really does look like you," she added looking up at him, her face teasing. "Maybe it was destiny. Maybe I've always liked him so much because one day I was going to fall in love with you."

He bent his fair head and kissed her. "Well, I hope it wasn't the other way around," he commented seriously, looking down at her beautiful face.

She threw back her dark head and laughed. "No way! There's no way liking David Bowie's could lead to falling in love with you, Jareth. You may look like twins but two more different men could not be imagined."

"So, you could never fall in love with David Bowie?" Jareth asked.

"Duh! No! He's far too weird!" She said frankly and wrapped her arms affectionately around Jareth's middle. With a self-satisfied smile Jareth bent down and kissed her silky hair, finally knowing that what she said was true.

***

Sarah began giggling uncontrollably. Jareth glanced down from his vantage point of the armchair by the library fire at her. She was lying on her stomach on the rug. He closed his book and looked quizzically at her.

"Sarah, what are you laughing at?" he inquired composedly.

She looked up from her book at him. "It's The Horse and His Boy by C S Lewis," she said. "It contains the best description of marriage that I've ever heard," she giggled. Jareth raised his eyebrows expectantly. "It says,

"And they both got so used to fighting and making it up again that they got married so as to continue doing so more conveniently." "

Sarah rolled onto her back and had a good belly laugh. Jareth's mouth twitched but belly laughing was beneath his dignity.

"We need to make plans, Sarah. Time grows short," he said warningly.

Sarah heaved a sigh. "Being married is so terribly responsible and gown- up," she said, staring up into the dizzying heights of the ceiling.

"For now, it can just be a ceremony," Jareth said lightly, a faint worry showing in his eyes.

"Marriage is never just a ceremony," Sarah said seriously. In fact, more seriously then Jareth had ever heard her say anything. It was only then that Jareth noticed he'd been holding his breath. He sighed in relief. She was taking their marriage very seriously after all.

"We need to set a date," he insisted.

"Yes," she agreed with a sigh.

"A week from today?" he suggested.

She hesitated for a second and then nodded, "Okay."

That evening at dinner Jareth brought up the arrangements for the wedding. He conjured a crystal between them on the table. "How about this for a dress?" he suggested showing Sarah herself at the drugged peach ball.

"That is so 80s!" Sarah said. "It's totally boofy! A complete try-hard- Princess-Diana-wedding-gown look. I mean, look at my hair! What was I thinking? Frizz ball! And what's with those enormous puffed sleeves? Ick! That whole look is so out. It just can't be done," she concluded.

"I thought you loved that dress," Jareth said, looking vaguely disappointed and rather put out.

"Well - I do! But it's my wedding day. I don't want to embarrass myself. What would the guests think if I showed up in a retro number like that?" she asked. "I think I'll stick to the opalescent look though," she added thoughtfully. "By the way, who is coming to this shindig?"

Jareth look disapprovingly at her over the crystal. "The monarchs of the neighboring kingdoms across the desert primarily. Also the fae court and Saint Patrick will have to put in an appearance to partially revoke his curse," he replied.

"Saint Patrick? Isn't he dead?" Sarah asked.

"Yes. But death is only moving from one realm to another," Jareth replied. "He can visit from where he is."

"So, if death is only moving from one realm to another - why are you so adamant that you want to die one day?" Sarah asked curiously.

"I wasn't adamant about dying one day. I was adamant about not wanting to live forever without you as my wife," he replied gently, his strange eyes caressing her.

Sarah suddenly felt shy and her cheeks burned under his gaze. "And who is going to marry us?" she asked, recovering.

"Saint Patrick could," Jareth suggested with a shrug.

Sarah's eyes widened. A Saint was going to preside at her wedding! It was surreal. But then again, she should be used to everything around her being surreal by now. "Well, I guess if he was able to curse you so powerfully he can bless us just as powerfully," Sarah reasoned.

Jareth's eyes flicked quickly to her face. The idea had never occurred to him before but it was perfectly true, of course. "What about the rest of the arrangements? What will we feed them? What about music, flowers, table seating, the ceremony?" he prompted.

"I knew eloping was a good idea," Sarah muttered darkly.

"Sarah!" he said warningly.

"How about we feed them food? Music is easy - I've got a good CD collection," she grudgingly said.

"No David Bowie!" Jareth insisted.

"Duh! No way! He'll be there. That's really bad manners," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "And can't you just magic up some flowers? I like white ones. The table seating is for you to figure out. My guess is there's a hideous amount of protocol to consider with visiting royalty. And a traditional ceremony with traditional vows, I think," Sarah decided, ticking off the items on her fingers.

"That's fine Sarah. Best to keep it simple," Jareth said, sounding pleased. "I'll give you a special crystal. All you have to do is imagine your dress and the crystal will create it for you - same with the flowers and decorations. I'll deal with the invitations and protocol. We'll tell Patrick to keep it traditional," he was saying. Then he noticed Sarah staring off into space - not listening. And she didn't look happy. "Sarah?" he questioned gently.

She looked at him and smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "None of my family or friends will be there," she said quietly. "They think I'm dead."

He reached a gloved hand across the table and took hers. "To them, you are dead now Sarah. I'm sorry. It's my fault you've lost them," he said, his lips compressing grimly.

She squeezed his hand. "But then again - I have you and this place you're created. I couldn't give you up for them and my own world," she said reassuringly.

"It was a terrible choice to have to make," Jareth said bleakly, not meeting her eyes.

"Jareth, if you hadn't been cursed to this place - I never would have met you. That's too awful to contemplate," she said, tears in her eyes.

He finally looked up at her and reached out a slender finger to touch her cheek. "There are some things I don't understand after over 80,000 years and why you love me is one of them," he said gravely.

She laughed. "A bigger mystery is why you chose to love me when so many beautiful women came here," she said, glancing over at the wall of beautiful faces that was still there. "We don't have to understand everything. Some things are best simply to accept with gratitude," she shrugged.

His mis-matched eyes lingered lovingly on her face. "I am looking forward to the day when you're tied to me forever," he said, his exquisite voice low.

"It's only forever, darling. Not long at all," she said, smiling. And the Goblin King smiled back.

***

Sarah decided to surf to one of her favorite chat rooms one evening soon after finding herself engaged to Jareth. She hadn't visited her on-line friends for a couple of weeks and was missing them. She had long ago figured out how to line up the Earth time chats with Labyrinth time. She merely had to wish that all her friends were in the chat room when she logged on, and inevitably they were. They were always on one of their regular chats so they suspected nothing.

"Convenient thing, magic" Sarah commented as she logged in.

Sarah: Hello!

Delkon: S! S! S! S! S!

Kei: Hi Sarah!

Judith: Welcome back Sarah.

Ina: Hi!

Elizabeth: Hello!

Crumb: Hi!

Delkon: Wassup?

Sarah: Not much. You guys?

Althena has joined the chat room.

Delkon: A! A! A! A! A!

Althena: Hi Deldon!

Delkon: It's Delkon! Grrrrr!

Kei: Awww, Delki - you know we love you! * kisses Delkon *

Delkon: * Ears turn bright red * Awwwww..

Judith: I just bought another David Bowie CD

Elizabeth: Another one????

Ina: I thought I was obsessed.

Elizabeth: You are Ina!

Ina: Obsession is not a bad thing. Remember.. Fantasy vs Reality.

Elizabeth: I give up!

Sarah: Which one Judith?

Judith: Earthling.

Sarah: Oh yeah, I've heard parts of that one. Do you like it?

Judith: Yes, it's quite good - one of his better ones.

Althena: Sarah, have you seen The Man Who Fell To Earth?

Sarah: No, I'd like to though.

Althena: You get to see DB's private bits.

Sarah: Errrrmmmm..

Ina: Think happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts... Think happ..

Delkon: Call me when you're finished * puts hands over ears *

Kei: You know you like it Delkie!

Delkon: * Takes hands off ears * It's Delkon!!!

Elizabeth: Ah, Bocelli again.. * floats off *

Crumb: You haven't been around for a bit Sarah. What's news?

Sarah: I got engaged.!

Ina: So did I! Congratulations Sarah.

Sarah: Thanks Ina. Congratulations yourself!

Crumb: That's great, Sarah.

Elizabeth: *floats back * Congratulations!!

Althena: That's so cool, Sarah.

Judith: Great news, Sarah.

Delkon: Congrats Sarah!

Kei: Woo Hoo!

Elizabeth: So - what's he like? You know I'm the nosey one.

Sarah: Well, he's this king of this magical fae realm. He's really gorgeous and can do magic.

Delkon: Errrmmmm..

Kei: Just humor her guys...

Judith: So? What's this fae realm like?

Sarah: It's a Labyrinth. And I'm telling the truth. You guys wanna come see?

Elizabeth: Sure.

Ina: Yep.

Kei: I'm in!

Delkon: Whatever..

Judith: Yes!

Althena: Take me now!

Sarah: I wish the goblins would come and take you all away right now!

Kei arrived first. "I knew you'd get here first Kei. All that preparation for space travel couldn't have gone astray," Sarah remarked to the tall girl with fawn colored hair.

Kei stared around in fascination. "This is better than space travel! Much faster," she commented. "Hi Judith," she said as the modern looking graphic designer appeared.

"Yes! I finally made it to an alternative universe!" Judith said, eyes gleaming.

Elizabeth arrived in her corporate gear having been whisked from her work in Australia. "Oh man, I am so not dressed for this!" she complained. "Cool! A castle!" she added, looking around impressed.

"Elizabeth, you are such a bad influence on me! I should be working! Ohhhh, look at all your David Bowie CDs Sarah. Cool!" Ina said, making a bee-line for Sarah's CD stand.

"Did you say David Bowie?" Althena said, as she appeared. The fair- skinned, auburn haired woman was hot on Ina's heels.

"Don't you people ever talk of anything but David Bowie?" Crumb asked as she arrived. "What's wrong with Jennifer Connelly? " she added with a feral grin. "Great example of medieval architecture," she said knowledgably.

"Good question, Crumb. Oh no, I'm in a castle with a bunch of Bowie mad women," Delkon said morosely as he appeared last.

"Awww, Delkie. You just love our company. That's why you come and chat to us all the time!" Kei teased the tall, browned-haired, honorary male in the group.

"Is that David Bowie? Oh my God, it's David Bowie!" Althena suddenly squealed from the window.

Sarah frowned and got up to look out of the window. Surely Jareth hadn't brought David back here for any reason?

"That's not David Bowie! It's my fiancé Jareth," Sarah said. "They do look exactly alike, don't they?"

Jareth looked up at the window from the castle's entry, where he was observing a goblin army training session. A shambles, as per usual. He shook his head in disgust. Then he heard the shouts from Sarah's window. He looked up, frowning. A look of utter horror flooded his face when he saw a group of strange women at the window squealing down at him. Did they just call him David Bowie? He couldn't imagine a worse insult! His pride seriously offended, he transformed into his owl form and took off over the Labyrinth.

"That's not David Bowie," Ina said with conviction, as she watched the owl take off with wide eyes.

"Nope, it ain't" Elizabeth agreed matter-of-factly.

"He's gorgeous!" Althena drooled.

"He's not bad," Crumb said mildly.

"Sure looked like him," Judith commented.

"Oh my God, did he just turn into an owl? Do you think he could show me how to do that?" Kei asked Sarah.

Sarah smiled. "I don't even know how to do that!"

"Gotta love those tights," Elizabeth remarked with a smirk.

"No tights!" Delkon insisted. "We are not going to discuss tights!"

"What do you reckon is in them?" Judith asked quizzically, ignoring Delkon as she usually did.

"The tights?" Ina inquired. "Dunno. That will probably remain one of life's mysteries," she said.

"Not for Sarah!" Kei said with an evil laugh. Elizabeth joined in. Delkon looked sick. Crumb snickered.

"Would you like to meet David?" Sarah asked innocently, deciding it was time to change the subject.

"David Bowie?" Ina squealed.

"Yeah," Sarah said nonchalantly.

"Do you know him?" Ina asked, her big coffee brown eyes wide.

"Just an acquaintance really. He's been here before," Sarah explained.

"Oh my God!" was all Althena could get out.

"Be right back," Sarah said and disappeared. A second later she reappeared with David. "Sorry to interrupt your dinner David," she said to a relaxed looking Bowie.

Althena fainted dead away. Ina burst into tears. Kei looked unimpressed. Crumb and Elizabeth looked vaguely interested. Delkon sighed deeply. Judith said, "hey, remember me from your chat room?"

"F**k! I'm back here. I can't believe it." David said, looking around at Sarah's room. "Geez, you really are a fan Sarah," he said, taking in her CD collection.

"I've got more than Sarah," Judith said with a laugh.

"I'm impressed!" David said to Judith sincerely.

"Who are all these people?" David asked Sarah politely.

"Friends from my chat room," Sarah replied.

"You can get on the internet here?" David asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I figured out how," Sarah said with a shrug.

"So, where's Jareth?" David asked, looking around a bit nervously.

"Flew off in a huff when the girls thought he was you," Sarah explained. David threw back his head and laughed.

"He really needs to get over that," David commented, then looked apprehensively at Althena who had woken up and was staring speculatively at his trousers.

"I just loved The Man Who Fell To Earth," Althena said huskily, batting her eyelashes over her baby blue eyes at David.

"Uh really?" David said, darting a quick glance at the door. "That's nice."

"Down girl!" Delkon commanded to Althena. "Behave! What about that cowboy of yours?"

Althena sighed with deep regret. "You're right, Deldon."

"Delkon!" he yelled in frustration.

"I wish I had one of my CDs here for you to sign" Ina sighed, finally pulling herself together with a last sniff.

"You can have one of my Changes CDs Ina and David can sign it. I ended up with two copies after a birthday," Sarah said, fetching the CD and giving it to David with a pen.

"Oh, that's so nice of you Sarah" Ina said gratefully. She took it from David with a trembling hand.

"Well, I think I'd better go back now Sarah. I'm probably going to get it from Iman for being late for dinner," David said. "See you at the wedding?" he added.

"Of course," Sarah said. "Be right back," she said to the others as she and David disappeared.

"Bloody hell! I wish she'd stop disappearing like that," Elizabeth said.

Sarah came back almost instantly.

Ina burst into tears again. "He's gone! And I'll probably never see him again," she wailed clutching her CD.

Althena burst into tears in sympathy. Kei rolled her eyes. "I dunno what you lot see in him anyway," she said.

"He is kinda hot," Judith remarked. "And I love his music."

"You and your obsessions," Delkon muttered at Judith.

"I hate Iman," Ina said sulkily.

"Me too," Althena agreed emphatically.

Delkon groaned.

"Stop whining, Delkon. You have Sarah to drool over. Don't you think she looks remarkably like Jennifer Connelly?" Elizabeth said. Sarah looked horrified. Crumb's interest picked up at that point.

"Hubba hubba!" Delkon said, his eyes glazing over behind his glasses. Crumb grinned seductively at Sarah. Sarah looked nervously at her and Delkon.

"I hate it when he says that!" Judith stated flatly, breaking the tension.

"Don't we all?" Kei added, sighing in disgust.

"Fine, its pick on Delkon time again is it?" Delkon said, irritably.

"Yep," Elizabeth said cheerfully.

"Why not?" Crumb asked.

"Awww, we love you Deldon. You know that," Althena said wickedly and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"Oh look. His ears really are going red," Ina observed with interest, having calmed down somewhat.

"Group hug!" Kei commanded and everyone gathered together for a hug.

"Ryan has had a very interesting effect on you, Kei" Judith commented. "You never used to do things like hugs."

"I know. He's making me sappy," Kei agreed. "I'll have to try and snap out of it," she grinned.

"I'd better get back to work," Ina sighed regretfully.

"Yeah, we might be missed if someone comes looking for us" Elizabeth agreed reluctantly.

"How about I organize a ball for all of us in a few month's time once my wedding is out of the way?" Sarah suggested hopefully.

"Fabulous!" Ina said enthusiastically.

"I'm in!" Kei said.

"Definitely," Judith agreed.

"Wouldn't miss it," Delkon agreed.

"Excellent!" Elizabeth said.

"Is David going to be here for it?" Althena asked, her eyes gleaming speculatively behind her glasses.

"Er.. Not sure," Sarah said doubtfully.

"Oh, well. I'd still love to come, of course" Althena said.

"Okay, see you next chat with the details then," Sarah said. "I wish you were all back on Earth where you are supposed to be," Sarah wished reluctantly with a farewell wave to her friends.

Jareth appeared instantly in Sarah's room. "Sarah, who were those people?" he asked coolly, his arms folded across his chest.

"My on-line friends," Sarah said unperturbed.

"They thought I was David Bowie!" he hissed.

"I know. I keep telling you that you look just like him. They're huge fans of David's, what do you expect?" Sarah reasoned.

"I do not want to be mistaken for David Bowie!" Jareth snarled, beginning to pace around her room.

"It's hardly likely with those tights, now is it?" Sarah mumbled grouchily.

"What?" Jareth demanded, frowning at her.

"Nothing!" Sarah said, eyes opened wide to feign innocence.

"Just make sure that if they come back for a visit you warn me so I can hide!" he requested a trifle bitterly, very nearly pouting.

"They thought you were very gorgeous too," Sarah said, in an effort to mollify him. It worked - he looked less fierce and more complacent immediately. Sarah smirked. She was getting good at smoothing Jareth's ruffled owl feathers now. "I think you're much more gorgeous than David Bowie," Sarah continued, smiling sweetly. That worked even better, he almost smiled that time. "What do I have to say to make you kiss me anyway?" she demanded, hands on hips. That worked best of all.

***

Sarah looked into the crystal Jareth had given her. She was sitting cross- legged on her bed.

"Okay, long A-line skirt with fitted, crystal beaded bodice and long, fitted sleeves. A boat neck-line and off the shoulder. Low back and short train. Material is opalescent organza. I'll have white satin pumps and I don't want a veil. I'll do my own hair but I need some crystals to put in it," she ordered. Peering into the crystal at the image she'd created, she made a few adjustments to the train then said, "Okay, done!"

When she looked up, the dress was hovering in front of her. It was exquisite. The beading was finer than any human hand could produce. "Perfect!" she exclaimed.

Sarah decided to go to the main hall to put in her order for decorations. Putting her dress carefully into the wardrobe, she wished herself there.

"I am decorating a castle hall for my wedding to a Goblin King," Sarah mused aloud, looking at the tapestery covered walls of the vast stone room. "That's bizarre. My life has become totally bizarre. Who marries Goblin Kings? I do, that's who!" she muttered.

"Okay crystal," she said, looking into it. "I want an illusion of an open sky for the ceiling on a perfectly clear, starry night. It's to be lit with floating star lights over the diners' heads. I need two rows of banquet tables - enough to seat 500 and one long table at the head for the wedding party. I want the walls draped with opalescent organza and fresh lilies of the valley growing down the walls in random garlands with touches of ivy. I need fireplaces at regular intervals around the walls. The tables are to have white tablecloths with garlands of ivy and lilley of the valley - and a crystal centerpiece of Labyrinth creatures. The cutlery is to be heavy silver, the glassware crystal and the crockery is to be fine china decorated with an embossing of lilly of the valley and ivy.

"Ummm. I need a wooden dance floor in the center and a really good sound system and DJ. In a corner near the head table I want a natural waterfall and rock pool with jewels glittering through the water - for effect, of course. I also want a low mist over the floor. That should be fanciful enough for anyone," she said decisively with a nod. "Can I have a rehearsal run, please?" she requested the crystal. In a second the room was transformed. Sarah held her breath. It was better than a movie set and twice as theatrical.

Jareth had felt Sarah using the Labyrinth's magic and from sheer curiosity had wheeled in from the forest areas in his owl form to see what she's done. He nearly fell rather than landed when he reached the main hall and saw the décor. "Sarah! What have you done?" he said, coming up behind her.

She jumped. "I hate it when you sneak up on me like that!" she complained. He grinned wolfishly. He still couldn't resist doing that to her - it was too much fun. "Is it too much?" she asked frankly, glancing around.

He tapped his can restlessly against his boot and had a good look. "It is... absolutely perfect, Sarah. I wish you'd been here when I'd built my Labyrinth," he added, smiling at her.

"I think I prefer it the Labyrinth the way it is," she replied honestly, her face thoughtful.

"Why is that?" he asked, stalking about the hall examining everything.

"Well. Now it's totally you," she said, struggling to explain. "That's what I love about it. It's a reflection of you."

He turned suddenly to look at her with an expression on his face that sent a thrill up Sarah's spine. In two strides he was standing in front of her and he bent his fair head to kiss her. "That deserved a kiss," he said, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

"How about another one?" she suggested immediately. He was happy to oblige.

***

Sarah was reading in the library. She had no idea where Jareth was and at that point, she really didn't care. She was reading her favorite book, The Never-Ending Story and was deeply engrossed in Atreyu's attempt to get past the magic mirror-gate and to Uyulala.

A flash of white caught her attention and she watched as Jareth flapped around the room in his owl form. "It's amazing what one can get used to. Here I am, watching my fiancé - and he's an owl! My life gets weirder every day," she muttered to herself gloomily.

He landed on the arm of her chair and turned his head to look at her from his gold colored eye. She reached out and stroked his chest feathers with the back of her fingers. They were beautifully soft. She smiled as he hooted softly. She had the impression that if he had been a cat rather than an owl, he'd be purring. She pushed her fingers into the soft down unable to resist its velvetiness, her fingers caressing. He hooted again then flew away and transformed. He stood before her, fists on his slim hips regarding her with a familiar, unreadable expression. It no longer un- nerved her when he looked at her like this however.

"Darling, you're ruffling my feathers," he protested mildly.

She smiled ingenuously. "But I'm good at that Jareth. It's one of my great pleasures," she said.

He gave a feral grin, then stalked over to her and almost yanked her off the chair. "Now, what's suitable punishment for ruffling a king's feathers?" he demanded softly, his lips centimeters from hers.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Sarah said, her voice dripping with irony. "The oubliette?" she added helpfully. She could actually feel his heart beating heavily against her. She parted her lips for his kiss when she saw a brown and white barn owl fly into the room over Jareth's shoulder. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She's never seen another owl in the Labyrinth.

Jareth's lips landed on her cheek and he cursed. When he opened his eyes he saw Sarah staring in fascination at something behind him. He turned and looked. "Oh no!" he said with a mixture of dread and disgust. The owl transformed suddenly into someone who looked so much like Jareth that Sarah would have been completely fooled until she saw the bright green eyes.

"Who's that?" Sarah asked Jareth in a low voice.

"Hello cousin!" the visitor said in a voice too similar to Jareth's for Sarah's comfort.

Sarah began giggling. Their visitor was dressed in blue jeans and a t- shirt that read "Don't Bother Me, I'm living In A Dream World". Jareth glanced at her disapprovingly which made her giggle even harder.

"Don't tell me you've found a girlfriend at last? Gee - and I always thought you were gay," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at Sarah.

Sarah began laughing in earnest. "He is not!" Sarah said indignantly between bursts of laughter.

"This is my fiancé Sarah," Jareth said dourly, glowering at his cousin.

Their visitor whooped. "Good grief, girl! What did you do to deserve this sullen cove?"

"What do you want Jovreel?" Jareth demanded impatiently.

"Just visiting cousin. Wouldn't want you to get lonely. Not that you are, I see" he said, leering comically at Sarah. Jareth tensed and Sarah could almost see his hackles rise. She stepped closer to him and put an arm around him. He relaxed instantly and pulled her against him. Jovreel watched this little by-play with an amused expression. "You might humanize him yet Sarah," he observed, his expression almost as mocking as Jareth's own upon occasion. "Still in those out-dated medieval duds, I see Jareth. Fashion has moved on in the last 1600 years, you know," he drawled.

"Not to a better place, I see" Jareth replied coolly.

"I didn't know you had any fae cousins, Jareth" Sarah said, trying to change the subject before it got nasty.

"I try very hard to forget Jovreel," Jareth said darkly.

His cousin laughed outright. "Yes, you do. And I won't let you."

"So where does Jovreel fit it?" Sarah persisted.

"He's a relative from my mother's side of the family," Jareth replied. "He was married to my great-great-grandmother for a couple of years but she died young from the plague," he explained.

"But she had a child first," Sarah prompted.

"Yes, my great-grandmother," Jareth sighed.

"Is it usual to have mortal and fae marriages?" Sarah asked with a frown.

"No," Jovreel answered. "Generally we stick to our own. But Jareth's great-great-grandmother was a very beautiful woman. Like you, my dear" Jovreel said gallantly with a small courtly bow. Jareth bristled.

"You can still see her now? I mean, Jareth said that death is merely moving from one realm to another," Sarah said.

Jovreel smiled and answered cheerfully, "Yes I can, so all is well."

"Why do you call him cousin if you're really his great-great-grandfather?" Sarah asked.

"Do I look like any kind of grandfather to you?" Jovreel asked, looking offended.

So vanity runs in the family I see, Sarah thought with a smirk. "Er. no," Sarah said honestly. "But I can see who Jareth gets his looks from."

"But not his delightfully dour personality, hmmmm?" Jovreel said wickedly. "Because we both have fae blood the relationship is really more like cousinship than anything else. Moving in and out of time complicates these things," he added with a shrug.

"Well, at least you've had some company all this time Jareth," Sarah said to the silent figure holding her.

"A full-blood fae is no real company for a human being Sarah. You would get very tired of Jovreel's company if that was all you had for millennia," Jareth said coldly.

"Jareth! That's so rude!" Sarah said, trying not to laugh and failing.

"Don't worry Sarah, my dear. I'm used to dear Jareth's rudeness. I really find it quite amusing," Jovreel said, his green eyes glinting with dangerous fun.

"She's not your dear. She's mine," Jareth drawled, his tone decidedly threatening and with no hint of his usual casualness.

"Ohhh, touchy touchy! I have your delicious great-great-grandmother Jareth. I don't need Sarah as well!" he protested mildly. "Not that she isn't far too beautiful for you," he added disrespectfully with an impudent grin.

"Are you coming to the wedding?" Sarah asked, once more trying to change the subject.

"Of course, my dear new cousin-in-law-to-be," Jovreel said. "I wouldn't miss it for all the worlds!" and with that he transformed back into an owl and flew off with a loud hoot.

"And good riddance!" Jareth said sourly.

"Oh Jareth!" Sarah said laughing.

"And where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" he asked turning to her, his old predatory look firmly back in place.

"I'm sure you'll remember," she said, lifting her face for his kiss.

***

The wedding itself passed in a haze of surrealistic unreality for Sarah. Meeting Saint Patrick, waving hello to David Bowie, Jareth's expression as he saw her for the first time in her wedding dress, the strange array of guests all ohhing and ahhhing over the hall's decorations, swapping rings with Jareth. Sarah felt it was more like a dream then a real wedding. For one thing, it had been far less work then an Earth wedding and far more beautiful.

Later in the evening, her thoughts dwelt on the strange wind that had swept through the main hall when she had completed saying her vows. It was a strong wind and cold - not at all like the powerful desert winds the Labyrinth experienced at night. It had lifted her hair off her neck and blown around her skirt and train. She had looked questioningly at Jareth and he had lifted his head, almost like he was listening to something she couldn't hear - a look of clear comprehension on his face. She had then looked back at Saint Patrick. He too was smiling and had the same look of comprehension on his face as Jareth. A strange glance passed between the two men and then the wind disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and the ceremony continued.

"This is the way a wedding should be," Sarah commented to her new husband as they sat at the head table looking out over the full tables that lined the hall through the twilight like atmosphere. Jareth smiled at her. "It's perfect," he agreed and took her hand. She looked admiringly at his wedding outfit. He was in white and black with a gorgeously embroidered and beaded white vest over a white poet's shirt. His tights were and boots where black, and there was silver glitter through his spiky pale hair.

"What was with that strange wind, Jareth?" she asked, frowning.

"The curse was broken Sarah. As soon as you said your vows," he explained, his expression reflective. "The wind was just a physical manifestation of it."

"Rather an anti-climax, really" she mused, disappointed.

"Not for me," he said seriously.

Sarah smiled at him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Everything is going to be alright now, Jareth. Get used to it," she said and laughed again. "No more doom and gloom!"

Once the feasting was over and the guests were up and dancing, Sarah went over to say hello to David Bowie. "Hello again. Are you convinced that we're quite real now?" she teased.

He grinned back. "I guess so. I told Iman about it and she thought Iggy had slipped something into my drink," he said.

Sarah laughed. "Maybe telling Iman wasn't such a good idea," she suggested.

"Perhaps not. If it's a psychotic episode it tallies a little too exactly with the last two times I was here, so I'll believe it's all quite real for now. I would really prefer to avoid the existential crisis," he said with heavy irony. "Mind you, I might write a song about it," he mused.

"That would be so cool! How will I get your next album though?" she suddenly realized.

"Can't you pop in to Earth to pick up a copy? You're good at appearing out of thin air! I'll even give you one for free," he kidded.

"I'll take you up on your offer! Appearing out of thin air is easy here, you know. I'll show you. Close your eyes and imagine a room in the castle really clearly then just wish yourself there. Out loud so I can follow," she added hastily, remembering when Jareth had taught her the same trick.

"Okay, I'll buy that," he closed his eyes. "I wish to go to the throne room - the room I was in the last time I was here," he wished. Sarah quickly followed him.

"F**k!" David said when he opened his eyes. "It f**king worked! I can't f**king believe it!" He looked around him with wide eyes. He pointed to the throne. "Yep, this is the place where your husband nearly dislocated all my f**king joints with his magic."

"Errrrmmmm," Sarah said, re-calling David's last visit vividly. "Maybe we'd best go back to the main hall. I'd hate for Jareth to realize the two of us are alone together here. Imagine what he would think!"

"Good idea. I have no desire to deal with your husband's jealous temperament again," David said derisively, rolling his eyes. "I wish I was back in the main hall."

"F**k! It f**king worked again!" he exclaimed when he opened his eyes. Jareth looked disapprovingly at him and then raised his fair eyebrows at Sarah who appeared a millisecond later.

"Just teaching David a little magic," Sarah said to Jareth with a smile.

Jareth knew exactly when David and Sarah had disappeared together and he resisted the urge to either follow them immediately or spy on them with his crystal. He felt much better when they came back inside of 2 minutes. He felt very proud of himself for keeping his head about it.

"Would you like to see more of the Labyrinth, David?" Sarah asked courteously.

"F**k yeah!" David agreed enthusiastically. "I'd love to explore this place. Good for ideas for future songs."

"I'll get someone who knows the Labyrinth as well as it's possible to be known to show you around then," Sarah said with a smile, beckoning to Hoggle across the room.

Hoggle was only to happy to get away from the stuffy party although he was rather intimidated by the fact that this rock star looked unnervingly like his King. Jareth scared him, after all.

"I'd start at the Bog of Eternal Stench, if I were you" Jareth said nastily, eyeing David superciliously.

"Ignore him," Sarah said to Hoggle. "Take David to the forest to meet the Fireys. He'd like their music, I'm sure."

"No problem Sarah," Hoggle said and they disappeared.

"Jareth!" Sarah said to her husband once they'd gone. "Can't you be nice to poor David? He's fighting off an existential crisis as it is because of you! And his wife thinks one of his friends is feeding him illegal substances now!"

Jareth sniffed and looked disdainful, decidedly uninterested in the rock star's problems.

The king and queen of a neighboring realm suddenly swooped on Jareth. "Jareth! It's been so long since you paid us a visit. When are you coming back?" they fussed.

Sarah made a quick getaway before they turned their attention to her. "Sarah!" a familiar voice purred behind her. "How lovely you look this evening. I still can't believe you actually went and threw yourself away on that limp rag of a cousin of mine,"

"Jovreel!" Sarah said without even looking then turned around and burst out laughing. This evening he was wearing a t-shirt that read "Its Sick The Way You People Keep Having Sex Without Me".

Jareth heard her and excused himself to find out what Sarah was laughing so hard at. She was bent double and unable to talk.

"Jovreel - that is totally tasteless, especially at a wedding!" Jareth said disapprovingly.

"So says the guy in tights," Jovreel replied, rolling his eyes.

This set Sarah off again. "Yes, but you must admit - he looks damned sexy in them," Sarah choked out.

Jareth wasn't sure whether to feel shocked at Sarah or smug. He settled for smug. "I think you need to change that t-shirt now. Think of the royal guests here tonight! They won't share your dubious humor, Jovreel" Jareth argued.

"Fine!" Jovreel said with a mock sigh and snapped his fingers. Sarah started laughing hysterically again. This time his t-shirt said "One Of Us Is Thinking About Sex - OK, It's Me".

"Jovreel!" Jareth said icily, one booted foot beginning to tap impatiently.

"Do you have any more?" Sarah asked enthusiastically.

"Oh, tons!" Jovreel said offhandedly. "How about this one?" he said and snapped his fingers. Sarah cracked up again. This one said "You Look Like Shit. Is That The Style Now?" "That one is just for Jareth," Jovreel said to Sarah with a wink. "Want another one?"

"Yes, please!" Sarah begged, her face hurting from laughing so hard. Jareth snorted in disgust. "But it's not true you know. Jareth looks devastatingly handsome tonight," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at Jareth. That improved Jareth's mood immediately and he went back to feeling smug.

"Oh please Sarah, enough of the sappiness - you're making me feel sick!" Jovreel said, rolling his eyes again before he snapped his fingers. This time his t-shirt said "I Wanna Be Just Like Barbie, That Bitch Has Everything!"

That finished Sarah off. "Oh no! No more, please! I can't take it! My ribs are hurting now," she gasped.

"Oh well, I'll go for something tame then. Just to keep my dear cousin happy," Jovreel said and the next second was wearing a t-shirt that said, "I'm Not Your Type - I'm Not Inflatable." Sarah collapsed weakly into a chair.

"Oh, there's that sticky king from Tarshish. I must go and show him my t- shirt collection. He'll just love it!" Jovreel said suddenly and with a distinctly evil grin, set off toward a mild-faced and rather confused looking man in Arabian-style robes.

"Jovreel! No! He's very conservative.." Jareth began but his protests fell on deaf ears.

"Every family has one, you know" Sarah said, sobering up. "May as well just enjoy him."

Jareth made a noise that sounded remarkably like a growl and set off in hot pursuit of his cousin.

Sarah spied Saint Patrick across the room and made a bee-line for him. He was easy to spot in his emerald green velvet robes, and with his long silver hair and beard. "Saint Patrick? I so need to have a private word with you. Would you mind joining me in the library?" she requested.

"Can't deny a bride on her wedding day," the old Saint said with kind gruffness, smiling at her. "Let's go, young lady." A second later they were seated in front of the fire on the red velvet chairs in the library.



***



2 An Audience with Saint Patrick

"Thank you Saint Patrick," Sarah said, smiling into his twinkling blue eyes with gratitude.

He patted her hand. "It's quite all right my dear. I would guess you have many questions that only I can answer. You can't ask that husband of yours' now, can you?" he chuckled comfortably. "Please call me Patrick. Saint is only my official title according to the Catholic Church, you know," he laughed again. "Now, how can I help you?"

"I just don't understand why you felt it necessary to curse him in the first place. It just seemed a little. extreme. What on earth did he do?" she asked carefully, not wishing to offend Patrick.

"First of all, my dear you need to realize that Jareth was no ordinary man. He had inherited fae blood though his mother's side of the family - but having met Jovreel, you would know that. The fae blood had been weak in previous generations but had come out very strongly in your husband. Jareth's father knew of his wife's family's previous association with the fae and had brought the mage to his ancestral home to protect the family should the fae be drawn there by his wife's fae blood. As you know, it turned out to be his family's downfall.

"Jareth knew from a young age that he was different. He had dreams that came true. He could foretell the future. Sometimes he could see into other people's souls. He experimented with magic really in an effort to find out what he was. But because of what he was, he grew powerful very fast. To make matters worse, he was a genius too. Well ahead of his time in many ways and far too easily bored. He absorbed knowledge very quickly. Genius, strong magical ability and wealth is a bad combination, Sarah.

"I had heard reports about him during my travels in Britain. Legends of a dangerous and powerful magician traveled quickly. I went to see him. I wanted to see if they were true. Alas - they were! Fortunately he was really only dangerous to himself. He had harmed no-one but of course, people were terrified of him. He predicted when crops would fail and they thought he'd cursed it. They wouldn't let him work the magic necessary to save the crops. He predicted when people would fall ill or die and the same thing happened - he was not allowed to heal them and they blamed him for the illness or death," Patrick said, shaking his head and tutting.

"But I thought he was a black magician. He said so himself," Sarah questioned thoughtfully.

"All magicians were considered black then. Magician isn't even the right word for Jareth. He was really a seer like me but he'd had the wrong teachers. The gifts he inherited from the fae were originally given to the fae by God Himself. Of course, like any gift it could be used to promote good or evil. But the fae had received their gifts so long ago that they had forgotten God entirely. When the fae had to face God again in the form of Christianity they rejected it and went Underground not realizing that it was not really in conflict with their nature. It was a sad loss to the world," Patrick shrugged. "But Jareth followed their example and rejected Christ out of the same ignorance. To protect him from himself, I had to send him here."

Sarah frowned. "How did he need to be protected? And how did sending him here accomplish that?" she asked keenly.

"He'd discovered the key to immortality, Sarah" Patrick said gravely. "You cannot steal from the tree of life and not pay a terrible price. He simply didn't understand the gravity of what he was contemplating. The consequences would have been terrible."

"In what way?" Sarah persisted.

"If you steal from the tree of life, you'll have immortality. But you'll never be able to go to your true home. The place that all creatures God created are destined for and were made for," he explained.

"Heaven?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, child. If Jareth had succeeded in becoming immortal he would never have known happiness or fulfillment. Earth is not humans' true home," he said gently.

"Okay, I understand that. But why did Jareth even want all this magic? He may have been born with it, he may have been bored but there must be more to it than that," Sarah reasoned.

Patrick sighed. "You're right, of course. I'll need to show you." With that the Saint waved a winkled hand in the air and Sarah found herself on English soil in the Dark Ages on an estate.

"Come on, my dear. I need to show you his family," Patrick said, motioning her toward a massive stone house that already looked ancient. "We can't be seen, of course" he added.

So like a pair of ghosts, they wandered through Jareth's family home. Sarah saw Jareth at different ages. As a small boy he seemed painfully sensitive to the discordance between his parents and the rejection of his peers - the children of neighboring families.

"Of course, he was never going to fit in," Patrick commented. "Too used to being on his own as an only child, far too sensitive to the feelings of others, too damaged already by his parent's coldness and mutual hatred. Just like animals his peers turned on him as though he was a wounded member of their pack - as in a sense, he was. Poor, little boy! Naturally it drove him further in on himself and he spent even less time with others so the problem grew rather than got better over time. At an age when he should have been courting, he was already studying magic. His parent's bitter marriage terrified him and the early rejection he suffered compounded the problem. You see, my dear anyone that unhappy will always seek some means to power in an attempt to control their environment and minimize the possibility of further pain being inflicted on them," Patrick continued compassionately.

Sarah watched the pale, skinny youth bent over some ancient tome. He was as delicate in build and features as a girl. He was barely eighteen and it still looked as though he didn't know what to do with his long arms and legs. His slender fingers were pushed into his long, white blonde long hair as he concentrated. Sarah sighed as she watched him. He looked so lonely and vulnerable and awkward. She wanted nothing more than to go over to him and put her arms around him. Something about him painfully touched her heart and she had no doubt that if she'd met him at this awkward age, she still would have fallen in love with him.

Suddenly the young Jareth frowned and looked up, almost as though he'd heard something. His mis-matched eyes came to rest on her so un-erringly that she gasped. He was looking at her! She was sure he was. "Patrick!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Let's go," Patrick ordered and the young Jareth faded from sight.

"He saw me," Sarah said as they found themselves in another room of the house.

"I forgot he could feel your emotions sometimes," Patrick muttered. "I know it's hard for you but keep calm! There's more I need to show you."

As they stood there an older Jareth appeared. He was the same age as he now appeared in the Labyrinth. He had grown into his height and filled out a bit. He looked like a man, not a boy. His face was hard and his movements as graceful and confident as a panther. Every expression of his face and movement of his body now spoke self-assurance, power and firm control. Sarah missed the vulnerability of the boy like a pain in her own body.

Jareth lifted his head suddenly as though listening again. "Careful Sarah," Patrick warned.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"So, you're here again," he whispered, looking around not sure where she was. "But I can't see you this time."

A servant entered the room. "Patrick is here to see you," she said with a curtsey. Jareth turned to the door, unwillingly distracted from her presence. Following the servant was a younger Patrick - his hair brown rather than white.

"Jareth! We meet again. Have you had time to consider what I said at our last meeting?" he said.

A flicker of impatience passed over Jareth's face. "I'm not giving my allegiance to a man professing to be God who then died a criminals' death by Roman execution, Patrick" he replied scornfully. "Nor am I going to deny myself immortality."

"Why do you want to be immortal?" the younger Patrick asked patiently.

"Funny you should ask that," Jareth drawled in a way as familiar to Sarah as her own face. "Apart from the obvious benefits of not having to die, there's someone separated from me by a vast tract of time that I want to meet," Jareth said calculatingly, his mis-matched eyes darting around the room once more.

"Who?" the younger Patrick asked.

"She's here now but I can't see her. She's been here once before. Nearly fifteen years ago," Jareth suddenly grinned. "She's getting smarter. She won't reveal herself this time."

The younger Patrick went pale. "So you are going to do it. If you weren't, then she couldn't be here," he whispered to himself. "You fool!" he suddenly thundered. "You've cursed yourself! The only reason she's here at all is to understand why I will have to curse you!"

Jareth stumbled back a step and though Patrick had hit him. "No! That's not true! She's here because. because." he struggled to explain.

"She's here because she's the only one who can now save you from my curse, you fool! And now I do curse you - you stubborn, fallen creature! I curse you from the Earth to another universe, from human company to that of goblins and fae folk, from Earth time to Underground time, from mortal man to immortal half-fae and from limited Earth magic to limitless fae magic! You need to learn that none of these things will bring you happiness! And you will be condemned to wait under this curse until she can deliver you - if she chooses to!"

Sarah watched as the seer advanced on Jareth step by step, his finger out- stretched like an Old Testament prophet. Jareth could feel the power of his words begin to take effect. His face went white, the skin stretched taut over his cheekbones. He didn't recognize this power. It was so much stronger than his own.

An immense wind began to blow violently through the room. Sarah's hands were clenched and her heart pounded. For a split second before his disappeared into thin air, his strange eyes met hers and then he was gone.

***

They were back in the library. "And that's when I saw him crossing the desert soon after he arrived here when he showed me the Labyrinth's history," she said.

"Yes, child" Patrick said gently.

"Thank you Patrick. I really need to speak to Jareth now," she said gratefully and they both reappeared at the reception.

Jareth's eyes lit up when he saw Sarah re-appear across the room. They made their way toward each other, smiling.

"I really need to talk to you," Sarah said urgently.

"Now?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, now!" she insisted and she disappeared. Jareth followed her to the library.

"What is it?" he asked, his expression amused.

"Do you remember when you were 18.." She hesitated. "Do you remember seeing me in your family house?" she asked in a rush.

The glass that Jareth was holding slipped from his suddenly nerveless fingers and smashed on the stone floor. "That was you? It really was you?" he whispered, staring intently at her.

"And again, just before you came here," Sarah added.

He touched her face. "It was you," he breathed. "I wasn't sure. I thought it must be. All I saw of you then was your dark hair, and an indistinct face and figure."

"How did you know I was there?" she asked curiously.

"I felt what you felt for me. Compassion, empathy. I think I felt your love for me. That's why I so wanted to meet you face to face. I wanted to meet the first person to feel love for me." His face tightened suddenly. "It nearly killed me when Patrick told me you were only there to see why he was cursing me. I was so sure that you loved me and that's why you were there," he said fiercely.

Sarah smiled gently. "Of course I was there because I loved you. I've just come back now from seeing you there. I visited you both times on our wedding day!" she suddenly realized and laughed at the ridiculously romantic idea of it.

His eyes glittered down at her in the firelight. "Imagine if I had known that!" he said, the old masterful gleam back in his eyes. "Nothing would have stopped me finding you!"

"Nothing did!" Sarah said gravely. She sat down in front of the fire. "So how does all this work? All this time travel and universe swapping is making me dizzy!" she said.

Jareth leaned casually against the mantel. "Once upon a time all the worlds in all the universes were interconnected. All universes had many doors to each other. The distances between them are too vast to travel by any other means but magic. As evil ate away at different worlds, many doors closed. There's not many left on Earth now. Patrick merely used one of these doors to shunt me here," Jareth explained.

"You couldn't do that yourself?" she asked. "I mean, didn't you want to explore other worlds anyway?"

"Yes, but my magic wasn't as strong as Patrick's then and I couldn't manage it," he replied, his eyes glistening in the half-light of the fire.

"So, God is over all worlds and all universes and all creatures? We're every arrogant on Earth, aren't we? To suppose we are the only ones God created ever!" she commented matter-of-factly. "And I suppose God being outside time and knowing that you would attempt immortality and that Patrick would curse you for it - and also that we would fall in love, He arranged the contingency plan of me being born nearly 1600 years after you so I could help break the curse that Patrick used to save you from yourself."

"Exactly," Jareth said, his characteristic pacing giving away his usual restless state.

"Quantam physics gives me a headache!" she complained crankily, rubbing her forehead.

"It's a lot to take in. It took me millennia to fully understand it all," Jareth commented casually.

"Huh! Well, it all seems unnecessarily complicated to me. A lot of people have gone to a lot of trouble to save you from yourself. Genius half-faes are obviously nothing but trouble!" she grumped.

Jareth smiled wickedly. "Yes, we are! And you just married one!" he taunted her.

"Poor Saint Patrick. He hated cursing you. He had so much compassion for you. Did you know that?" Sarah said, choosing to ignore his last remark.

"I must have missed that," Jareth said dryly. Sarah suddenly ran one hand over her face and sighed. "You're tired.," he said gently, kneeling beside her.

"I'm tired of your royal guests - yes!" she agreed with an affectionate smile at her handsome new husband. She touched his hair and laughed as glitter fluttered over her hand. "Are they going home soon?" she asked plaintively.

Jareth glanced at the clock over the fireplace. "Very soon. When the clock strikes thirteen." It was quarter to thirteen right then. "We'd better go back, my love."

"Yes," she agreed and stood up. "Let's wave them good-bye," she added with a malicious grin.

THE END!