The wind rustled the leaves of the trees softly in the spring air. this sound along with the bubbling of the small stream and the quiet chirping of the birds created the symphony that Sarah would sit and listen to everyday since her battle in the Goblin Kingdom. She would sit and listen to the sounds of nature and on the anniversary of the event she would act out the scene over and over again until the sun would set and the streetlamps would be lit. Each time she acted out the scene she would change the ending. Not because she didn't want to save her brother but because secretly in her heart she had fallen in love with the King and she never wanted to see the hurt look in his eyes that he held when she had said the words.

The owl that had stalked her for so many years was perched on the same branch watching the scene take place. Ever since the first day of going to the park she had noticed it sitting on a far off branch. Far enough away that she wouldn't have immediately noticed but just close enough that it would be able to hear every word that she spoke when she was acting out the scene from the book. The Goblin King created this personal Hell for himself so that way he would never forget. On the one hand he wanted her to say the words for him to take her away from the world. On the other, however, he wanted to make her suffer for destroying the love the he held for her.

The scene had hardly changed in the three years that she had been coming to the little park. The only small difference is the fact that the once loyal Merlin that would be faithfully at her side every day had passed on due to a horrible hit and run. She sometimes cried for the little pup that had kept her company on the many nights she spent there. A small tear slipped down her cheek as she remembered each night. Tonight would be her last night in the park. She was graduating High School and leaving immediately to study at a famous acting school in England.

The clock started chiming and she knew that Karen would have a fit if she didn't make it home in time for her graduation party that was being held that night. At the sound of the clock chimes she started to make her way home slowly. She wasn't even to the edge of the park when she heard someone whisper her name. She looked around to see who it was and she didn't see anyone, she heard it again and she started to get freaked out. She scanned every area that she could think of that someone might be hiding in until she saw what she was looking for. There up in the trees was a familiar owl, she knew it could only be one person. "Jareth I wish you would come to me right now!" then mystified once again, she watched as he transformed into his human form.

He hadn't changed in the least bit since she had seen him last, the only difference was when she was running the Labyrinth he insisted on wearing the most obscene outfits that only someone like him could pull off. Today he was wearing a suit which looked as though it were Armani. He looked so dashing in the suit and regret started to overcome her. She felt such a pull towards him and she wanted him to forgive her. Quickly she turned red as the blood rushed to her face.

Jareth inwardly laughed as he noticed the blush on her cheeks, "Yes Miss Williams?" He tried to be civil however, the anger that he felt towards her caused his words to be short and biting like a very sharp knife and Sarah flinched at the steel gaze of his eyes. The formality in which he spoke was so harsh that Sarah felt she should shrink out of terror and the longing which consumed her heart.

"I wanted to see you one last night before..." her voice faltered, "before I leave for school."

To dig in his point a little deeper he chose words which he knew in the end would hurt her and hopefully lift the feeling of love from his heart. That blasted feeling which consumed him and made each of his decisions that much more difficult. "Oh stop with the melodramatics Sarah, I know exactly why you called me here; you can't live with the thought of knowing what you spoke. You want to take it all back don't you?" Jareth smirked, knowing he was getting to her, he could see her eyes fill with tears.

"I know that I've hurt you but I didn't know what you were offering back then," Sarah had to take a deep breath, "I was only fif..."

"I've heard this before," Jareth cut her off, "It's just an excuse! You knew from the story that I loved you! But I could tell that you never loved me, all you loved was the story. I gave you that little red book many years ago and you didn't even notice!" Jareth's voice finally cracked as he recalled every moment in complete agony. His face contorted as he tried not to cry, he had done enough of that lately, the tears just burned his eyes but didn't make it past that point.

Sarah was almost in tears, not just because of what he was saying, but also because of what he was not saying. The pain on his face was evident, she knew, but he wasn't going to crack at least not like she was. She just couldn't contain the emotion any longer and her eyes brimmed over with tears.

"Goodbye Sarah," Jareth turned away from her so she would not be able to see him starting to cry. "I wish you the best now and always. I want you to know I am your slave whether I have power over you or not," with those parting words he started to walk away from her.

"Jareth wait!" Sarah pleaded, "I love you and I want you to love me please!" The words rushed from her mouth like a running faucet which had no stopper.

Jareth halted but didn't turn around, he didn't want to see her face because he knew if he did then he would take her then and there. Controlling the urge to turn around he forced himself to say the words he knew would hurt her the most, the same way that they had hurt him three years ago. "You have no power over me Sarah, now go back to your costumes and your toys, forget about me!" With those last harsh words he transformed back to an owl and left her standing there crying

An:

Hey guys so this is an updated version of chapter 1 sorry that I've been away so long, this is going to be the first project I'm going to revamp. I want to have you guys tell me what you want in a story so that way I can make even better work. Also I am looking for a beta this is a very raw edit of this piece and I know that I am a beta on the site but I would like a second set of eyes to help me out. I'm just way too familiar with my work in order to notice the little mistakes.