I know it's been a year guys, but I feel like it isn't necessary to explain main long overdue absence from the fanfiction community. Life becomes more demanding as we age and, well, I had to obey the responsibilities put on me during my first year of college. I literally gave up writing in order to complete the heavy workload given both semesters, and I've been working nonstop this summer with additional classes on my plate. Countless hours of listening Placebo songs brought me back to my happy place and inspired me to write this chapter. This chapter is twice as long - an informal apology to any of the readers that I have left.

The glass of Sarah's bedroom vanity melted around the skin of her arms like butter, and soon she felt a falling sensation take hold of her body as if she were Alice plummeting towards Wonderland. Except, instead of that sense of anticipated amazement the fairytale figure experienced on her way down, Sarah felt unrestrained dread. She was aware that Oriyn had stolen her without her consent, without a thought or a moment's hesitation the second Jareth appeared in her bedroom. It gave Sarah the impression that there was an eminent rivalry between the two significant figures currently in her life, whether she wanted them there or not, and she was determined to find out the circumstances upon which this rivalry had begun, for she had been thrown straight into the center of it. Confusion plagued her thoughts as she fell farther into the darkness. The oxygen fueling her focused train of thought and desperate intakes of breath grew less present in the air until she could no longer inhale. Sarah reached with grasping hands around her, hoping to take hold of an object or an invisible ledge that would stop her from sinking to any lower depth than where she was now, but to no avail. The moment her breath had completely left her lungs, her body flailing aimlessly into oblivion, Sarah dropped roughly onto the shimmering terrain of the Underground. She recovered quickly from the fall, uttering nothing more than an annoyed groan, taking sharp breaths as she rose to her feet and twisted around, her dark curls bouncing to and fro as Sarah finally realized where she was.

"What the—?" she exclaimed. Oriyn followed through the metallic liquid of the mirror after her, falling lightly towards the diamond-like rocks and landing on his feet. "What just happened?" Sarah declared.

Oriyn pulled his lips into a tight smile and bowed slightly to her, stating in a very simple and gracious manner, "I saved you from the attempted kidnapping planned by the Goblin King."

"I don't believe you," Sarah retorted, her tone growing from annoyed to beyond angry the more Oriyn's satisfied grin grew on his face.

"You don't have to believe anybody, dear Sarah. You are here on your own free will—"

"Free will?" Sarah laughed bitterly. "Does dragging me through an inanimate object in my bedroom in the dead of night without my consent make it free will? I have a life back there, a family who loves me, an education on the verge of being finished. I was on my way to becoming something, regardless of the pitfalls I've encountered so many times in my life, and that includes this place," Sarah spat. "I have been nothing but tricked here. The friends I made in the Underground have not appeared to me since the night of my visit to this place no matter how many times I have asked for them. As soon as I took my leave of this world, life has been more than difficult in mine, but I have trudged through it without complaint." Her words left her in a state of morose remembrance; the tears welling in her eyes equally matching the passionate emotions evident in her tone. Sarah could do nothing but stand there and feel the flush of her cheeks heat her face for embarrassing herself in front of a man she barely knew, and had no intention in the entirety of the world to trust.

Oriyn's expression remained immovable and impassive, his face beautifully carved of nothing but refracting gems and stone as he watched Sarah's mortal weaknesses surface. She had started to crack already, and this satisfied him immensely. Excellent.

"Is that trickery you have experienced in the Underground any different from Above? I have seen more than enough suffering from the world in which you inhabited. You see, Sarah," he jibed, his boots grinding against the Underground floor as he turned towards her, "the trickery you witnessed in your first stay in the Underground was all on Jareth's part—it is second nature to the Fae of his court. The Labyrinth itself deceived you. But we are neither in the Labyrinth nor the kingdoms beyond his kingdom right now, are we? The Aboveground's deception is just as equal as the Underground's, but the deception of the Above is unavoidable once it has trapped you in the harsh reality you humans are so obstinate to live in. As soon as you feel that tiny fraction of failure flooding your system," Oriyn stepped forward, making a pinching motion with his fingers for effect, "your desires escalate. You begin to put your heart and soul into those petty desires in order for you to overcome the previous loss. It is all a cycle of tragedy—" Oriyn's tone softened. "Do you not see that you are fulfilling this cycle, Sarah, merely living in a world where no greatness will come to you?"

She flinched back from his words as if he had just stabbed her, hitting her at her most vulnerable state, but Sarah was good at hiding her fears and she made certain Oriyn would have a first-hand encounter with her will to defy.

"You lie." Sarah whispered. "What's the meaning of me being born Aboveground if I could never achieve any form of greatness in my life? What's the significance of my existence if I am merely living a cycle?" At those questions Oriyn smirked, a knowing and mischievous smirk, as if he had prior knowledge of something that had not come to fruition in Sarah's mind yet.

"You do not have a purpose in the Aboveground because your destiny lies in the Underground, whether you wish to address this fact or not. Now enough questions, Sarah dear. May I simply ask that you put aside this argument for another time and accompany me to my castle? There is much to know, and too little time to ask." Oriyn swept an arm in front of him, taking a single glance back at Sarah to beckon her onwards. She crossed her arms, thin-lipped and immobile. "Please, Sarah. I insist." His pointed teeth, a startling likeness to Jareth's smile, both threatened and beguiled. Sarah blinked momentarily, praying that the chill passing through her spine was one of disgust and not self-gratifying temptation. With the utmost regret, Sarah moved her feet one after the other until she was keeping pace with Oriyn's long strides.


Jareth was livid. Fraught with apprehension. Today would be a day of bitter strife indeed if what he had feared would come to pass quicker than he imagined. His footfalls quickened with every second that ticked by, Thalia trailing several meters behind as he approached the dwelling of the Oracles. What could he do now that Oriyn has Sarah in his possession? He is certainly no match for the Unseelie King, and everything that occurred up to this moment made him fear the worst for Sarah. Foolish girl, he thought. Foolish me.

"Your majesty," Thalia beseeched. "Do not think that you have failed! There is still hope—"

"My dear, this hope that you speak of does not sound very promising as of late," he reproached, continuing at a fast pace up the hillside until he reached the rim of the Stonehenge. "The Oracles will either affirm or deny that I have failed, for I did not expect so much as the prophecy being laid to rest with Sarah Aboveground."

The grounds that encircled the ancient land were silent, as if holding their breath for the Goblin King's call to the astral plane beyond. Jareth approached the outer edge of the circle and whispered in quick, low tones, brushing his hand along the stone as the language of the Elders emerged from his lips. Monarchs strictly had knowledge of this language, for it allowed the royals to communicate with their ancestors that laid the very foundations of the Fae into Underground soil. It allowed a glimpse at what has already passed and what has yet to come; an opportunity to fix the damage before it would ever begin to take root. Once the Goblin King finished the incantation, he was allowed passage into the center of the Stonehenge. The circle glowed as he put a foot in, and with each precise step Jareth made toward the center, the circle became brighter. Three beautiful women emerged from the haze swallowing the circle as a defense mechanism for intruding outsiders, one different in stature and physicality from the other. They stood in remote tranquility on three opposing sides of the circle to form a trinity, the Goblin King in the center.

"It has been quite a while since we last exchanged words with you, Jareth," the tallest of the Oracles spoke, her smooth alabaster face lacking any ounce of emotion as the words withdrew from her lips.

"Five mortal years," the second Oracle informed.

"What brings you here, Goblin King? The prophecy has been spoken," the third inquired.

Jareth lowered his head, bowing slightly at the waist in due respect for the seers. "I am here to request what must be done to ensure that the mortal from Above, Sarah Williams, will not fall into the darkness of the Unseelie Court." His lips quivered, humiliated at what he was about to say next. "She is in the High King's possession. The Unseelie King. I had failed to retrieve her before this misfortune had befallen us."

The three Oracles inclined their heads towards one another, speaking in a language inaudible to Fae ears, their mouths barely moving an inch. A few minutes passed in silence, and once again the tallest lowered her eyes to Jareth to speak on the others' behalves, "All is not lost, Jareth. You have failed to retrieve Lady Sarah, but the prophecy has not come to pass. It is her choice, Goblin King, neither yours nor the Unseelie King's as much as Oriyn wishes to seize control of her condition with all of his power. Remember what you have been taught over the hundreds of years of preparation for your kingship: where there is darkness, there is light. Where this is despondency, there is hope. A war is not lost until the king himself surrenders to his enemy's mercy. You will encounter Sarah's presence several times before her heart decides where it belongs. Time will be in your favor. But you, the master of time herself, must be prudent in its usage."

"What must I do to convince her of belonging with the Seelie Court? Sarah is not yet aware that she is part Fae, and surely she is being influenced by the second under Oriyn's watchful eye. I cannot tolerate the idea that this corruption might succeed—"

"You know in the very depths of your being what you must do." The Oracle's eyes were penetrating as they peered into Jareth's. "These are the words of the past, present, and the future. Heed them well."

And in a moment, the circle's light diminished along with the presence of the Oracles, leaving Jareth and a curious Thalia standing empty-handed and alone against the backdrop of the evening sky. The Goblin King stepped from the inner circle of the Stonehenge, grasping Thalia's hands in his own. She kissed both of his hands to comfort him and watched what once was a face filled with worry turn into a stony countenance—the face the public knows best of the Goblin King.

"I will not let her slip from my grasp once again," he whispered. "If I have to put my life at stake in order to win this war Oriyn intends to start, then so be it. I will restore order to the Underground, and Sarah will help me do it."


"And here is the west wing of the castle. I find it's the lovelier of the two wings—my court spends quite a large amount of time here," Oriyn grinned, looking at Sarah from the corner of his eye to see her take in her surroundings. She spun in a slow circle, looking very attentively at the winding halls stretching beyond the entranceway she was standing in next to the parlor. The room was detailed in 12th to 13th century Gothic architecture, leaning slightly towards French Gothic, Sarah noted inside her head. Its stained glass windows stretched into the high cathedral ceilings decorated in several black crystal chandeliers, welcoming the complex networks of lightly metallic sculptures embedded into the walls. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Sarah jumped at the feeling of Oriyn's breath fanning against her ear as he whispered to her, standing at a proximity that had been far too close for comfort. Her heart thudded against her chest uncomfortably. "The castle itself is over five millenniums old, but it still stands proud and even more magnificent than in its early days." His gaze pierced through her back as she turned from him. Sarah didn't respond to his obvious pride in everything involving his domain. Instead, she took in the circumstances that led up to this point, the gears turning in her head rather quickly.

She had been silent and willing while Oriyn familiarized her with the castle, refraining from asking anything out of hand that would anger him in case he was prone to dangerous outburst. But Sarah noticed how quickly his mood had calmed as it adapted to the sheer darkness and temptation the environment of the structure provided, and thought it was appropriate to spring her notions on him now. In a swift move, she turned to face him, asking so boldly it caught Oriyn by surprise. "You never told me your station in the Underground, what is it? What makes you so much of a threat to the Goblin King?" she inquired, the flash of interest in her mysterious orbs made Oriyn raise a brow in question.

"Well," he began, "my dear Sarah, let me thoroughly apologize that I did not formally introduce myself. I am Oriyn, High King of the Unseelie Court, a weaver of temptation and pleasure for those who seek it." Oriyn's unnaturally violet eyes glimmered with mischief; he declined admitting that he is also the master of the shadows, nightmares, and the infamous Unseelie Hunt. No need to strike terror into her heart when she's still a significant component to this game, he reminded himself. "As for Jareth," Oriyn looked down at Sarah with absolute intensity. "Let's just say that we originate from courts that do not get along. We have been rivals for centuries."

She blinked in an irresolute manner, trying to disconnect the stare of the Unseelie King from becoming too focused on the emotions dancing across her features at a rapid speed. Sarah crossed her arms as a poor attempt to shield herself from Oriyn, as if she could protect herself from a being whose power is superior in each and every way. Raising her eyes to the level of his, she let out her final question of the evening, the most important of them all, "I don't particularly buy that story of yours claiming that the Goblin King intended to kidnap me. If he wished to kidnap me, he could have stolen me away when time allowed. Why was he so anxious to take me away from you?" Her eyes narrowed on him. Oriyn didn't look the least bit stressed at this question, but before he could give her the answers she needed, they were interrupted by the dreadfully sweet voice of a woman behind them

"Your majesty. What a pleasure it is to see you at so late an hour." The woman accentuated the word pleasure in a low, intimate tone. Her eyes swept over his body in delight, making Sarah cringe slightly at the woman making it completely obvious that she lusted over what she was seeing.

"Ah, hello, Cordelia," greeted Oriyn. Cordelia fell into a habitual curtsy, looking up at the Unseelie King from under her dark lashes. The woman was indeed very striking to the eyes—her hair cascaded down her back in chestnut waves, a tint of red reflecting off of it as the strands struck the candlelight in the right place. She was quite tall, as are most Fae, and unexpectedly curvaceous in figure. At first glance, Sarah would find her appear to be a pleasant person. However, it was her face that hindered her from finding favor in Cordelia. The woman's eyes were as black as charcoal, her lids slightly lifted at the corners in a feline-like angle. Her body was positioned in a constant anticipatory stance, shifting unnaturally when she sensed the slightest disruption around her. Undeniably feline. Cordelia's small mouth twisted into a territorial smile once she caught sight of Sarah standing to the right of Oriyn.

"And who is this charming creature?" she questioned.

"This is Sarah Williams, the Champion of the Labyrinth." A corner of Oriyn's mouth lifted at Cordelia's imminent shock. "Sarah, this is Cordelia, she is one of the courtiers that frequents the Unseelie Court… among other things."

"Pleased to meet you," Sarah mustered a smile of her own, but it came out as a tight-lipped grin.

"Well then," she breathed, "it is an honor to stand in your presence, Lady Sarah." Cordelia moved closer and planted on kiss on both sides of Sarah's face, pulling back to give her another feral smile. She felt a current of malicious intent cut through her at the touch of the Fae. "Welcome. I trust that his majesty is treating you well. Have you been shown where you will be staying?"

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief when Cordelia mentioned such a suggestion, for she was exhausted. The urge to sleep abruptly overwhelmed her, and she couldn't contain the unrestrained yawn for effect.

"I'm afraid he hasn't. Can I see the rest of the west wing another day, perhaps? Lord knows how long I will be staying here, based on your willingness to tell me the reason why I am in the Underground in the first place." She turned to Cordelia and aimed to fall into what she hoped was a decent curtsy, suddenly aware that she had no skirt or dress to press her hands into. "It was very nice to meet you, Cordelia," she repeated.

"Likewise." Cordelia shot one last look at Oriyn, licking her lips without thinking. "Your majesty."

Oriyn and Sarah went in the opposite direction of Cordelia, furthering their walk into the west wing of the palace. Several flights of stairs were climbed until they had reached their destination, Sarah never questioning the Unseelie King once until they ended their walk at an ebony door. "Not to point fingers, but Cordelia seems like she'd be a terror to have in court. She was far less pleasant than the man we saw earlier, Kayne, I think," Sarah remarked, her lips perking into the first smile she's shown since arriving in the Underground.

The Unseelie King laughed, waving his hand in a motion that opened the door, replying, "Yes, she is. My biggest regret is bedding her the year she first arrived in court. She's been a little… desperate since then to impress me enough to consider her as a lover again."

Sarah wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You slept with that woman? What could have possibly convinced you to be that intimate with her?"

Oriyn shuffled her into the room, a hand lightly pressing into her back as she walked into the open space of her bedchambers. "Well, she is quite easy on the eyes, I cannot deny. Nevertheless, she was a bore in bed. I let her beguile my other subjects as she pleases, which makes her more of a courtesan than a courtier." She forced back a laugh at his last endeavor to humor her. He stepped back, hoping Sarah approved of her quarters. She moved about the room for a minute or two in awe of how large and magnificent it looked, turning to and fro until she inclined her head to stare back at Oriyn. A tiny smile pulled at her lips.

"Thank you. The room looks very comfortable."

"I trust you'll find it beyond comfortable. There is a powder room through the door to your right, and I'm confident that you will enjoy all of the accommodations I have prepared for you in your wardrobe as well as your vanity. I had a maid assigned to you for when you wake in the morning. She will dress you early tomorrow morning and prepare you for breakfast with me sharply by eight o'clock." Oriyn pulled a watch out of his jacket pocket, observing the hands that told him it was well past midnight and a quarter till thirteen o'clock. "Well, Sarah, I have arranged for the fireplace to be lit and your nightclothes to be laid out in the powder room." He stepped forward, an arm curled behind his back while the other reached for her hand. Bending down, his lips lowered to press a soft kiss into the back of her hand. Sarah took notice of the curling shadows holding to his figure as he rose to his full height. "I bid you goodnight, my lady."

At his last words, the Unseelie King walked to the open door of the room, pausing for one more second. "And Sarah? Please don't wander the castle without me escorting you. I'm afraid some parts of the castle are… dangerous. I would hate to see your face ruined by such an unfortunate mishap." Oriyn turned back around and silently closed the door behind him, leaving Sarah to herself at last.

She let out the breath she had been holding for the past several minutes, resigning to dressing into the clothes set out for her and crawling into the bed as soon as possible. The silken sheets and goose feather pillows loosened Sarah's taut muscles considerably, and without a second thought worrying her commonly troubled mind, she nodded off into a fatigued sleep.

Sarah felt herself slipping away, drifting aimlessly about in a pit of dark, wondering if this entire circumstance was a dream within a dream—an illusion her overtly imaginative mind could create over the span of five years. Was she Aboveground again, tucked under the softness of familiar sheets in the midst of summer, dreaming up her desired life she cynically struck down at the tender age of fifteen? Or, perhaps, was she doomed in the Underground as she had originally thought, detained in a kingdom ruled by the polar opposite of Jareth? Sarah stretched a hand out into the darkness, hoping to steady herself into a standing position in order to fully explore her surroundings. She hadn't slept in over a day, and it struck her curiosity that the lesser the sleep she had, her dream world appeared to plummet nonsensically into oblivion. Could it be a result of her unexpected residence in the Underground, the world that mortals often traveled to when their spirits were set loose from their bodies, the world that contained the very substance of dreams, which was the cause of her dreamless sleep?

She pressed a palm to her forehead in frustration, stomping her foot in mindless effort as if to state that this made no sense whatsoever. And just then, the sole of her foot hit solid ground, igniting a source of light that spread upwards, downwards, and diagonally until the room lit from the inside-out. There seemed to be no particular location for the room in which she stood in, but the scenery depicted looked very similar to a room she could accidentally stumble upon in the Underground. Books rose in tall stacks throughout the room, filling bookcases and any empty spaces left behind on a hard surface. There were several scrolls and letters sprawled across a desk that were pressed together with a wax seal bearing a symbol that clicked with familiarity in her head, though she couldn't put her finger on just where she had seen it. Fabrics adorning the windows and walls were decorated in an intricate stitching people of her world could only dream of weaving, and the bordering panels outlining the room had been carved with care and painted in gold—whoever resides in this room certainly lived a life of luxury and fortune, for it was a room fit for a king.

"Sarah?" a voice called out, rich in tenor and velvety in tone… and frighteningly memorable. Gradually, she turned, her hand reaching up and lightly brushing against her throat in utter shock at the man standing before her. Jareth appeared just as surprised as she, though he only gave the secret of his bewilderment away in his eyes; his posture remained heavily composed, calm with an edge of anxiety lying dormant within him.

She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and preventing her from speaking a word in her defense. "How did I get here?" The question left her in almost a whisper, but the silence of the room made it easily audible to even the least sensitive ears. "Am I in a dream?"

Jareth shifted in his stance, moving from the other end of the room and walking towards the seat at his desk. The slightest movement set Sarah on edge, and she found herself taking a step away with each footfall that brought the Goblin King closer. He was real, alive, and communicating with her through his expressions as if he had seen her for the first time in his life. Their faces mirrored each other's in confusion, and Sarah grew irritated with him when she realized he had not shown any relief that she was standing before him in the complete safety of her mind. Hadn't he tried to steal her away just as Oriyn said? Didn't he want her?

"It appears so," Jareth stated. "A dream that you conjured from your own mind and pulled me into." He paused for a long moment. "This was not of my doing," he defended. "Sarah—"

"I didn't choose to go through the mirror with him. I didn't take his hand," she declared, wringing her hands in frustration. Sarah's eyes locked with Jareth's unintentionally, and she could faintly detect his present vexation in the atmosphere of the room. "I… I had no intention of returning here in the first place." She looked down, avoiding the scrutiny of his eyes as she continued, "I haven't been in contact with anyone from this place since the day I left it. It was kind of assumed that since my friends wouldn't return my call for them as the years passed, I had to move on. I didn't feel like I was… wanted anymore." The word left her quivering lips in a saddened manner, and Jareth immediately took in the sight of a much less spirited Sarah, the shadow of her former self. She was neither relentless in her will, nor aiming to defy his claims that it was not entirely his fault that she was here in the first place. Sarah was, in short terms, emotionally dead to him, but he couldn't show his need to comfort and admire her. His affections towards Sarah Williams were utterly fruitless to his cause at the moment. For now, all that could be done to benefit Sarah's situation is to warn her.

"Sarah, there are things occurring in the Underground that are the reason as to why your life in the Above has been most disagreeable. I cannot explain at this moment, however. He may be watching us." Jareth's obvious disgust for the man that had Sarah under his watchful eye by sheer force shone through in the change of tone in his voice. Sarah looked around the room reflexively, thinking she could spot his face in the reflection of the mirrors. Oriyn hasn't given her any reason to suspect he was up to foul play thus far—he had courteously brought her into the comfort of his home, introduced her to a few members of his court, and given her the comfort of a fully furnished room without asking for anything from her in return. Sure, he had stolen her away from the Aboveground at the sight of Jareth urging her to come with him instead, not explaining any of Jareth's reasoning behind what Oriyn called a "kidnapping," but he promised in due time that she would receive the answers she desired. What gave her the right to trust either of them when Sarah was getting separate stories from the two kings?

"If he were watching us, Goblin King, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. I would be in a rather different dream, without you in it," she observed.

The comment stung him, but Jareth was so fixed on letting Sarah see it his way, that he ignored the urge to shoot a clever remark back at her.

"You would be surprised at what the Unseelie King is capable of."

"And you should trust that I can handle any danger that comes in my way," she shot at him. Her determination flared through those unusual green eyes he had always been captivated with, making him stifle back a smile of satisfaction that the old Sarah had not entirely left him. He found her drawing closer to him as their argument progressed, his breath sharply inhaling at how captivating she had become in a mere five years. Her waist thinned considerably, rounding over a set of hips supporting long and slim legs. Jareth couldn't deny that her breasts had grown satisfactorily, her creamy neck becoming longer and her face growing thinner, bringing out the subtle fullness of her lips and the height of her cheekbones. She appeared to him as a woman now, not a fifteen year old teenager full of raging hormones and angst. Beautiful, but still so dangerous and cruel. "Above all, you should be the one to know that, Goblin King."

"And you still aim to defy every warning I kindly give you. There's a reason he is the Unseelie King, Sarah. Your expertise on mythology should inform you well enough of that," he cleverly bit back. They were a little more than three feet from each other now, distracted so easily by the quarrel that neither had realized they were moving towards the other like magnets.

"You are both of the same race, which puts the two of you on equal footing telling me that I should not trust either one of you." She had herself guarded emotionally, putting an invisible wall up between herself and Jareth out of fear for what he could do to her, because she couldn't hold back the feeling that she wanted to trust him. "It wasn't my decision to get pulled from my life. I would love to know the reasoning behind all of this, but neither of you will muck up the courage to tell me."

Jareth put a hand against his face, taking in low, deep breaths to keep his temper under control. This woman is so insufferable. "You wouldn't like to hear the truth, Sarah. There are things you don't know about—"

"Yes, yes. I think I got that part about a billion times from Oriyn already. I haven't been threatened, mistreated, or challenged thus far by either of you… but everyone is hiding something from me. Honest to god I feel like I'm on a chessboard and both sides haven't moved yet! I haven't had a decent night's sleep in two days, I'm being held hostage against my will in a king's castle even though I'm not being treated as a one, and now I'm in a dream with another king who is leading the discussion absolutely nowhere. I thought coming back here would patch things up—I thought it meant my life would mean something again, and look where I ended up," she huffed. Jareth stood silent for a moment, taking in blow after blow of Sarah's pent up distress at the situation she is in. He smirked at their nearness now, resisting the urge to claim her lips with his own right then and there as she curiously looked up at him. A blush stained her cheeks beautifully once her thoughts wandered into the similar range of ideas he was having.

"I think we have reached an impassable point in our argument. I can do nothing to reclaim you from his palace, and I find I cannot convince you of how dangerous he can be when humans enter his realm. I only wish that you have enough sense of mind to rely on no one's word during your stay in the Underground." Jareth turned his back to Sarah, beginning to walk towards the door of his office; the exit to this dream world and a portal into the next. Sarah's hand reached out to grasp his arm before he could move any further.

"Jareth, wait." It was the first time his name left her lips on a whim, and he couldn't help but feel his chest tighten at the sound of it expiring from her mouth. He shifted to some extent in order to face her, staring expectantly. "I don't know who to believe when it comes to both of your motives… but I can take care of myself. I can figure this out without either of you telling me a thing. I'm sure of it." Sarah was perfectly sincere in her strength of mind as she watched Jareth's countenance change from disheartened to auspicious in a second.

Without thinking, the Goblin King leaned down as if to kiss her, his lips hovering an inch from hers. Sarah's breath hitched in her throat, and her eyes closed shut in the moment, waiting for him to ultimately close the gap between them. Their breaths were united as one in the silence of the room, the sentiments of both spilling into the heavy atmosphere like a fog. She needed this as well as he. It had been so long since thoughts of him in this manner came to her mind, and she felt herself wanting it first hand from the Goblin King himself… wanting him. Though, in spite of these needs, Jareth pulled away, reaching for Sarah's hand and pressing his thin lips to her pale skin.

His final words reverberated in her mind for the remainder of her sleep, "Goodnight, Sarah, and remember."