Some more author's notes: Thank you for all your reviews, especially AmericanWoman. Your reviews definitely provide a basic outline for things that I need to cover in the next chapter. Thank you! :)

Chapter Six: Feelings

Lydia's eyes opened slightly. All she could see was the grey fabric of the itchy blankets that covered her. But now she could hear something new—someone screaming Sarah's name. It sounded far away, and Lydia wondered if it was where Sarah was.

She thought she should wake up. Obviously something was happening, and she should be awake to witness it, despite the fact that she could not possibly do so from the small room she was confined to. Curiosity demanded that she get up and go to the window—maybe she could see something. She ignored the urge and instead, pressed her hands tightly over her ears.

I'm too tired.

Sarah writhed on the ground, struggling uselessly against the strength of the voice.

It's Jareth—the thought was just stating what she already knew and had not yet put into words. It didn't sound like him, but there was still no doubt that it was him. He's going to kill me!

A few of the Goblins in the throne room watched their king with interest. His eyes were tightly shut and his mouth was slightly opened, pressed against the crystal in his hand. They weren't concerned, nor did they care what he was doing—they thought he looked funny.

Jareth was completely focused on Sarah. He didn't notice the Goblins and their chuckles. He wouldn't have cared if he did—punishment could come later. There were more important things.

He felt Sarah fighting. He couldn't stop until she gave up—he didn't know if she was fighting to get back to the flowers or just to get free. Until he was sure she had no more desire to look at them, he couldn't let her go.

He wasn't entirely comfortable with the fact that he was breaking rules for Sarah. He knew he would do anything for her, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that others might find out. There was no logical way they could do so, but still, what if other girls from Aboveground learned and expected him to hold their hands and guide them through the trickery of his Labyrinth? It would be no great bother—just an inconvenience as he would have to deal with them all whining about how unfair it was. His image was what would suffer the most. They would no longer fear him.

But it was a small price to pay. A very small price.

Eventually, Sarah resigned herself to her fate and lay still.

Almost immediately, the voice disappeared.

Apprehensively, she sat back up. She was certain the voice would come back in a moment.

She saw the flowers on the ground. They had been crushed into the dirt. Sarah instantly realized how the forest was magical. It was like the peach, just a way to distract her and make her forget her task. That's why Jareth had taken her from the Bog of Eternal Stench.

So why did he break the spell?

Sarah stood up quickly. She knew she had to get out of the forest soon. She didn't know how much time she had spent there, and that scared her. There have to be more traps.

A path began several feet away. Sarah ran for it. I can't waste any more time!

I should have known she would think the worst of me.

Jareth wished he had left her to enter the Bog of Eternal Stench. The point had been to prevent her from hating him more than he could reverse. He wasn't sure how she felt about him, but he was certain there was something—some small spark he could work with in the three hours he would have with her. Unless, of course, he accidentally extinguished it in his attempts to help her.

He was pleased when she stayed on the main path and ignored the smaller one branching off. At the speed she was going, she would not be able to avoid falls into oubliettes or the Bog of Eternal Stench.

The Magical Forest was unusual in that the main path was the one that led you closer to the castle. That was mostly because the spell of the forest would convince you that more flowers would be found along the smaller, less traveled paths. Now that Sarah was no longer under the spell, Jareth hoped she would not think taking another path would be the clever thing to do.

I wonder how big this forest is, Sarah thought as she stopped to take a rest. She leaned against a tree, carefully adverting her eyes from the flowers all around. She couldn't wait to get out.

There were too many flowers, and so many of them seemed to be growing in the shafts of sunlight, making them all the more difficult to ignore.

Sarah's mind turned back to her previous question—why had Jareth broken the spell? He took her into the Magical Forest himself. His motives about that confused her until she had been released from the trance. He had obviously wanted her there, spending the rest of her time watching the glimmer of the petals. Had he changed his mind? Had it been an accident? Was he planning better things for her?

Sir Didymus! Sir Didymus will help me if I turn around and go back to the Bog of Eternal Stench! Oh, why didn't I think of that before?

Maybe that had been Jareth's motivation for taking her into the Magical Forest. But, no. That would mean he didn't want her falling under the forest's spell in the first place.

Sarah turned to stare back down the path in the direction she had come. Could she risk going back to find Sir Didymus? It's my best chance. He knows the way to the castle. But there were so many flowers between her and the doors. And did they even open from this side? She had made the right choice when she chose the left door, albeit unknowingly. Then the Goblin King had messed it up. She could be halfway to the castle by now!

Why does he do this to me? Sarah could think of nothing she had done to deserve it. She had never hurt him, had she? Oh, she had refused his offers of his love, but that was because he just wanted to distract her. If she had stayed with him, he wouldn't have let Toby go. And he soon would have tired of her. So where would that leave her? She and Toby would be Goblins.

Sarah tried to ignore the way those thoughts made her feel. Setting her sights on the Goblin King was aiming way too high. She had believed it could happen when she read the book and played her games in the park, but when she actually met him, all her hopes had faded.

Maybe if I were beautiful, or magical, or interesting, or talented….

"I just need to get out of this Labyrinth and forget about him," she said resolutely. "And I should stop talking to myself, too."

She started running again.

Jareth watched the emotions play across her face and wondered if she knew he watched her. It should be obvious enough, but she did not act with the prudence of one who knows their every move is being observed.

He tried to decipher her expressions. He had seen anger, sadness, and pain. Then she had spoken. She spoke of him. Certainly that confirmed his hopes, didn't it?

Unless she wished to forget him because he made her angry.

Stop obsessing. I'll find out after her time is up.

He was nervous. The suave, powerful, fearsome Goblin King was nervous! What if he imagined her feelings for him? She would refuse him and he would have to let her go. That would not be easy for him.