England, 986 AD

"Let me go!" the dark haired girl twisted and broke out of his grip, stumbling away through the dark woods in her worn leather shoes.

He felt as if a torn part of his heart was leaving with her. In an instant he was before her again, catching her in his arms and holding her to him tightly, ignoring her struggling and objections.

"Never. I will never let you go." his voice was firm and booked no room for argument. The moon and stars shone down on them through the branches over their heads, casting a bluish light on the rocks and bushes, and shining off the tears held in the young woman's eyes as she looked up at him.

"My step-mother will never allow it. They will never let me go." her voice held all the despair of her young broken heart, and as she spoke she gave in to his embrace, slumping in his arms and sobbing into his chest.

He bent and placed a tender kiss on the top of her head as he waited for the flood to abate, holding her to him as if his life depended on her presence.

"Do you love me?" he asked softly, loosening his hold and tilting her chin up with a long, pale finger, keeping his other hand firmly on her waist.

Her green eyes shone as they met his. "You know I do."

"And you will have me, as I am?" he continued, stepping back and holding out his arms, turning in a small circle as if to allow her to inspect him.

She giggled a bit in spite of herself at the show, which she knew was meant to cheer her up.

"Of course, Jareth, but-"

He place a slender finger to her lips. "No buts. Why is it that you think that my love is any lesser than yours?"

"-But I have no dowry, no inheritance, my father has a male heir now and has no love for me! I am nothing now but a servant to his new wife, you deserve better!" she sighed and looked at him miserably.

He rolled his eyes and took a hold of her shoulders firmly, meeting her eyes and speaking so that there was a steely weight to his words. "If your father continues to refuse me your hand, then I will challenge him for it."

Her eyes widened in horror and she took hold of his shirt with both hands, tears flowing freely once more. "No, please don't, promise me! Promise me you won't fight him."

Truthfully, she knew very little about her mysterious suitor, but she knew that he was powerful, strong, that he had magic. Her father wouldn't stand a chance. As cruel as he was, she didn't want him or anyone else hurt because of her.

He gave her a frustrated look, seeming uncertain for the first time. "Then what would you have me do, Sarah? You will not allow me to steal you away, and you will not let me fight for you."

"I don't know." she choked out, burying her face again in his now-soggy shirt, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

He placed his hands around her waist and lay his cheek on top on her head, rocking her back and forth in a slow dance and humming an invented melody to soothe her while he thought. In truth, he had very few options. By openly declaring his love and intentions for her, he had given up his birthright and inheritance. He had few friends, and none that would help him openly, lest they risk the terrible wrath of his father. He had hoped to live with her here in her world, but without her father's blessing, the marriage would not be legal by his people's laws, and they would view her as a problem. It would only be a matter of time before they found her, used her to punish him, to manipulate him. He would not, could not let anything happen to her. A legitimate union was the only way to protect her.

"I have a plan to get your father to agree." he said carefully, after several long minutes.

She looked up at him, expression curious but cautious.

He saw and answered her unspoken question. "No one would be hurt. All you must do is give me your baby brother. I will keep him safe Underground for a time, while you gain a promise from your father that whoever finds and returns the boy safely can have your hand in marriage. Offering yourself as bait will keep him from suspecting you until it is too late. Then we will go somewhere where no one knows us, and live in peace."

"How am I to get the boy to you without anyone seeing?" she said, peering into the dark forest as if expecting to see half the village hiding in the bushes, watching them.

There was a fluid twist of his wrist, and a shimmering, transparent crystal sphere appeared between them. He pressed his lips to it briefly, before offering it to her. Sarah copied him, feeling her lips and tongue tingle uncomfortably against the smooth surface. Then the crystal seemed to become more and more transparent, until it popped like a bubble, leaving behind nothing but a puff of cold air.

"All you must do is wish him to me, and mean it. Your words hold power now, be careful with them." He smiled and ran two fingers lightly across her still parted lips, pleased at how her breath caught and eyes fluttered closed. She expected him to kiss her now, but he would not, not until she was truly his, forevermore. He made that a promise to himself, though it was difficult. Even with a face red and swollen from tears, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Go now, my love, before you are discovered missing. I will go Underground and await your wish." he stepped back, keeping his hands clasped behind him so as to avoid the temptation of touching her.

Her eyes flew open and a few quick steps brought her close to him again. "No! Stay with me a while longer, please!" she followed him, gripping his shirt and staring up at him pleadingly, biting her lower lip.

He frowned and looked away. "I cannot. I will not. Not until you can be mine in truth."

"But I'm afraid." she whispered, as if ashamed to admit it.

"Of what?" he couldn't help it, he brought his hands up to cup her cheeks. "What could my fearless girl possibly be afraid of?"

She swallowed thickly and wouldn't meet his eyes. "That you might not come back. That something might happen, or that you might change your mind, or-"

He silenced her with a finger to her lips. When he was sure that he had her full attention, he took a step back, pulling a knife from his belt and sliding it deliberately across his open palm, letting his blood drip into the shadows between them.

She watched with wide eyes.

"I swear to you, Sarah Owensdottir, that I will return for you, that my love is true. A blood oath I make to you, that I will always find you."

Before he could stop her, she took the blade from his hand and sliced it across her own, their blood mingling and mixing in her open palm. "And I swear that I will never be at peace until you're mine."

He tried to cover her mouth, to stop the words of power before they were spoken, but it was too late.

"Oh Sarah. What have you done."

She looked up at him, green eyes full of love, and sadness, and innocence, and he forgave her, and prayed silently that neither of them would ever have cause to regret their reckless vows.

He left, fading away before either of them could say any more.

~oOo~

She acted the next day, as he sat hidden in the woods of his father's kingdom, contemplating the events of the night before. The toddler stared up at him from the patch of clover where he had suddenly appeared, blue eyes wide and fearful, lower lip trembling. Jareth soothed him with a hushed song and fed him enchanted fruit, lulling him into a magical sleep, lest his cries lead to their discovery. He hid the child in the hollow of a tree, and waited for Sarah to wish for him. He stayed with the child for three days, guarding him by day as a man, and by night as an owl, but soon he became very thirsty, and left, just for a few minutes, to get a drink from a nearby creek. He didn't want to risk using conjuring magic, didn't want to draw attention to them.

When he returned the child was gone. He set off at once for his father's castle, knowing that no one else would have any cause to take the boy.

~oOo~

The Golden One, he called himself. Many other names had he been known by over the years, though his true name was known only to a few. The Greeks had known him as Hades, while the Romans called him Pluto. Even now, the Scandinavians feared him as a dark elf, the Germans whispered "Erlkonig". None laid eyes on him without feeling fear. His many millenniums of cruelty could be felt now in the smile he gave his only son, a smile that would have driven a lesser man mad. But Jareth, though only in his third century, had strength and power of his own.

"Where is the boy." Jareth asked firmly, his voice echoing around the cold marble hall.

"What boy? There are no children in my kingdom of late." the king replied, voice like an icicle laced with razor blades. There was an amused glint in his cold blue eyes. He was toying with Jareth.

"The human child. Give him back to me." Jareth kept his voice low and respectful, but refused to back down.

"I think you have allowed that silly mortal to addle your brains. There are no humans allowed Underground, by my law." the amused glint was gone, replaced with something more sinister. He stood gracefully from his white marble throne, then snapped his fingers. A wooden door to the left swung open, revealing a small, ugly grey creature, that sat on the stone floor inside the tiny room, playing with its malformed feet. It looked up and Jareth's heart turned to ice. There was no mistaking those blue eyes.

"What have you done." he turned to his father, eyes blazing. "Change him back!"

"You do not command me, boy!" the king roared, advancing on his son. They were nose to nose now, two powerful and unpredictable beings at odds. "Forget this foolishness, come back to your rightful place, forswear that girl and I will forget that any of this ever happened." his cruel eyes flicked to the disfigured boy. "I'll even let you keep that thing, if you want."

The crystals formed in Jareth's hands before he could think, but as he raised them he found himself thrown back by a terrific force, and hit the far wall with a sickening thunk. The wall grew arms of stone that held him there, limbs spread and hands pinned to the wall, unable to move, as his father advanced on him with a terrifying calmness.

"You would raise a hand to me. To your kin. To your king." he spoke quietly, fixing his blank stare on the wall to Jareth's left.

Jareth said nothing, just stared back defiantly.

"Then I banish you from this kingdom, and from any and all green lands, until such a time as you are willing to bow before me and kiss my feet, to beg your forgiveness and swear your complete obedience to your father and king."

"That will never happen," Jareth hissed back, "for I have no father, and I have no king,"

There was flash and a crack, and he knew no more.

Author's Notes:

Hi there. Thanks for checking this out. Please review, and let me know if you think I should continue. Publishing your own writing is kind of like walking into school with a new haircut, so if you could take a minute to give me a quick thumbs up or thumbs down, I would really appreciate it.

This is not necessarily AU, it is going to be about the Sarah and Jareth from the movie, the first two chapters will be a kind of prologue.