Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's note: For everyone that was wondering how Sarah and Jareth managed to have a daughter five years after the movie her you go.
Ch 2. The Deal
Sarah stared out her window at the full moon. She was eighteen now. It had been five years since she had defeated the labyrinth and she still couldn't stop dreaming about the goblin king. Maybe he wanted her to feel that way. Was it some kind of joke? Did her words hold no meaning after all? "You have no power over me." She had said it but did that make it true. It certainly felt like he had power over her and she was powerless to figure out how to make it stop. Maybe she could ask him. She had summoned him before. Maybe she could just make up a phrase to bring him to her.
She thought for a moment and sighed, "Goblin king, goblin king, wherever you may be, hear my call, come to me."
A moment passed and nothing happened. She turned from the window to go to bed. As she finished dressing into her nightgown she spotted an owl sitting on the branch just outside her window. Not sure if it was a coincidence she went to the window. It seemed to be looking away from her as though respecting her privacy as she had dressed.
"Jareth," she asked.
It turned it's head to look at her before letting out a hoot. Moving slowly so she wouldn't startle him she opened the window and moved aside to let him in. The owl flew in and transformed into a man in the center of her room. Sarah stood her ground showing no fear. The armor he had worn the first time she met him no longer intimidated her.
"Why have you called for me Sarah," he asked sadly.
"I want you to remove whatever spell you have placed me under. You've had your fun with me and I'm tired of your games. You should find someone else to toy with," she stated firmly.
"Spell? Sarah, what are you talking about? I have placed no spell over you," he seemed confused.
"Then why do you plague my dreams. My every waking thought. Toby seems to remember nothing of the goblin city yet I can't get it out of my head," she sat down on the bed trying to figure out a rational reason for her slipping sanity.
"Toby was too young to recall at the time. He could barely speak let alone maintain memory. To you though the labyrinth should feel more like a distant dream. Unless you are still speaking to Higgle and the others through your mirror," Jareth explained.
"I cut ties with them two years ago," she remembered saying goodbye for good when she was sixteen, hoping that turning her back on her friends would let her move on.
"Perhaps then you left something behind when you came home," he suggested.
"In that case it must be you that has it because you are the one I can't stop thinking about," she huffed.
"What are the nature of these thoughts of yours," he asked.
She gave him an irritated look, "Let's just say every date I've ever been o has ended with me calling the boy I was with by your name," she crossed her arms.
"Your heart," he said.
She lifted an eyebrow, "What?"
"You left your heart with me when you left my kingdom," he told her.
Confused she placed a hand over her chest and felt the thump of her heart in her chest. His hand came to rest over hers.
"Not your physical heart dear Sarah," he whispered.
Turning to face him she found that he was very close to her. He was sitting on the bed with her and was within her range of personal space yet she did not feel the urge to push him away like she once would have.
"So what am I supposed to do about it," she asked a bit flustered.
"That's up to you," he said leaning slightly closer, "You could either return to my kingdom with me and be my wife and queen or," he swallowed, afraid to give her the option to reject him again, "You can stay here and I will wipe the entire thing from your memory. Your heart will still long for me but you would become free to give it to someone else as you won't know the difference between the man you long for and the next one that courts you properly."
Her eyes had locked on his lips and she had to catch her breath, "I'm no queen. I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment. Wife is one thing but queen."
Seeing an opportunity he snatched it, "It doesn't have to be right away. I can give you time to prepare your heart for the title of queen. I'll leave you some books to read if you choose me. You can learn through them the social structure and politics of the Underground. You'd learn what would be expected of you as my queen. You can take as much time as you want if you marry me tonight. Once you become my wife you won't age."
She pulled back a little, scared by his words but not wanting to say no just yet, "Tonight? How would we set up a wedding that fast?"
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Wedding? What the heck is a…oh, right that's how marriage is bound in the Aboveground."
"Well how is it born in the Underground," she inquired.
He tried to think of how to help her understand, "We don't believe in pre-marital sex mainly because in the Underground there is no such thing as pre-marital sex."
She thought about that for a moment before it clicked, "Whoa, you mean we're supposed to…" she left off not wanting to say the rest. He nodded, "Don't there need to be witnesses?"
Now it was his turn to be shocked, "Why would you even think about making love with someone watching?"
"How will people know we're married if there are no witnesses," she asked.
"There would be a public announcement then a formal ball but I wouldn't tell anyone until you are ready to be queen," he answered, his voice still displaying his horrified shock.
It took a moment for that to settle her mind, "Oh, so we could just get married tonight without telling anyone until I'm ready?"
"Absolutely," he assured her.
She thought about that. He didn't want to interrupt her thoughts. This had to be her decision. The laws did not permit him to use force or trickery to court her. She had to choose him on her own. Finally after about five minutes she came to an idea of how to make this work best.
"Alright but there has to be a time limit," she looked at him seriously.
"Time limit," he decided to stop trying to keep track of how many times she would confuse, shock, or scare him tonight.
"Yes, I don't want an excuse to just keep you waiting and waiting and waiting for me to be your queen. I'll marry you tonight but I need a limit on how much time I have to prepare," she explained.
"Just name your limit. If you don't call on me before your time is up I will come take you whether you are ready or not," he replied.
"Ten years. Give me ten years and don't check in until I call you or run out of time. That way I won't resent you for taking me if I'm not ready because I'll have been longing for your attention anyway," she decided.
His heart ached at the thought of being cut off completely for that long but he nodded his agreement. He could handle that for her. It was better than nothing, "I should warn you first though. Once we are married there is no going back. It's permanently binding. That means no divorce, no till death do us part, no remarriage, no it was a mistake and it won't happen again. We will be bound heart and soul and that's it. There can never be anyone else no matter what. You won't ever even feel the need for another. Are you sure you want to limit yourself like that?"
"It sounds to me like you're afraid of having that limit placed on you," she smirked.
"It was too late for me the moment you defeated me but I had no idea that you would ever want me in return. I am already limited to you because of my magic and bloodlines but I can not bring myself to limit you if you are not absolutely sure of this," he wanted to stroke her cheek but that would only serve to be an attempt to draw her in when she needed to think for herself.
"I know it doesn't guarantee that we will never hurt each other or argue but at least it's something that's set in stone once the act is done. I don't mind being limited as long as I know I'll always have your love," she took a hold of his hand which had at some point left her heart to rest in his lap.
"You've had my love for five years. I just haven't been allowed to express it until now," he squeezed her hand gently.
She knew her decision and she wasn't going to let him talk her out of it. She leaned forward and kissed him gently. Gratefully he kissed back. Luckily Sarah's Father and step-mother had taken Toby to visit some relatives and were staying the night so no one disturbed them by coming to investigate the noises coming from her room.
~~~~~3~~~~~
Jareth moved to get dressed so he could leave when Sarah reached out and grabbed his hand to prevent him from leaving the bed.
"You don't have to go yet do you? I don't mind if you stay a while," she said.
He smiled and laid back down beside her. She cuddled up to him and held on to him as though he would disappear if she let go. He held her just as tightly wishing he never had to leave her side. She started talking to him an asking a lot of personal questions. It seemed she wanted to have more to hold onto for the next ten years than one hour of love making and the promise of forever. She wanted to know more about him and was fully willing to answer all his questions about her. It was not until the sun rose at dawn that they realized she'd gotten no sleep that night. Reluctantly he pulled himself out of her arms. She whined and tried to keep a hold on him.
"I know you want me to stay my dear but I have duties to fulfill as king of the goblin realm and you need to get some sleep," he snapped his fingers to dress himself and her.
"I'm not ready to say goodbye yet," she had tears in her eyes and barely noticed the sudden appearance of her nightclothes on her body.
He hated disappointing her but they both knew this moment was inevitable from the moment they sealed their marriage. He summoned some books from his library and placed them on her dresser before returning to the bed.
"If you promise no more talking I'll stay until you fall asleep. Then I will go home to my kingdom and you will remember everything when you wake as clearly as day," he gave in to her pleas for him to stay.
She nodded and he climbed back under the covers. He held her as she fought to stay awake as long as possible. He chuckled at her attempts to fend off sleep and kissed her forehead. After about an hour she finally couldn't last any longer.
Unable to resist the urge to speak she told him one last time how she felt before she drifted off, "I love you Jareth."
"I love you too my darling Sarah," he gave her sleeping form a gentle kiss and rolled her onto her other side to free his arm without waking her.
She settled into her new position and curled up into herself to stave off the cold of winter. Both of them had forgotten the open window. He closed it and pulled her blankets gently over her to help her warm back up. A tear slipped from his brown eye as he placed one final kiss on her temple before teleporting back to his room in his castle.
"Sire," one of his guards had been waiting for him, "Are you alright? You look tired. Shall I get the healer to see if you are ill?"
"No," he whispered not trusting his voice at the moment, "Just tell Alessa to deal with my duties for the day. I need to rest."
He returned to his bed as the servant left and let himself fall into the first restful sleep he had had in five years.
The End…of this part of the story.
Author's note: Alright this has been a long time in coming. To those of you who have already read what I've posted of Witch in Training I'm glad you like it enough to visit the prequel. If you found this story first Welcome and I hope you will read about the result of the events of this story in Witch in Training. Reviews loved. Constructive criticism accepted. Questions answered upon my reading of them.