A laugh and the sound of rustling leaves made Sarah catch her breath and spin around. Immediately she saw that she was not in the presence of the great and powerful goblin king, and was almost disappointed not to be engulfed in a cloud of glitter. But as she recognized one of the figures pushing through the trees she paled.

"I wish I was any place but here." She whispered, but remained rooted to the spot where she stood.

The couple tumbled from the woods, entirely unaware of Sarah's presence. His hands were at her waist, his mouth was at her throat. Noticing Sarah, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. Just like Sarah had done barely a day before.

His smile slid off his face when his eyes met with Sarah's. He uttered a weak hello, and Sarah shot him a thin lipped smile.

"Enjoying the day at the park?" Sarah questioned, covering her voice with an obviously fake sugar. Her eyes narrowed and she did her best to shoot daggers out of them. He did his best to avoid her gaze, choosing instead to look at a spot above Sarah's head. This reluctance to meet her eyes annoyed Sarah too. "Good weather we're having." She added, but again she got no verbal response. He gave a weak nod, his eyes still locked on the space above her head. She glared again, doing her best to demand his attention with her eyes.

"Well, Sarah…," He stuttered and stumbled with his words, his eyes never leaving the spot over her head. "I guess we'd better get going." He retreated several steps, and continued to walk backwards and wave awkwardly. "I guess I'll see you at school." He tripped over his own feet a little, and stumbled. His eyes never broke contact with the space so close to Sarah. Still, he refused to meet her eyes.

"Leaving so soon?" A familiar voice crooned from behind Sarah. "And we hadn't even properly introduced ourselves. What a pity."

The boy now grabbed the hand of his female companion and spun around, dragging her behind him as he headed away in a strange almost run. Sarah turned around slowly, already knowing what (or rather, who) was behind her.

"Hello Sarah." He said, hands on his hips and a smirk playing across his lips.

"Hello Jareth." She said, trying her best to keep her tone impassive despite the fact that her heart had just leapt into her throat. "What are you doing here?" She questioned, whilst trying to take in the fact that he was there at all.

"My job." He answered. His smirk grew into something that Sarah almost mistook for a smile. He nodded his head toward the couple hurrying down the path. A goblin emerged from behind the bench that Sarah had been sitting on. It gnashed its pointy teeth together several times before hounding down the path on all fours. Sarah watched as the small goblin quickly caught up to the couple, and she did her best to stifle a laugh when it sunk its teeth into his leg.

Though the two were dwarfed by distance, Sarah nor Jareth had any difficulties hearing the reactions. "It bit me!" He screamed, and his shrill voice echoed for a moment. "I can't believe that it just bit me!" Her voice was raised too, but not out of concern. "That has to be the ugliest dog I have ever seen!"

Sarah glanced upwards at Jareth who was now (unmistakably) smiling broadly. As if sensing her gaze, he glanced downwards. Out of embarrassment, or perhaps something else, Sarah averted her eyes. She saw a stone wall. A stone wall which had most certainly not been part of the park scenery moments before.

She spun around, and found herself inside. The stone walls reached high, and in the center of the room was a throne. She was certainly no longer in the park anymore.

Jareth moved behind her and as she absorbed her change in surroundings.

"Welcome," he whispered softly into her ear. "To the castle beyond the goblin city."