Note: This is the Sequel to Dream Shifting, if you have not read that you might want to as this story will make no sense if you don't.

Chapter One: Enchanted; My Shadow-Light:

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The snow drifted past the trees and stone wall, its shimmering chill covering the entire garden. Elena stood with her back to the castle, her long hair tied neatly back with a silver ribbon. Her hands held out before her face, their almond cream skin safely covered in the heavy silver leather that made up her elbow length gloves.

She stood with the stance of a hunter. Her legs perfectly set apart to give her balance, her back straight and head poised. Standing with an elegant bow in hand, her body draped in white and silver fur, she looked the part of the Huntress.

Slowly she pulled the cord of the bow back, she could hear the creaking of the wood as it bended almost to far. Her fingers wrapped firmly around the arrow, a stray finger running over the shaft before finding its way securely around the fletching.

Making mark she held her breath as her fingers released the cord. A snap could be heard as the arrow shot off toward its target. Closer and quicker it flew, Elena waited arms and hands still hovering before her as though she had yet to fire. With a loud wallop the arrow completely missed its mark and instead hit the tree past the target.

"Damnit!" Her voice barely a whisper as she tried to pretend that she had meant to hit the tree, though he had not been there at the start she knew he was watching her. Ever since the whole deal with his uncle he had kept a close watch on her. Of course not that she minded….usually.

"Very well done, very well done indeed." He clapped his hands loudly as he walked closer. Elena only nodded her head. It had been a little over a year now since the incident with the Sidhe King and the Court, even though sometimes it seemed like just that morning. Elena and Jareth's relationship had grown considerably in that time. The burning which once inhabited her chest was now nothing more than a sweet reminder of Jareth and the control they both had over the other.

"May I make a suggestion my Love, I mean just to liven up the game. How about next time you actually hit the target? I mean just to add flavor, mix it up a little." Elena sneered at him as she shoved the bow in his hands. She had only been learning archery for four months, and even with the help of his power she needed much practice.

"Well lets see you do better, My Lord." She stuck her tongue out at Jareth only to have him pull her to him. She looked up at him keeping her face set in a mocking scowl.

"I wouldn't stick that out Love unless you planned on doing something with it." Smirking she stuck her tongue out again. Jareth lifted his eyebrow as he brought her closer. He shrugged his shoulders, laughing.

"Very well then." He pressed his lips firmly on hers forcing her mouth open, though not with much resistance at all. Elena melted in his arms, she didn't even feel the cold of the snow anymore. She truly enjoyed moments like this, and lately there had been way too few. Pulling back Jareth pulled an arrow from the quiver still strapped to her back.

"Ok, now how about I show you how this is done." He stood a good distance from the target, his stance perfect. He pulled the arrow back, his fingers fitting perfectly around the fletching. With a slight twang the arrow went off hitting its target precisely on its mark. He turned around smirking at Elena, who was standing much like a very pissed off school child.

"You used your power to do that! You cheated!" He laughed as he slipped her into his arms. He turned her around and held the bow in her hands. She could feel the power all around her and inside of her. She both hated and loved when he did this, poured even more power into her. It was one of the most intimate things she had ever experienced.

"I did not cheat my Love. On the contrary I did exactly as you are suppose to do. Remember Elena we are not Aboveground. Here the use of power is permitted, even expected." His breath drifted past her neck as he spoke. He positioned her back into the proper stance and helped to guide his power within her.

"Now try it." With his fingers entwined with hers they both pulled the arrow back, releasing it as soon as the bow was close to the breaking point. She could feel the power in her and Jareth guide the arrow to its mark, and watched as it hit directly.

"You have to stop thinking like a mortal. Love, for all intensive purposes you are no longer one." She nodded her head and allowed Jareth to cast away the bow and arrows. She turned in his arms resting her chilled cheek on his warm and inviting chest. It had been over a year and her feelings had only gotten stronger. Over a year and nothing had yet happened besides the sweet kisses and loving embraces. But Jareth had never really given any title to what they had become. She knew how he felt of course, one, she could feel it. The connection with him through the nexus was very strong, they were almost like one person. And two, he had acknowledged it through the way he treated her, the gifts he gave, and his calling her his Love. He had even made it clear to all the courts of the Underground at the last Grand Ball, he refused to dance with any other Lady besides the newly titled Lady Elena of the RoseBrair. A title Jareth had insisted she take, the same title his mother had held before becoming queen. She reasoned, if she could not be his Queen, yet then let her be his Lady.

"Your Majesty, My Lady, I hate to interrupt but there is urgent business that must be attended to." Fergal Kelan Jareth's newest adviser stood just beside the two embracing lovers. Jareth groaned, why he had promoted Fergal after his last adviser Maitiu had retired he had no clue. Fergal was not the most polite man, he wasn't rude by any means but he didn't seem to understand the concept of personal space. He had often interrupted him and Elena during the most inopportune time. He had scolded the young elf after one such time that had both himself and his Lady rather incapacitated in the pond just beyond the northern walls. Elena hadn't been able to look at the elf for near on a week after that.

"Fergal would you mind giving Lady Elena and I a moment, it has been awhile since we have been able to 'converse'." Elena giggled at Jareth, he was always the one to try and make it sound like all they ever did was talk. Anyone and everyone in the kingdom knew better.

"I am sorry Your Majesty but this really is urgent. Your presence is needed in your office." Jareth was very close to bringing back the old customs, such as beheading the messenger of ill news.

"And what is this matter?" Fergal stood silent looking back and forth between his king and Elena. Jareth sighed, he was going to have to learn to trust Elena sooner or later. Mostly after Jareth was able to talk with his local goldsmith.

"Fine, but next time you interrupt us you will find your head being used as a kick ball for my goblins." Fergal nodded nervously, he had no doubt that if provoked Jareth would kill him. Jareth laid a kiss atop Elena's head, his hand setting something in her grasp.

"I hope that by time I get back you will have at least hit that target once. If not you shall have to pay a penalty." Elena rolled her eyes as she drew an arrow from the quiver at her back.

"And what if I do hit it? Do you pay a penalty then?" Fergal groaned, these two were so sickening sometimes with their teasing.

"I shall, but only if you hit the target." Elena nodded and turned around, drawing the bow back till it seemed it would crack. Using what power she still held from Jareth she let go, the arrow heading straight for the target. Jareth waved his hand causing the arrow to fly off course and impale next to its brother in the tree. Elena shot around with a dumbstruck look across her face. Jareth held up one long and willowy hand.

"And I did not cheat, I only did what was expected of me."

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"Jareth don't get so hot about it. You knew this could happen, mostly after you refused to…." Jareth threw a crystal across the room from his chair, one thing he hated more than having his time with Elena interrupted was having it interrupted for political reasons such as this.

"Jareth…." Goban took a long breath as he leaned back in his chair, he should have known this would not go well.

"All we are asking is that you put it off for the time being. It won't be long, but you must see this would be for the best." Goban ran his hand through his hair, his wife had told him this was a lost cause. Once Jareth had his mind set on something he rarely changed it. But for the sake of his kingdom and all others he best listen this one time. There was more than one reason he, Assumpta and Fiona were asking him of this.

"Not long?! Goban you know better than anyone that wars tend to wage on for years. I shall not wait that long." Jareth conjured a crystal to watch Elena practice in the gardens, she was beginning to get the hang of using his power.

"Really Jareth do you think it is wise to have a marriage ceremony during time of war? You would put the whole kingdom in danger. And what if it comes to the fact that you must go to war? Are you willing to break tradition and our laws by keeping Elena here?" Jareth flicked the crystal away, he hated when his friend was right.

"Tiernan surely wouldn't invoke that law when she is mortal?" Goban clicked his tongue, his old friend would fight to have his way to the end.

"Of course he would! I am sure you of all people understand what she has become. She is no longer mortal in the sense of mortality that we know. She is not of the Fair Folk, but she is not mortal either. Tiernan would make sure that she was right there with you in the front lines just to make a point." He stood to stand beside his friend, the Underground was old fashioned in many things. One being such laws as the Queen fighting alongside her King in battle. There was only one way Jareth could marry Elena and not be forced to bring her with him, Elena would have to become pregnant, and soon. Jareth was strong, but he doubted he could work that fast mostly with the armies already advancing.

"Jareth if you really love her then you will wait. I doubt you wish her to die in war." Closing his eyes he tried to quash the image of Elena's cold body covered in blood.

"I don't want her to be left with nothing as someone's prize either. Marrying her is the only way to ensure no one else could claim my throne and take her if I should die." Goban produced a scroll in his hands and set it on the desk in front of Jareth.

"There is one other way, and you would be able to set it in motion tonight." He picked up the scroll and began to read. He could not believe what his friend was asking, he had spent a year doing everything in his power to keep from having to do what he had just offered.

"I will not take her as a concubine. She shall be my wife and queen! She is worth to much to be some token." Goban sighed as he paced the office he had shared many frustrating conversations with his friend in. Jareth had always claimed he would marry only for political gain, it was something that was expected by all rulers in the Underground. Most queens were the daughters of some wealthy or prominent noble, or a neighboring king. They simply held political power, very rarely did she love her husband or visa versa.

Most rulers had concubines, some were simply for show. The more concubines the better he looked. It was the royal equivalent of stuffing your tights with a sock. But most of the time it was the concubine that held the heart of the ruler. Sometimes, Goban thought, the Underground was too old fashioned.

"But she won't be a token would she? You love her, by that simple fact this is the perfect solution. She would be rightfully yours, her children would be your rightful heirs, and should it come to war she would be safe back here at the castle. And the laws regarding concubines have changed much since your father's age. Should you die in battle no one could claim her for she would be freed from the concubinage." Jareth groaned, it didn't matter the fact that he loved her, by making her a concubine he was telling all the Underground she was a token unworthy of being his queen. Telling them she was good for nothing but being his whore. He would not put that mark on her, she would either be his wife and queen or a free woman to do what she pleases.

"Tell me dear friend, there is more to this than just the war isn't there? You have never fought to change my mind as hard as you are now. What is it that has the Court so riled up that you have come to persuade me from my marriage?" Goban slipped his hand through his hair, nothing ever got past Jareth. Or as his wife had said many times, nothing slipped past him when it came to him.

"Jareth she is not immortal, she may have a piece of your powers in her but she is not one of us. Most of the Court has been talking about the two of you, rumors have been flying about that the Goblin kingdom has grown so weak its king is taking a mortal bride. High Lord Tiernan is past the point of just ignoring. Jareth he plans on arresting you for treason against the natural laws of the Underground. He plans on executing you." Leaning further back in his chair he produced another crystal, he watched as Elena got closer to the target. He extended his powers and blew the arrow off course. He watched with amusement as she turned around looking up to the sky and holding up her hands gave a rather rude gesture.

Sending the crystal away he turned to his friend. Goban was nervous, and not just his normal nervousness. The fact was if Tiernan was planning on having him executed then another stronger Dream Collector must have been born. But the timing of this was wrong for two reasons. First if the child had just been born than to presume it would even live to their adulthood was unwise. Death amongst the young was common. And secondly, if the child had been born years ago and had just matured the entire Underground would have known way before now. Most Dream Collectors were announced when only a few months old.

"Tiernan has something up his sleeve. If he is willing to let me die before an heir is produced with the same or more power than me, than he is hiding something. Why would he risk the possibility of only weak Collectors being born?" Goban sighed, he had wondered the same. He knew something was wrong, something had been stirring within the Court for the past thousand years. And it bothered him that he didn't know what.

"I know it seems strange, out of place. But Jareth my old friend please listen to me. You know I am not a fan of mortals, but I have come to know Lady Elena very well this past year. I have never met another like her. I am inclined to change my mind on mortals due to her and my daughter. But this is beyond the point. I am here to warn you that a marriage to her would only put both of you in danger.

"What happened to the Jareth I used to know? You had vowed to marry for political power, why now throw that away to marry someone who would only hurt your position?" Jareth stood and gazed out the window of his study. The sky was a heavy white from the falling snow. Such a non-color should be a sign of purity. But on this day it was one of cold harsh reality.

"I had known love once, I was foolish and had let it die. Now that I have it again I won't let anyone take it away. Not even all the powers of the Underground will be able to take her from me."

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Elena waltzed into the throne room, the target in hand. She set the large cork round down in front of Jareth in his throne. She smirked at the arrow plunged deeply into the bull's-eye. But as her gaze fell upon her lover her smile fell.

"Jareth what is the matter? Who was it who was waiting for you?" Standing from his throne he passed Elena, his hand running lightly across her cheek. Elena turned and watched him as he stood in front of the fire that blazed from the pit in the middle of the room. Elena stood beside him and rested her hand on his shoulder turning him around.

"Jareth?" He smiled weakly and took her hand from his shoulder to softly kiss it.

"It was Goban, he has come with news of the coming war. It seems the western realms have raised an army again, it was only a matter of time before this happened. They have always been rebellious, everyone knew this war would raise its ugly head again." He let go of her hand placing his fingers on her lips. She was so beautiful, everything he could wish for. All he wanted was to call her his wife. He rested his forehead on her's and just took in her scent.

"Come, I don't want to talk any more of this. Goban has exhausted me already with his political babble. I want to hear of how your archery training went." He pulled her with him to the throne and wrapped her up in his lap as he leaned far back within the stone seat.

"I am sure you know, remember the nexus Jareth. I know when you are using power on me. And…." She ran her hand through his hair, her finger trailing down to rest on his lips.

"I also know when you are lying to me. Goban had something much more to say then about the war. We knew weeks ago that the war was coming. What has you so exasperated?" Closing his eyes he silently cursed the nexus. While it made him much closer to Elena than anyone in his entire life, it also meant she could read him like a book.

"Something is happening within the Court, Tiernan is trying to make it so he arrest me." Elena furrowed her brows How could he arrest Jareth. He had told her a year ago that the Court would never risk it because of Jareth's power. There was only one explanation.

"Another Dream Collector has been born? One stronger than you?" Jareth shook his head, such a new and strong power would not have been able to have gone unnoticed.

"No, something else is going on. Something that allows Tiernan to risk killing me." Elena slipped from his lap and began to pace around. This could not be happening! She had already gone through the wicked stepsisters and evil stepmother chapters of this fairytale. It was time for her happily-ever-after!

"What does he plan on charging you for? He has already cleared your name of the events dealing with Rioghnan and the twins, he couldn't charge you with it now without looking like an idiot." She kicked the target into the fire delighting in watching it and the arrow burn. All the while pretending it was Tiernan's head.

"Breaking the natural laws of the Underground." He tapped his riding crop against the side of the throne, this was far from the way he planned on giving her the news of his proposal.

"Natural laws?" From what knowledge she had of the Underground and its political system she knew that the Underground was ruled by three main sets of laws. The Laws of the Court, these the laws set out of the group of representatives of all the kingdoms that made up the high Court. These rules meant to keep order between the kingdoms and prevent war.

Then came the Laws of Power. These laws much more complex, as these dealt with the amount of power a ruler held, how much their kingdom and their people held, and the power of who they were allied with. Jareth had even explained about the equation of adding in the possible power of future heirs.

After that came Natural Law. These were simple as they were the laws of what was natural within the realm of the Underground. Such as the use of power in birthing, the treatment of others, and so on and so forth. For what Tiernan was suggesting Jareth would have to have done something so unnatural he would have become an abomination. But as she knew, he had done nothing to warrant such and accusation.

"He plans on executing me if I go ahead with my plans to marry you." Elena stood still just staring at Jareth. Had she herd him correctly, his plans to marry her?

"Y-your, um your what?" Jareth strode over to Elena and slipping his hand into hers knelt before her.

"This is not how this was suppose to go, but I guess candles and roses don't really matter. Elena there is nothing more in this world or any other that I want more than you to be my wife and queen. Will you grant me this, will you marry me?" Elena shook as she stood there, she thought for a moment and could not help but laugh slightly as the first thing that popped into her head to say was; "Candles and roses do matter damnit!" Instead she knelt down in front of him and ran her free hand over his cheek.

"You ask such silly questions sometimes. If you don't already know the answer then I have been sorely mistaken in your intelligence. Of course I will marry you!" Jareth just gazed into her chocolate eyes not saying word, he had expected her to accept but to actually hear it from her lips was astounding.

"Jareth are you going to kiss me or just stare at me open mouthed? Use that mouth of yours for something more than catching flies!" Jareth laughed as he gathered her up in his arms. His lips found hers and he preceded to show her just what else he could use his mouth for. Elena wrapped her arms around Jareth's neck. Slowly he laid the two of them down on the heavy pelts that had been thrown haphazardly around the fire pit. Elena stared up at her intended, her king, with pleading eyes. He leaned down catching her lips in his, his hands traced the length of her sides to rest at her hips. Once Jareth pulled back so he could trail burning kisses along her neck and corset line Elena searched the doorways.

"Um Jareth, don't you think this is maybe just a little unwise?" Lifting his lips just enough that he could be heard he whispered across her skin.

"Hm, unwise? You wish to wait?" Squirming under his hot breath she worked to pull the long gloves from her hands, her bare fingers desperately needing the feel of his hair.

"No, well I mean yes I do wish to wait. But that is not what I mean, we are in the middle of the throne room. Anyone could show up at any time." Jareth laughed, his breath trailing down between her breasts.

"Who the goblins? They wouldn't care. But if it makes you feel better…." With a flick of his wrist he set all the doors shut and preceded to pay as close attention to the heated swell of her chest.

"No but what about Goban, or any of the Court? Shutting doors will not keep them out. I am sure that the site of the two of us together in that manner would not help your case with Tiernan." Groaning Jareth sat up and ran his hand through his hair. Elena wrapped him up in her arms, Jareth taking one of her bare hands and nipping at her fingers till she giggled.

"I wish the Court would just leave us alone. I wish the world would leave us alone." Setting her chin on his shoulder she lightly kissed his ear and ever so slightly bite at the lobe before whispering.

"We will have our time very soon." The fire before them crackled as though amused by some unheard joke.

"I am afraid it will not be as soon as you believe. King Jareth I am regretful that I must tell you this, but the first wave of the western armies has reached the central boarders sooner than expected. The Court has just requested that all the rulers of the Southern and Eastern realms assemble their armies and leave for camp at Fort Emer." Goban stood opposite of the doting couple, his attire changed from his normal Court robes. Elena cringed at her friend's appearance in military uniform.

"The Western realms must have space shifters on their side, from their last position they couldn't have reached the central boarder for another month." Jareth stood puling Elena with him. He walked with a rather cold expression on his face as he moved to sit in his throne. He motioned for Elena to join him on the top step of the dais.

"When are the orders to leave?" Goban walked slowly across the floor, his steel tipped boots creating a chilling sound in Elena's ears.

"The Western army should make it to the city of Freyr within a fortnight, High Lord Tiernan has requested all convoys to leave within a seven-night. He hopes to be able to catch them off guard by having the first infantry positioned in Balder instead of Freyr." Jareth groaned, Tiernan was being very foolish, or he was being very cleaver. This move was rather dangerous, it could end up leaving their army vulnerable. How did he expect a plan to be devised in such a sort amount of time?

Elena leaned back and just listened in horror as Goban and Jareth discussed the war. They had known it was coming, but Jareth had ensured her it would still be months before it would come to this. And now on the night they should be celebrating their engagement they were discussing war strategies.

If she could grant wishes she would grant Jareth's, that the world would just leave them alone.

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Author's Note: Ok sorry this took me so long to get out, I have been busy with a few things, and this chapter also gave me a few problems with letting me write it out.

Also one one the reasons I have been busy has been writing two other Labyrinth stories with to very good friends, If you wish to check them out they are on the accounts, Quills and Steels, and, The Gypsy Pirates.

And as always this story is for Tari...and a big thanks to Tari, Nerds and Gebo for helping me out with this.

Disclaimer: Nope don't own a thing from the movie. Please see Author page for full disclaimer.