Title: Forever With You
Author: Princess Destiny
Email: In Profile
URL: destinysgateway DOT com
Rating: PG 13+
Summary: Sarah has been woken up in the Oubliette, by the latest girl in the Labyrinth to wish away her sibling. She didn't however, expect to be told that she's been kept in an enchanted sleep by Jareth for the last ten years! A whole new game has begun this time, but maybe Sarah doesn't want to win...
Genre: Romance/Drama
Couple: Jareth/Sarah
Category: JS
Chapters: 1/1
Status: Completed
Year Completed: 2001
Size: 53 KB

Comments: Hi everyone! I've been going through all my older Fanfics and decided to post them, no matter what show I wrote them for. I have an X-Files one and some X-Men, and a whole heap of Labyrinth ones! This story features a girl called Jenny, who is a minor character. Hehehe. I needed someone to rescue Sarah from the Oubliette! This is an old Labyrinth Fanfic of mine, but I've decided to go through and do some revisions. A few things have been added in, and the ending has been changed a little to better reflect the story. I thought that Sarah would not admit that she loved him so readily, so I changed it to an affection that could grow.

Original Notes: I know I've been forever ::No pun intended:: since I last posted something Labyrinth. Well, here it is. An idea I came up with one night. Sarah/Jareth romance of course! Is there any other a hopeless romantic like me could write? Hehehe.

Donations: I feel bad asking for help to keep my Site 'Destiny's Gateway Archives' going, but I'd hate to see it go down for the first time in the eleven years since it's been running. ::Sigh:: We need to raise a further $152 US to buy space for another two years. Donations can be made from . The link is in my Profile.

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Enjoy the Fanfic!

Hugs,
Princess Destiny

FOREVER WITH YOU

By Princess Destiny

"Oh, no." Jenny groaned as she hit the ground. Hard. It didn't look good. Everything around her was pure darkness. All but the grill in the roof that the 'Helping Hands' had slammed after her. She couldn't see a thing and it scared her. Jenny was stumped for a moment, and then her grey eyes lit up.

"Aha! Aren't I glad I always keep a lighter on me in case of emergency!" she crowed in triumph. Reaching into her pocket, to where she knew the lighter was, she pulled it out. For a moment, it wouldn't light and she almost panicked. But then a small but steady spark appeared and she sighed with relief.

"That was close..." she muttered, keeping a firm hold on the lighter. If she dropped it, she'd never find it again! The flame wasn't that large and she walked slowly around the room, illuminating what she could. The walls were all slimy and dripping water. Jenny pulled a face, glancing involuntarily downwards to see if she was standing in a puddle of slime too.

Something caught her eye, a glint on something shiny. A plastic bracelet with small metal animals linked onto it.

"What on earth is a bracelet doing in a place like this?" The blonde girl muttered, bending to pick it up. A face came into the flame from her lighter, starkly white. Jenny shrieked, leaping backwards.

"It's not a dead person," she said, shivering. "Please tell me I'm not in a tomb or something!"

After a moment, she gritted her teeth and moved back to the far corner, where she had seen the face. As the light again lit onto the person, Jenny discovered it was a girl. She had very long brown hair, trailing into the floor. Strangely enough, the floor under the girl was clean. Jenny bent closer and noticed that the girl's eyes were open. They were a beautiful colour of rich brown.

Even as she watched, the girl blinked slowly and Jenny caught her breath in relief.

"Well, at least I know she isn't dead." Jenny brought the lighter forward, wincing as the metal burnt into her finger. It wasn't meant to be on this long, but she'd be damned if she was going to let it go out now!

The girl was sitting peacefully with her legs crossed, leaning back against the wall. Her eyes were staring fixedly down at something small in her hand. A crystal.

"Hello?" Jenny said nervously. She felt eerily as if she were in the room alone, even though the mysterious girl was only a foot away. Jenny pushed her blonde hair back carefully, kneeling before the girl. The brown eyes never looked up and Jenny's eyes narrowed on the crystal in the girl's hands.

"That's one of the Goblin King's!" She hissed in loathing. He must have done something to the girl! Before Jenny could think, her hand had snapped out and hit the Crystal from the pale hands. It shattered violently on the ground, the pieces turning into glittering sand.

As if a bell had rung, the dark-haired girl blinked. Her head rose slowly and she focused on Jenny with a blankness that was chilling. The emotion came into the brown and the eyes came alive with realisation. It was like a stature coming alive.

"Who are you?" the girl said, voice hoarse from ill use.

'How long has she been in this place?' Jenny wondered silently.

"Hi, I'm Jenny. Um, I found this book in an antique shop and accidentally wished my little sister awayBut I guess you already know that, 'cause you're here. Ah, the Goblin King gave me 10 hours to solve his Maze or Mandy gets turned into a Goblin." Jenny said in a great rush. She talked a lot when she was nervous. The girl blinked at her again, a little taken aback by Jenny's hurried words. She coughed and Jenny watched anxiously as the other girl paled slightly. She got to her feet and staggered.

Jenny hurriedly leant an arm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the girl murmured. She straightened her vest and Jenny wondered how the girl's white shirt had stayed so clean in a place as dirty as this cave.

"What is this place, it's got no doors?" Jenny mentioned, wanting to change the subject and put the girl at ease. She still seemed sovague.

"It's called an Oubliette." the girl said bleakly, looking around at the slimy walls.

"Ow!" Jenny exclaimed as the lighter burnt her. The flame went out and her heart began to beat faster. The other girl said nothing, not seeming to be bothered by the darkness at all. "Hang on a sec, I'll light it again."

When the flame again sprung up, it was noticeably smaller and fading rapidly. They both stared at it in consternation.

"Oh, well. We'll be out of here before it goes out," Jenny said with false enthusiasm. The girl nodded slightly. "So, what were you saying about this...oubliette was it?"

"Yes. It's a place where they put people to forget about them." the girl seemed to be almost reciting. Jenny frowned at her thoughtfully, then scowled.

"That bastard. I want out of here!" she shouted. The girl looked about herself as if waiting for an answer and Jenny's skin crawled at the thought that someone else might be in the Oubliette with them.

"When did you get thrown in here?" The girl asked with a spark of interest. Jenny glared upwards.

"Just now. By the ever so friendly 'helping hands,'" she scanned the walls absently, turning in a complete circle. But there were no exits that she might have missed. "You were over there in the corner, with that crystal in your hands."

"What?!" the girl exclaimed. Her expression darkened and she murmured something bitterly to herself. "Damn him."

"I assume you mean his high and mightiness the Goblin King. Yeah, he's a pain," Jenny sobered abruptly. "He put you in here tooor did the 'helping hands'?"

"I lost." the dark-haired girl said distantly, staring at nothing.

Jenny's eyes widened in horror. "You mean you've already done your 10 hours and lost your baby...sister?"

"Brother. His name...was...Toby."

"An he was really turned into a Goblin?" Jenny asked. Her mouth was wide with horror. The last hope she had harboured had just disappeared, as she realised she wasn't the only to go through this terrifying game. This girl had already lost to the Goblin King.

"Yes. At least I assume so." the girl's eyes filled with silent tears.

"Oh," Jenny breathed. She pulled the girl close, into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

The girl finally pulled away, her brown eyes filled with a multitude of emotions. Longing, pain, regret and hate.

"Thank you," she choked.

"Are you okay now?" Jenny asked anxiously, after a long moment. She hated to see anyone cry. Especially someone as nice as this girl seemed. "We have to get out of here."

The girl stood straighter and laughter, the sound slightly bitter.

"He won't let you win," the brown eyes were bleak again. "He'll do anything to make sure that you lose."

Jenny groaned. "I know," her expression hardened. "But he doesn't know me. And he doesn't know that you're free now from his crystal either."

"Right," the girl said, with a strange doubt. She threw a look around the cave and then leaned back against the wall calmly. Jenny glared.

"What are you doing?"

The girl gave a ghost of a smile. "Waiting for a friend, I hope."

"What do you mean?" Jenny shrieked as there was a creaking noise. Ominous in the quiet of the Oubliette. A light appeared as a door solidified out of the pure rock and opened to reveal a figure standing there.

"I's come to take you back to the beginning," A familiar annoying voice announced. The small figure came inside, bearing a covered lamp. "There's no use bribing me, or bashing me over the head either."

"I'd like to." Jenny muttered. The dwarf, Hoggle came further into the cave and looked at her with contempt.

"Well, lets be going then."

"I'm not going back to the beginning!" Jenny yelled at him, crossing her arms. Her expression was outraged. She suddenly remembered the girl and turned her head that way confidently. "We aren't going back, are we? We're more than a match for you little man." she announced coolly.

"We?" Hoggle looked at first startled as he peered around the cave. Then his eyes widened in pure shock.

"You-your awake!" He exclaimed, hobbling forward eagerly.

"Hoggle!" the girl cried, throwing herself at him. He hugged her back as well as he could with his stubby little arms and Jenny was surprised to see actual tears in his beady eyes.

"Waaaaait a second!" Jenny shouted at them, her hands on her hips in disbelief. "This is the friend you mentioned?"

The girl released Hoggle and smiled at Jenny. "Yes."

"No way. This little weasel is working for the Goblin King." Jenny said accusingly. She glared at them both, grey eyes darkening.

"You be quiet!" Hoggle snapped. His eyes lit on something on the floor and he hobbled over to pick up the plastic bracelet. He stared down at it for a moment, then handed it to the girl.

"He took this away," Hoggle looked at the ground and shuffled a foot in the slime. "So's I would forget you."

"Oh Hoggle," the girl said, a catch in her voice. Hoggle straightened in determination and cast Jenny a disdainful glance.

"I's getting you out of here, Sarah." he said hurriedly, glancing around. Jenny looked at the girl, blushing brightly.

"So that's you name!" she exclaimed, slapping a hand to her forehead. "I forgot to ask."

Sarah smiled slightly, following Hoggle out of the Oubliette. "That's okay. I forgot to tell you."

They had not gone very far when ominous voices came from the darkness around them. Jenny's eyes got wide when she saw that it was the columns they were passing, all shaped into human faces.

"This is not the way!"

"Go back, go back."

"The path you may lead will"

"Oh, shut up!" Hoggle muttered at the last one. The stone actually assumed a hurt expression. Jenny giggled.

"Oh please. I haven't said it in sooooo long." the face pleaded. Hoggle glared at it in disgust.

"That's what you said the last time. And the time before that and the three times before that!"

"Damn," the stone muttered as they passed.

Jenny glanced at Sarah to see if she was amused also and saw that the dark-haired girl had gone deathly pale. She suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Hoggle desperately on the arm. He swung around and glanced up with great surprise.

"Sarah?" he questioned. Sarah was white to the lips.

"How long?" she said, her voice just above a whisper. Sarah's brown eyes were filled with a silent horror. "How long was I in there? Staring into that crystal?"

Hoggle was silent for a long moment, lips clenched. His eyes were a silent struggle as he visibly struggled whether to tell her the truth or not. "Ten years." he finally mumbled. He turned away in shame.

Sarah fell to her knee's in the corridor, so white that Jenny feared she was going to faint. "Oh god," The dark-haired girl said, eyes empty. "Ten long years."

"We tried to rescue you several times," Hoggle muttered, not raising his eyes from the floor. "But he always stopped us."

"I forgive you Hoggle." Sarah murmured, finally looking up. She had regained some of her colour, but the dead look was still in her eyes. Hoggle's lit up with relief.

"Really? You does?" he said eagerly.

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, they had a fierce determination in them that frightened Hoggle and Jenny. "Let's get out of here."

Jareth stared down at the little girl the Goblins were playing with. Long blonde hair and baby-blue eyes. Revoltingly sweet. So like all the others.

"You remind me of the babe?" a Gobliness said eagerly. Her beady eyes stared up at him. The Goblin King barely spared her a glance.

"Perhaps some other time," he said distantly. Lucky for her, she accepted it. For the Goblin King was in no mood to be trifled with. He wason edge. Something he had not felt for a long time. It was not just because for the second time in two hundred years, another girl had gotten as far as she had. It was something else.

The racket in the room was annoying and he glared at them all. They cowered slightly, but continued to carouse loudly.

"More! Play more." the girl squealed.

Jareth half-raised a hand ready to turn her into a Goblin there and then when a violent jolt went through him. He fell back onto the throne, gasped for breath. The feeling was like a blow to his very mind. A vision came to him and his blue-grey eyes widened as he saw someone he had both feared and longed to see.

Sarah.

Sarah walked along in a sort of daze. She still couldn't believe that she'd been inside the Oubliette for 10 years. Toby had long been a Goblin by now. Her parents would have thought them kidnapped or run away and given up years ago. She didn't really care about School and had never had any friends. A dreamer they called her. She sighed.

"It's here," Hoggle told Jenny.

Sarah raised her eyes and noticed they had reached the end of the long tunnel. She and Hoggle had been chased down by the 'cleaners' and discovered this way out via a ladder. "It's very old, so watch the rungs." She murmured, volunteering to go first. The girl began the long climb, almost anxious to see light. Though it seemed like yesterday, she had really not seen it in ten years.

"Arrggggh!" Jenny screamed.

Sarah paused near the top, glancing down. The blonde girl was clinging to the ladder desperately, while Hoggle glared from below her.

"I's told you to be careful!" he said harshly.

Sarah's eyes widened. Hoggle had changed. He also had a contempt for Jenny that Sarah was sure had come from the many girls over the years. The one's after Sarah had fought for Toby. How many. Dozens? Of children all turned into Goblins? He was capable of that, she knew.

"Lets go," The dark-haired girl said with impatience. The sun so near only to be held up by bickering?

"Okay," Hoggle muttered resentfully at Jenny. She glared back.

"Fine, let's go!"

"Like kids!" Sarah murmured. She pushed open the lid and light flooded through. It blinded her for a moment.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Hoggle asked from behind her.

Sarah nodded, climbing out into the sunlight. It was exactly as she remembered. She was suddenly consumed by a powerful jolt. The girl fell to her knee's, eyes wide. It was like an electric shock.

"Sarah!" Jenny and Hoggle said, stunned by the sight.

Sarah felt their hands on her shoulders as they tried to see what was wrong. She could answer them though; her mind flooded with a vision of a man both loathed and longed for.

Jareth.

"She's free..." Jareth murmured. His mind had cleared again, a moment after he realised Sarah too had been struck by the same force as he had. He sank back, swinging a leg over the arm of his throne.

The Goblin King abruptly laughed. "I wonder, however, if it is a curse or blessing?"

"Do you like her?" A Goblin asked in is a repulsed tone.

Jareth stared into the distance, blue-grey eyes far away. "Like her?" He questioned slowly. "In my own fashion, I worshiped the ground she walked on."

"What?" the Goblin asked, confused.

The Goblin King focused his blue-grey eyes on the little repulsive creature and summoned a crystal. He flung it at the Goblin, who instantly turned into a chicken.

The other Goblins were happy and started to chase it around the room, to the delight of the little girl.

"He knows." Sarah gasped, standing up with their help.

Jenny looked confused.

Hoggle scowled. "Damn him," he muttered.

"Who?" Jenny asked, exasperated. She suddenly caught on and glared. "Oh, him."

"The Goblin King." Sarah said in a strange voice. Her brown eyes were thoughtful and she walked away from them without a word. Hoggle and Jenny looked at each other and followed.

There was silence for a solid hour, Hoggle and Jenny wondering why Sarah was so distant.

Sarah felt their confusion, but was too wrapped up in her won thoughts. Jareth had to have something to do with the vision she had seen. And yet, for a moment, she could have sworn he was as startled as she had been. They finally found a way to the Bog of Eternal Stench and Jenny vocalised her displeasure loudly.

"Oh gross!" the girl shouted, holding her nose between two fingers.

Sarah had to agree, but something was bothering her more. Why was it so easy to get to the Bog, when Jareth had made it so had before?

"Woof woof rowl! I say holt!" a familiar voice announced. Sir Didymus leapt from a tree into Hoggle and Jenny's paths. "Ah Hoggle, another fair damsel I see?"

"Hardly," Hoggle muttered. Then raised his voice, rolling his eyes. "Yes...another."

"Who are you?" Jenny asked with interest. Clearly amused by this fox-creature, so fierce-looking.

"I," the fox announced, puffing up his chest. "Am Sir Didymus. And no one may pass this way without my permission!"

"Can we have-" Hoggle started.

Sir Didymus' mouth had gaped open though, as he looked past them. "My-my Lady Sarah!" he shouted, rushing towards her.

"She knows everyone?" Sarah heard Jenny complained light-heartedly as she leaned over to sweep Sir Didymus into a hug.

"Thou art awake!" the fox said, astonished.

Sarah nodded, smiling towards Jenny. "Jenny freed me from one of The Goblin King's Crystals."

Sir Didymus crossed over to Jenny and bowed low.

"Then we are all indeed in thy dept, milady." he thanked her.

Jenny smiled at him, glad to finally be on the winning side in this game. The more people she found who were against the Goblin King, the better it would be. "My pleasure."

"We're heading to the Castle." Sarah told the Fox, a feeling of deja'vu sweeping over her.

"I shall join with thee in thy valiant quest!" Sir Didymus announced grandly.

"Thank you, kind Sir." The dark-haired teenager murmured. She started towards the bridge with them all at her side.

"You-ah, had better say the words, my lady," Sir Didymus said with some embarrassment. "My vow?"

"Of course," Sarah said, bowing slightly in return. "Might I and my noble companions cross yonder bridge?"

"With delight!" the fox uttered. He whistled and Ambrosia's came bounding out, barking.

Sarah stared in amazement. "He's barking."

"Of course. He is a steed truly worthy of me!" Sir Didymus said, climbing into the saddle on the sheep dog. "To the castle!"

"He found a plant that could give a mouse courage." Hoggle whispered to Sarah covertly. She giggled and Jenny joined, having heard.

"Was he a scaredy-dog?" Jenny murmured.

"Bah," Hoggle said, stomping away.

Jenny stared after him. "What's with him anyway?" she demanded.

Sarah stepped onto the bridge, surprised to find it sturdy. They crossed with little trouble and continued through the forest.

"I'm not sure," Sarah said thoughtfully. "It has something to do with all of us wishing our little brothers or sisters away. He's sick of it, I guess."

"And taking orders from that horrible Goblin King. All though, he is gorgeous..." she added as an after-thought.

Hoggle whirled around in shock and Sarah stared at her.

"What? It's true. Even if he's an evil tyrant bent on turning little kids into Goblins!" Jenny protested, backing away from the dwarf.

"She's-She's daft!" Hoggle shouted, face red.

"Is anything amiss?" Sir Didymus asked, riding back. His whiskered face inquiring.

"Arggggh!" Hoggle stormed away, muttering to himself.

Sarah followed close behind, unable to believe Jenny had said that. A part of her agreed with the teen, but she stamped it down firmly. Jareth was her enemy. He had made Toby into a Goblin and trapped in the Oubliette for ten years!

"Sarah, do we really need her?" Hoggle asked darkly.

The dark-haired girl glanced down at him, uncomfortably aware that they were near the spot where the dwarf had given her the peach. She had been pulled into a dreama ballroom. She still remembered dancing in Jareth's arms. The feeling of warmth and comfort and love. But it hadn't been real, she'd found that out when she lost and he'd given her the crystal.

"Take this Crystal Sarah. It will send you home." he had told her. "Forget about the baby, he's already a Goblin."

"Sarah?" Hoggle's voice broke into her thoughts and she summoned a smile.

"Yes, we need her," Sarah said slowly. "She has to win, so that she won't be sentenced to the same fate as I was."

"Thank you Sarah," Jenny said from behind them. The girl had been so quiet that neither Hoggle or Sarah had heard her and Didymus catch up. The blonde glared at the dwarf. "And you, you little worm!"

"Please! No fighting in the Lady Sarah's presence. We are on a quest." Sir Didymus said in quelling tones. He respect and affection for Sarah evident.

They reached the castle gates with a few minutes to spare and though they had warned Jenny to expect a fight, there was none. Sarah, who had never made it this far, glanced around apprehensively. But no Goblins attacked them at all and the city was like a ghost town.

"I don't like this," Jenny muttered, as they raced into the castle. She voiced all their thoughts.

Sarah's especially. What was Jareth's game now?

At first the throne room looked empty, but then they spied a lone figure lounging calmly on the throne. The Goblin King himself.

"Ah, you made it Jenny," he said cynically. "With minutes to spare too. But you made it with help."

"So?" she demanded. "Sarah had help the first time!"

Jareth spared Sarah a glance. "Yes, And she failed also."

"Failed? I didn't fail, I got here in time!" Jenny shouted at him.

Jareth smiled at her, not a pleasant one. "Ah yes, time. As your friends no doubt told you, I am master of time here." he looked over at the clock behind them.

Jenny glanced that way. Her eyes widened as she saw that she was actually an hour late. "No!"

"Yes. I'm surprised. They didn't tell you?" he questioned, delighted. Jenny whirled to glare at Sarah and the other two.

"Why didn't you say something?" she wailed.

Sarah paled and bit her bottom lip. It just hadn't occurred to her to say anything. She had been so lost in her own grief.

"Yes Sarah, why didn't you say something?" The Goblin King asked curiously. "Could it be you were protecting me?"

"What?!" both Sarah and Jenny shrieked. Sarah in fury and Jenny in outrage.

"And to think that I thought you gorgeous!" the blonde shouted at him. Jareth however ignored her. To him, their business was obviously already over. The little girl was probably already a Goblin.

"And you Sarah, did you enjoy my Labyrinth-again?" Jareth murmured to Sarah.

She glared at him, fighting down the heat that his gaze caused in her body. She hated him! "No" Sarah spat.

The handsome man's gaze narrowed and he gestured.

Suddenly they were somewhere she had never seen before. The sky was orange and pink, floating staircases in the air above them. Jareth had changed his clothes. Now he was wearing all grey, with a long cloak of feathers.

"Why did you bring me here!" she demanded icily.

"This isn't about this girl or her sister, Sarah!" Jareth told her angrily. His blue-grey eyes flashed fury as he paced around her. She followed him with her eyes, nervous. Yet with a determination not to let him win this time. "It's not even about the Goblins or Toby."

"Toby. Yes it is!" she shouted at him, tears in her eyes.

He paused, as if struck by her expression of desolation. "I sent him back" the Goblin King murmured, close to her ear. He swung away again, circling.

Sarah hesitated, eyes drying. "What?" she said, unwilling to believe. He had to be lying!

"I sent the child back. It was you I wanted all along, not him."

"You're lying!" Sarah cried, glaring at him. Her fists clenched at her side.

Jareth watched her for a moment, then summoned a crystal. "Here," he offered, holding it towards her. She flinched and his eyes softened. Jareth made the crystal bigger and a vision slowly formed inside.

Sarah looked inside and saw...a young boy of about thirteen, in class. The eyes were unmistakable, so like Jareth's. "Toby," She mouthed the word soundlessly, eyes clinging to the vision.

Jareth banished it and her father appeared, at work. He appeared happy. "Do you wish to see your evil step-mother?" The Goblin King asked with derision. Sure she wouldn't want to.

The young girl turned her face away. It was clear that while she had been missing, her family had gone on with their lives. And who wouldn't have, after ten years? "No, I've seen enough." she whispered. They were so happy. Her family had continued their lives without her. "Then, there's nothing left." Sarah said bleakly.

"Of course there is!" Jareth almost roared at her.

Sarah's head shot up, her old courage flooding her. "Give me the child-" she began, eyes flashing. If she could say the words that she did not have time to ten years ago, he would be defeated and have to let her go. Even if it wasn't her little sister that he was currently holding hostage. Poor Jenny... she was in an almost identical position to Sarah's all those years ago.

Jareth laughed mockingly. "It won't work. The child wasn't yours. You didn't wish him away." he told her, with a smile.

She glared, turning her face away. "Then what am I still doing here!" The girl demanded coolly.

"So cold, my Sarah. You always were so aloof." Jareth murmured.

Sarah glanced towards him, startled when the Goblin King moved closer. "Send me back" she said quietly.

A strange pain came and went in his blue-grey eyes and this time it was he to look away. "I can't."

"You mean you won't!" she snapped, whirling away. She began to pace the grey stones, barely taking notice of the floating staircases above. "Ten years Jareth" Sarah said slowly. "Ten years I was there."

"Where no one could find you," he said, almost to himself. "I thought no one could ever get as far as you."

"That's a comfort. What a cold bastard you are." she said icily.

"It was to protect you!" Jareth said almost desperately.

Sarah laughed. "Protect me? In an Oubliette?" she mocked. She stepped closer to him, till their chests almost touched. "A place where you put people to forget them!"

"But I never did." he said tenderly. He reached up a hand to touch her face, but she caught it in one of her own.

"Don't," she warned.

Jareth stared into her brown eyes, his own unfathomable. "Do you hate me so much, even though I sent your brother back?" he murmured.

Sarah's eyes widened and she was suddenly aware of their proximity to each other. But she couldn't let go of his hand any more than she could step away. "Shouldn't I?" she said quietly.

"You didn't age," he told her. "I made sure of that. So that when you came out, you would look the same."

"Is that suppose to be a comfort? I'm still a teenager, instead of the woman I would have been. And when exactly did you intend to let me out?" she demanded. His eyes darkened and she swore he stepped closer, even though seemed as if he had never actually moved.

"I gave you your dreams. Do you remember Sarah?" he changed the subject.

"Of course I remember!" Sarah snapped, thinking back.

She had reached the castle gates when the time had run out. Pulled in by the ballroom dream. She'd spent all her time dancing with him, but pulled away from his kiss for an unknown reason. By the time she realised what was happening, hours had passed. She would never forgive him for tricking her into thinking she loved him!

As the chime struck, she was taken to the throne room.

Toby was there, on Jareth's lap. "So you lost?"' he said mockingly. His blue-grey eyes were triumphant.

"Yes, I lost!" she'd said bitterly.

Jareth handed Toby down to a Goblin and went to stand before Sarah. She could feel all the Goblins watching, gloating at what was going to happen.

"I gave you thirteen hours." he reminded her.

"You cheated! You reversed time and trapped me in that ballroom!" The girl shouted, incensed.

"It was my game, you knew we were playing by my rules," The Goblin King said, eyes almost pitying.

"I knew," she admitted bitterly. "But did you hate me so much you didn't give me a fair chance?"

A strange expression crossed Jareth's face. If Sarah had not known better, she would have thought it was tenderness.

"I never hated you Sarah," he gestured and summoned a Crystal. "But it still remains that you lost."

He held it out to her, but she eyed it with distrust. "What is it?"

"A crystal," he paused, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. "It will take you home."

Sarah looked at it hopefully, did he mean to set her and Toby free after all?

"No, only you." the Goblin King said, reading her expression right.

Sarah frowned at him. "Then I won't take it. Not without Toby."

"Toby," Jareth said, with a hint of steel in his voice. "-Is mine now. You would do well to forget him!"

"No," she turned her face away. Jareth smiled cruelly. The crystal in his hands changed into a snake, which he threw towards Toby.

"Toby!" she screamed, leaping towards the venomous reptile. Toby laughed and put up a hand. The last thing Sarah remembered was grabbing the snake. It turned back into the crystal and she knew she had been tricked.

"Goodbye Sarah." Jareth's voice had been strangely filled with longing.

And then there was nothing but...the ballroom. She'd been dancing for so long, in his arms. And then Jenny had woken her up, smashing the crystal and bringing Sarah back to the real world. But she hadn't remembered till now...

"I remember," Sarah repeated, coming back to the present and finding she was still close to Jareth. She remembered how he had tricked her, but strangely, also the tone he had used with his parting words. Longing. "Why did you do that to me, when you sent Toby back. Why lie and tell me he was going to be turned into a Goblin?" she said, confused more than ever.

Jareth looked at her tenderly. "Would you have believed me?" he asked her. His eyes darkened as he raised a hand to touch his face. "Would you have stayed if I told you I would send Toby back, that I would never take a child again? That I loved you and would turn the world upside down for you?"

Sarah stared at him, shocked. He loved her? "Is this-a trick?" she said, uncertain. Her heart thumped crazily.

The handsome Goblin King pulled his hand from hers. He wrapped both arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Do you feel this?" he whispered in her ear.

The young girl felt their hearts beating together, in the same rhythm. Felt the electric shock of contact and most of all, she felt his love. She raised her eyes to his and saw it reflected there in the blue-grey depths.

"My dream?" she said, almost whispering. "Was of you."

"I know," he whispered back. "The moment you ate the peach, I knew you loved me. Even if you didn't realise it yourself. When you broke away from me in the ballroom, I knew I was loosing you."

"So you tricked me into catching the crystal." Sarah breathed, finally understanding. She did not have a future on earth because of him, but perhaps she had a future here in this world. She could see the feelings in his eyes were real, and remembered the way he had treated her and spoke to her when she was playing her game. Flirtatious, longing...loving?

"It was the only way I could think of keeping you near me. I made sure you were safe from everyone, in your own dreams. You never aged because it was you of now that I fell in love with. Your fire, your courage and defiance." he said, a slight laugh in his voice. All mockery was gone from his face.

Sarah slowly laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Jareth had been her dream, when she could have picked anything at all. For ten years, she had danced in the ballroom, and played their meetings inside his Labyrinth over and over. When she had initially woken up, horror and bitterness had consumed her, but gradually, the feelings of attraction and more had crept over her.

And now here was her dream, offering her everything she wanted. Did she dare?

"Stay with me?" Jareth murmured, arms tightening. "Perhaps you can change my world, my Sarah."

The Goblin King wasn't promising to change who he was for her, but he was being open about his love. Maybe she could do the same? Yes, she could be here with him. And perhaps one day, all would be forgiven.

Sarah smiled shyly, wrapping her arms around his waist as if she would never let him go. She raised her head and he met her lips in a searing kiss. "I'll stay forever." she promised.

The End

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I'll have more of my old stuff out as soon as I can do some editing.

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Princess Destiny