1Okay, so this is a bit of a short chapter. I just wanted to get something out there for those of you that are reading, so you didn't think I was crapping out. Thanks to those that have commented and added this story to their alert. I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors that I or my spell check have missed. I have already written this story almost half way through, and am posting the new an revised edition. So some stuff gets over looked in the process of adding new ideas to old ones and getting them to work on paper. Again, thank you for reading and I hope you continue to do so and enjoy this tale.

-Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth. I'm sure you new that already.

Chapter 3: A Carsick King Makes for a Crappy Companion:

The alarm was a disturbance at 5:30 in the morning. As Sarah reached over to

turn it off, she cursed herself for committing to this early rise. She sat and turned toward the odd rumbling next to her. Did the Goblin King snore. She put a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle. There had been a time she doubted he even slept, let alone snored. He seemed much more human now than he had when she'd met him. Looks, however, are often quite deceiving.

Climbing from the bed, she opened the door softly and closed it behind her. She padded down the hall and stopped to listen. The whole house was quiet, her father having left for work, Karen snoring away in the master bedroom. Toby would be far off in dreamland. She grabbed towels from the hall closet and locked her self in the bathroom.

A hot shower and a pair of jeans later, she opened her bedroom door to find the Goblin Kind examining him self in her full length mirror. He was clad in dark blue jeans and a black button down dress shirt. His long slender feet looked odd in hiking boots. She let out a small laugh and he turned abruptly to give her hurt look.

"No, no," she held up her hands apologetically. "You look good. I'm just glad your not in a sweatshirt. I don't think I'm ready for that yet, not this early in the morning. You look just fine, I promise." She hid a smile as she stuffed the rest of her stuff into her suitcase.

Jareth puffed up, as usual, and preened like a parrot, smoothing his shirt and fluffing his hair. Sarah stopped and looked at him, sighing.

"About that. We, well, we just can't leave your hair like that."

"No, cutting it."

"Deal."

She obtained her father's hair gel and, 15 minutes later, had the King's hair down and back in some sort of suave yet subtle pony tail fastened at the base of his neck. She thought it looked rather dashing. Jareth, on the other hand, looked positively nauseous upon seeing his reflection. For once, though, he kept his mouth shut. Sarah shook her head, laughing to herself, and hoisted her suit case, leaving the King to puzzle over his new do. She went quietly down the stairs and out the kitchen door to the side driveway where she had parked. After loading her suitcase into the back seat, she went back inside.

Sarah started a pot of coffee and dug the families' camping thermos out of the cupboard. She pour the steaming black concoction in and sealed the lid. Jareth came down the stairs behind her, nose twitching at the odd smell. After all, he had never had coffee before. He looked around with disdain and then disappeared onto the porch.

Sarah rolled her eyes. She looked around and located a pen and a sticky note. She wrote Karen, letting her know that she would be gone a week and would resume her pageant duties upon her return. She smiled at the thought of Karen's face when she saw the note, which Sarah stuck to the luncheon reminder Karen had posted on the fridge. She gave the house one last look, wished she could have said good bye to Toby, and slipped outside.

She grinned to find Jareth examining the car in puzzlement. She opened her door and wedged the thermos between the seats. She then went around and opened his door for him. He looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Well..." she gestured. "Get in."

He frowned at her, and climbed very daintily into the seat. His legs were folded up, quite uncomfortably. She reached down and pulled the lever, moving the seat back to give him room. Jareth jumped, knuckles white on the dashboard. Sarah snicked and shut the door, walking around to climb in the drivers seat. Once in, she buckled, and then reached across him to fasten his seat belt as well. He tugged at it and glared at her.

"What in bloody hell-"

"It will keep you from flying through the windshield if we crash."

"Crash what?" came the forlorn response from the passengers seat.

Sarah turned the key, and Jareth started at the grumble of the engine. He gripped the side of the door and glared at her. Sarah giggled and backed out of the driveway. As she drove, she rolled down the window, sticking out her hand to feel the chilly morning air. It was slightly damp, refreshing, and full of promise. Shivering with anticipation, she accelerated, ignoring the grunt from a certain nervous King, and sped down the road. Feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time, Sarah smiled.

Yawning and stretching her hands above her head, Karen treaded drowsily down the stairs. The kitchen clock read seven AM. Her husband was long gone to work, and her sun still in bed until nine. And Sarah, lovely yet confusing Sarah. Karen saw a lot of her self in her step daughter. That girl had dreams bigger than any atmosphere in this universe. Karen remembered what it was like to be that young, that blind to how cold the real world was. She herself had wanted to be a singer, but had soon been knocked into reality by her strict father. Now, she was a homemaker with a business degree that sat on a shelf, gathering dust.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she walked to the coffee pot and reached for it. Gasping, she drew her hand away as the burn died down. Why was it hot? Karen looked around and noticed a piece of paper stuck to the fridge. She walked over and yanked it off. As her blue eyes scanned the scrawny penmanship, anger crawled through her. Her face reddened, and adrenalin pulsed through her veins. She would kill that girl. Infuriated, she whirled to yank down the cordless phone. Hastily dialing a number, she waited.

"Yes, George Williams please. Yes, yes, this is his wife."

Sarah pulled the car to a stop against the curb, taking a deep breath. Her nerves had been on edge ever since she had entered her aunts neighborhood. She hadn't seen her Aunt Diana since her mothers funeral. She had spoken top her on the phone a few times, but it seemed her father had tried, and suceeded, to distance her from anything that might remind her of her mother.

So, Sarah sat, staring at her aunt's house, with it's sky blue paint and sunny yellow trim. It look as if it were out of a magazine, with it's manicured lawn nearly overrun with flowers.

Jareth cleared his throat. He had had just about enough of this metal contraption. "Well, you are welcome to sit here all day long. I for one, am going inside."

He opened his door, after mush frustration, and sprung out. He stumbled, stretching his limbs. Sara groaned and opened her door. Climbing out, she too stretched and glanced around. It was about 9:15 AM and the houses around her were quiet. Sprinklers clicked in circles, spraying some of the yards in a fine mist. A paper boy trailed lazily down the side walk on his bike, throwing rolled papers half-heartedly at front porches. Taking a breath, Sarah made her way up the walk to the front deck.

Aunt Di met them on the porch, her hands in the air, a smile on her face. Sarah choked back a startled cry, for the woman before looked so much like her mother that it made her feel faint.

"Come in, come in!" She ushered them inside.

The house smelled of cinnamon and something heavier, probably incense. Diana was a vision in a draping yellow silk dress with small blue and pink flowers embroidered along the fabric. It reminded Sarah of a kimono. Diana swept through the house to the kitchen, arms waving in expression as she gave them the quick tour. Once in the kitchen, she filled the tea kettle, continuing on about the gallery and some art dealer from New York that had fallen in love with her work.

She turned, and her amber eyes fell upon Jareth. "Well, where are my manners. Sarah, you didn't tell me you were bringing your, well, your friend along."

Sarah smiled nervously. "Er, well, yes, this is my good friend, ah, Jared."

Jareth raised a brow at her before stepping forward to take her aunt's extended hand. Instead of shaking it, as Diana expected, he brought it to his lips and gently kissed the smooth skin on the back. "I am Jared. You are just as beautiful as Sarah described." He pronounced the 'd' at the end of his name with such ferocity that Sarah had to swallow a laugh. He hated it, but his real name invoked suspicion in anyone.

Diana was instantly won over, however, and didn't seem to notice the bite at the end of his words. "It's wonderful to meet you."

He stood to his full height and gently let her hand fall. "The pleasure is all mine," he purred.

Diana swallowed visibly, and Sarah rolled her eyes. Her aunt shook her head as if to clear it. "How about some toast and blackberry jam? I made it. I'll bet the two of you haven't had breakfast yet."

"I'll help you," Sarah said abruptly.

Jareth sat gracefully in one of the kitchen chairs. He watched with amusement at the obvious points that defined them as blood. The way they laughed and tossed their hair as they spoke to each other. They way their hands moved and the lilt of their voiced. Even the physical resemblances were uncanny. The long chocolate brown hair, which Diana had tinted red, and the dark eyes flecked with gold. If her mother had been standing with them, they would have seemed three sisters. Diana's eyes, nearly all amber-gold, Sarah's dark, but with golden light, and Linda's dark bottomless eyes. Linda's eyes had been the darkest of all. They could swallow you, he remembered fondly. Jareth shook the memory from his head. Instead, he observed the way the two present women interacted, the careful yet warm way they danced around the kitchen, preparing the toast. The 'Phelix the Cat' clock ticked 9:45. Jareth noticed the thorned vine tattoo that wrapped it's way up her wrist. She was glamourous in an undefined way, like a gem undiscovered except for the lucky few that fell across the chance to meet her. Jareth liked her, for she was a genuine personality, a trait that seemed strong with this blood line. Besides that, she made Sarah beam with a joy he so rarely saw her display anymore. For that, he was greatful to her slightly eccentric aunt.

Diana turned to face him, poised over the toaster. "Jared, I'm so sorry, so you even like blackberry jam? If you don't, I have strawberry, though it isn't home made."

"I adore blackberries." There he was, purring again.

Sarah, who stood behind her aunt, made a face at him. He was behaving rather oddly. She had a feeling this was her payback for the three hour car ride with no stops. She covered her mouth with her hand so as not to call him a scallywag, for that was the first thing that popped into her head.

The tea and toast was set out on the table, and the three settled to their breakfast. The conversation was light, consisting mostly of Sarah asking about her aunt's art, mostly glass sculpture and oil painting, and Diana answering and smiling. Sarah caught her up on all the pageant news. Diana made it quite clear she didn't care much for Karen, and considered the woman to be exploiting her niece. Sarah smiled, but chose not to speak, ill or otherwise, of her step mother.

10:30 brought the visit to the close, and Diana slipped the key to the cabin to her niece.

"Have fun, but not to much. If you need anything, call the general store and they'll send someone."

She waved them off with tears forming at the bottom of her eyes. Sarah waved out her window as they drove away.

"Lovely woman. Smitten with you, I must say." Jareth seemed much more relaxed now as he stared out his window.

"Yes, well, I'm sure she's as smitten with you now as she's ever been with me." Sarah smiled, shaking her head.

"Natural charm, what can I say?"

"Oh, I could say plenty, but I'm trying to be more of a lady these days."

The King snickered. "We'll see about that."

Yes, she thought, we shall see.