He watched her at all times. Though it was easy for him to see all things in his world at once, he was pained when he saw her life unfolding. He was the keeper of her dreams, and yet these dreams were constantly at the risk of being taken away. Sarah was still quite young, yet growing older. And yet, there were pressures upon her to grow up. At times she thought of giving in. It was then that she would dissapear into her mind for a time. Surrounded by the beautiful things that Jareth had created, she would always remember why she held onto her dreams. Her decision would be the same always once she returned to the rest of the world, which was to live primarily in her own world and merely tolerate the rest.

"You can't do it, you know," he whispered to her in her sleep. "It isn't possible."

"Isn't it?" she would reply without thinking.

"No, it isn't. You can not do it."

"I can't..."

"You can't."

"How can you know?"

"By the pain it would bring you. By the unfairness of it all."

"Unfair?"

"It is very unfair," he replied.

She had little idea the irony in this. Her most repressed imaginary friend, asked to do so much with so little. Living in a castle made out of a belt buckle, creating life from plastic little toys. He was keenly aware of the lack of reality, or at least what he understood others percieved as reality. There was little more real than himself, and Sarah, though often far away from him by her own choice, could not measure up to that feeling.

"It's really unfair," she said, now agreeing. "I don't like it."

"As well you shouldn't."

"What can I do?"

"Don't let her take them away, Sarah. That is what you must do."

Her stepmother had taken several approaches to Sarah. She did notice Sarah's tendency to live for fantasy and felt it a bit dangerous. In an effort to curb this, she had decided to take some of the things that most turned Sarah's mind and replace them with something less dangerous. This, of course, meant that anything and everything related to the Labyrinth. This, of course, made Jareth worry. His very existence might be in jeopardy.

"But she's going to. I can't stop her."

"You can. Stand up to her and what you desire shall be yours."

"But she'll win..." Sarah protested.

"She can not take what is yours. She can not take away your dreams."

"Yes she can," Sarah said once more, absolutely convinced of and crushed by the idea.

"She will not take them. I will protect them for you."

"Will you?"

"I will. I will keep them for you, in my heart, and they will not be touched there."

"Oh, thank you!"

"You are most welcome, my lady."

With this he allowed her to rest, assured that she would fight to protect him, even if she did not realize this was what she was doing. He would hold on to her dreams until the very day that she bid him not to, though he dreaded this eventuality.