A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this! I haven't abandoned the story, I promise! I've been very busy with work and school. I'm also writing a new fic for Greek mythology, the Hades and Persephone story. I've been updating that one more regularly, but I promise I'll start getting this one going again. Thanks for your reviews, and I hope you're not too disappointed in me for disappearing!


Year 3

Jareth

The Goblin King was full of paternal pride. His son was a fine, charming boy. It was his joy to present Toby with his first sword. Jareth's father had given him a sword when he was three, and it was fitting that Jareth now gave his own son a sword. It was hardly more than a long knife in his hand, but it was heavy and sharp for Toby. Though it was painful to watch, Jareth allowed Toby to cut his fingers on the blade. Toby jerked back, and began to cry when he saw blood from the minor nick.

Jareth knelt tenderly by his son. "Be careful," he said, "The blade is very sharp, and you could get hurt by it." Then he healed the wound, and placed a spell over the blade that it would not cut again. Jareth pulled out a second blade, and also put a blunting spell on it. Then the two of them began to play swords. Proper technique would come later; his son was only three. Right now it was about learning to handle the weapon.

Toby soon forgot his cut as he waved the sword wildly, trying to hit Jareth's. They mock dueled for a time, until Toby began to tire. Jareth "allowed" Toby to poke him in the stomach. He fell to his knees and pretended to be wounded. Toby dropped his sword in panic and ran to him. Jareth swept his son into a bear hug then blew raspberries on his tummy. Toby giggled and squirmed, and soon they were tickling each other until the boy was complete exhausted.

Jareth collapsed to the ground in mock defeat, while Toby sprawled across him.

"Love you, Daddy," Toby panted.

It was the sweetest thing the Goblin King had ever heard. He turned over and nestled Toby to his side.

"I love you too, my son," he said, and watched as his child fell asleep in his arms.

Though he was loathe to do it, Jareth was forced to take Toby's sword with him when the visit was over. It would not do to leave evidence behind. Every time he visited though, he brought the sword with him, and continued to teach Toby how to use it. When Toby was cleaning the blade, it was as sharp as when it had cut him so he would learn to respect it. When they practiced fighting against each other, it was dull as to prevent accidental injuries.

Toby quickly learned the difference, and was shaping up to be a very responsible swordsman.


Sarah

Sarah was graduating from high school this year. She had been accepted into the local community college, but had no idea what she wanted to study. All her other friends also graduating knew what they wanted to be. She heard everything from nurses to accountants, teachers and veterinarians. But nothing appealed to her.

Her parents were pushing her to get a business degree. She asked her friends from the Labyrinth what she should do. Hoggle was all for gardening, or maybe pest control. Ludo wanted to be a builder, and Sir Didymus suggested she should become a great military commander and lead her troops to glory. As much as those answers made her smile, none of them felt right to her.

She tried a variety of things to discover her interests. She tried acting like her mother, but quickly found that she was only chasing a dream that was never going to come true. Becoming a famous actress would not make her mother come back to her, so there was no reason to keep it up when she realized she didn't really like it. She wasn't any good at drawing, and was even worse when she tried creative writing. Teaching didn't appeal to her, and while she was smart, she had no passion for tallying numbers all day. She jokingly said she wanted to be a dog groomer for the rest of her life, but the looks of disapprobation on her parents' faces was enough to stifle that idea.

In the end, she enrolled under "general studies." She was young. She still had time to decide her future, right? In the summer between high school and college, she got a job at a video store. It was a crappy job, but any money coming in was better than none, and her parents were proud of her for working. The store manager was a few years older than her, and rather cute. She was awkwardly flattered when he started flirting with her. Despite the typical problems of workplace romances, not to mention the entire dating-the-boss complex, she agreed to go out on a date with him.

At the last moment, her parents had to attend a sudden convention for her father's work, and so she had to babysit Toby. Her boss was surprisingly willing to alter his plans and come to her house instead of going out. He got on well with Toby, and Sarah began to relax. That was, until he locked Toby in his room so he could try to make out with Sarah on the couch. She angrily threw her date out of the house and rescued her brother, who took the incident rather well.

The next day, she quit her job.