*Disclaimer* I do not own the wonderful world of the Labyrinth or any of its inhabitants. I do however own the idea for this story.

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Hoggle thought about how to answer Sarah's question.

He sighed then took off his small cap and rubbed the bald spot beneath it.

"Wel I thinks yur less human than ya weres befor comin to tha underground, but yur mor human than the others tha stay ther." Hoggle nervously answered.

"Hoggle I know how the fae, like the King, are born and I know I wasn't made that way so I know I'm more human than them, but your telling me I'm less human than anyone aboveground?" Sarah tried to clarify.

Hoggle looked down to his feet and kicked at invisible dirt on her floor when he responded.

"Naw yur mor like tha rat than yous might think."

He looked up at Sarah's expentant face and decided to continue.

"I'm tryin ta say yur only a litle les than a ful fae. But tha good news is yur nuthin like tha goblins."

"Why would I be like the goblins? Aren't they just born there like that or changed like that from being wished away?" Sarah asked.

"Naw tha rat don change the kids. Its tru tha som of tha goblins are born ther like tha, but the firs ones tha wer ther wer changed from humans."

At Sarah's questioning look he continued.

"Sarah, whut did ya think happened ta tha wishers tha ran the labyrinth but didn win? They didn go home. They wer tha ones changed ta the goblins."

"No that can't be right, he told me that Toby would become one of you forever if I didn't make it to the castle in time. He said Toby not me." Sarah argued.

"I don call him a rat fur nufin Sarah. He sends tha kids home, theys bein tha innocent ones. The wishers thou if they don take the dreams and fail they become the goblins." Hoggle told her matter of factly.

"I don't know if I can believe that Hoggle. Why would he outright lie? I thought the fae weren't supposed to lie."

"Whut better way ta git tha humans ta belive anythan they say than ta start out wif a lie. Ya they has lots of rules but lying ain't one of them." Hoggle said with a small grin. "Ya hav ta admit its purty smart ta git everybody belivin ya can't lie." Hoggle then smacked his knee and started to chuckle.

Sarah smiled at the mirth her best friend was showing, even if it was at her expense. She had to give it to them though, that was pretty ingenious to make the human population believe that as a magical race you were forbidden to lie. Now that she thought about it more it did seem ridiculous that there would be such a law, and to be able to enforce it on beings made of magic? Sarah shook her head 'I can't believe I fell for it' she chastised herself. She had always hoped that the Goblin King was incapable of such deceit. 'Well live and learn' she thought.

"Ther is one thing they can't lie about" Hoggle stated a little timidly, "Tha fae can't lie about things concernin tha heart."

"The heart? You're talking about their feelings, like love and hate?" Sarah asked for clarification.

Hoggle nodded.

"Oh" was the only thing that would come out of Sarah's mouth. She immediately thought of their final encounter and his confusing plea of "fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." Could he have really meant that? If what Hoggle said was true and by going how earnest Jareth was looking at her while saying those words she had little doubt that he really did mean it.

Hoggle saw the distant look in Sarah's eyes and decided it was time to go. He patted her shoulder as she sat as still as a statue on her vanity stool, and left.

He knew he would have to give his king a full report of the visit. He just hoped the rat would be in a good, unbogging mood.

It was a good 10 minutes before Sarah realized Hoggle had left. She finally stood up from her vanity and went straight to bed. She had a lot of information presented to her and had a lot to think about.

...

Sarah woke up and looked around her apartment. David's things were still everywhere. Of course she didn't expect them to disappear just because their loser of an owner did.

Over the years Sarah had figured out what magic she did possess. She remembered Jareth's form of magic was dreams and utilizing a lot of distraction to get what he wanted. Sarah's magic however came in the power of words. She found that she didn't have to use the words "I wish" to get what she wanted. Oh no those words were reserved for the cheaters that deserved to go to the underground.

The first time she wished away a two-timing boyfriend she remembered Hoggle's words about the wishers being the ones to be changed. She knew she could complete the labyrinth again, but she really didn't want to. She didn't want to take the dreams she would be offered though either. She didn't think she would be ready for the only dream she had any more to come true. Not yet anyway. That dream she felt would be more precious to her if she made it happen on her own, her dream of a happily ever after with a certain light haired fae King.

After the cheater was gone Jareth didn't appear. Instead a round crystal rolled across her living room and bumped her foot. When she picked it up it turned into a scroll. Upon opening the scroll she beheld the most beautiful flowing script she had ever seen. It read:

My dear champion,

I regret to inform you that wishing away anything other than a child will not give you the chance of obtaining your dreams. I sincerely hope the unremarkable mortal sitting in my dungeon was not sent here by accident. If it was purposely done I applaud your decision. He is one of the most unsavory life forms I have met in my many years of dealing with you mortals. It is my greatest pleasure to inform you that after he slandered your name the goblins defended your honor. He is currently waiting for me to finish writing this missive to you before meeting his fate of becoming a goblin and the newest resident of the Bog. I do not believe you would want to save this individual so an offer to run my Labyrinth will not be given. I would however like to extend the offer for you to send any other miscreants that are of this one's caliber to my kingdom without fear of repercussion. I do have a large Bog that needs tending to and I find men like this one are perfect for the task. I would like to say, however, that I do sincerely wish that you will not find yourself in the company of another of his ilk. Doing so would cause me no small amount of distress. You are too precious to be involved with such animals.

Jareth, King of the Goblins.

One more thing Sarah, if you have need to discard of any belongings of the before mentioned cretin you have but to call upon one of my goblins and they will get the task done.

Sarah smiled every time she thought of the letter. It had been the last time she had heard from Jareth. Of course she hadn't called to him. She still didn't think she was ready for that. She really didn't intend to get involved with another creep. It just so happened that they found her, and if she was telling the truth she was lonely. The only person she ever communicated with, in the aboveground that is, was the head of the publishing company whenever a deadline was fast approaching. She was feeling starved for attention and voiced out loud that she wanted to meet someone that she could talk to and spend time with. That was when her second boyfriend literally ran into her. It was then she made the connection that her power was in her words. She thought it was a bit ironic given her profession.

Fast forwarding through her memories of the jerks she allowed herself to date she cursed herself for her selfishness. Jareth had told her it would cause him grief if she was involved with another scoundrel, and she had sent away at least 7 more in the last 10 years.

She called for a goblin to take David's belongings away and decided to finally send word to Jareth.