For the first time in his life, Jareth was stunned. Completely, utterly, totally stunned. Could it be possible? A female had somehow rejected him, after he had kissed them?! It simply did not fit into his view of life. He was King. King's were not rejected! Spinning on his heels, he smashed his fist into the wall he had been leaning against. Again! His hands started to ache through the gloves. Again! Blood started to emerge from his battered knuckles. Again! Again! Again Again Again A- frickin- gain!!

As the blood seeped through his gloves, making the black glisten like metal, he finally drew up. Dignity flew back to him like a cloud, enveloping him in majestic demeanor. Staring down at his battered hands with disgust, he carefully sent a thread of magic to heal himself.

There was obviously something wrong with the girl. He should just let the days pass. Allow her to become what she would, to take care of herself for once. Instead of pushing himself past exhaustion to attempt to live up to unbelievable expectations, to win her while he still could. He should just let her go. That was the heart of the matter. He should have just let her go back when she beat his Labyrinth. Never looked in on her again, allowed her fleeting life to pass without the gift of his presence or his care. What greater revenge could there be, than to leave her to the pathetic, mortal life she had been born to?

Mentally ordering himself, Jareth blocked the tirade of regrets. He never had regrets. Sarah would not push him to them now. No, he had done right. She had simply been scared, confused as to what he had to offer her. A shadow of his former smirk drifted onto his face. This time, there would be no confusion. She would know exactly what he could offer, exactly what she would be giving up and she would accept. He knew where her weaknesses, what she would call her loyalties, lied. Humans, despite their many faults, were the masters of manipulation and exploitation and he had spent three hundred years observing and learning from the most ruthless of them. He knew his skills would not fail him now.

***********************************POV Shift***********************************

Sarah was hunched into a ball in bed, rocking herself as she attempted to fall into the blissful oblivion of sleep. She could still feel a shadow of his lips on hers and as much as it disgusted her, dammit, it felt good too! How long had it been since she had had someone hold her, even for a minute. Just take her hand in friendship, give her a one- armed hug as they walked down the shops. Hard to believe it had only been just over a week.

There was no common ground here, it wasn't like travelling, where you could still call and things were… similar, if different. In some ways, it made it easier. Easier to make a clean break. But losing everything, all at once as she had, it was devastating. Wearily, she pondered if she was in post- traumatic stress. After all, everyone she had known was lost to her. And, the best proof of all, she had let that arrogant ass kiss her, if only for a second. If that wasn't proof she'd gone off the deep end, she didn't know what was! A breathy chuckle escaped her lips and she sighed. It felt good to laugh. However hard and confusing things were, she'd be ok if she could just remember to laugh. Snuggling deeper into the covers, she spread herself out and was finally on the brink of sleep, that languid heaviness overtaking her.

"Oh, no, you don't. We have things to discuss, you and I." In a rush, all the ebbing tension flooded back to her, jerking her upright.

"Goblin King." She didn't want to sound respectful, but she couldn't bring herself to use his name after what had happened.

"So formal, Sarah. Never mind, that will be fixed soon enough." His arrogance pushed her anger over the edge, overtaking fear and reason.

"That's what you think you arrogant, stupid, son of a-"

"Enough." His voice was low, but there was no mistaking the threat contained within. "I have a proposition for you."

"Never! I don't care what it is, I will never make a deal with you ever again!" Sarah forced her voice not to quake, projecting all her loathing into those two statements. She was through being scared of him, through watching her back at every turn, twitching at every sound; she would deal with this, and she would deal with it now. Jareth's face distorted into a mask of mock- disappointment. With an elegant gesture, he formed a crystal.

"Such a pity… your poor family. They'll take their last breaths knowing you didn't care enough to save them." His voice was deceptively light, his eyes locked on Sarah's as he watched with satisfaction as the fight drained out of them. To be replaced by cold fear.

"What have you done?!" He merely smiled. Terror flooded her, making it hard to breath. Her family didn't deserve this, it was her mess! Little Toby, Karen… What had he done to them?!

"What the hell have you done to my family, Jareth?!" With two strides he was upon her, grabbing her chin with a gloved hand. She didn't care. Whatever he did to her, she didn't care, just please let her family be safe…

"Nothing." Relief pounded into her, leaving her numb in his grasp. He leaned closer, positioning his mouth at her ear. Distantly, she realized she should pull away, but the emotional upheaval was just too much. She didn't have another strong emotion left in her. She supposed that was her only excuse for how she reacted to what he said next. With a controlled, almost nonchalant voice he exhaled the syllable that rendered her unconscious.

"Yet."

***********************************POV Shift***********************************

Irritation leaked into Jareth. He had just been getting to the good part; infuriating mortal always ruined his plans in the most unpredictable of ways. Ordering a bucket of cold water to be brought immediately, he used the time to mentally rehearse the specifics of what he would say, exactly how he would threaten her family. She couldn't become suspicious; after all, it was all lies and if she broke out of her stupidity, her unquestioning loyalty for a moment to actually think, she would see that.

Jareth laughed lightly at himself. What silly worries. As if he could be thwarted by this pathetic creature again; the other times had been pure luck and thick- headedness on her part. There was no way she would see past his lies- he was simply too good a liar.

With great pleasure, he floated the newly arrived ice- cold water above her and abruptly dropped the whole lot on her head. Jareth found himself grinning. It was so fun to watch her splutter and thrash like the inferior she was.

"Ah, Sarah. Back to the land of the living, I see?" He watched as she drew herself into a hunched position, curling her arms around her hunched knees. Thoughts distorted her face, too fast to follow. Finally, she settled on a look of pleading. Yes! Just as it should be.

"Don't hurt my family. Just… just don't hurt them." Jareth hummed in pleasure- her broken voice was music to his ears, a triumphant tune. It seemed he would not have to convince her, after all. Taking care not to let any speck of care show through the mask on his face, he began to circle her.

"Well, that really all depends on you, little Sarah. Are you ready to hear my proposition?" Words flew like silk from his mouth, settling as an almost tangible weight in the air. Such was his talent. Sarah seemed to hesitate- thinking before she acted, in seemed she could learn- before finally jerking her head down in a quick but resolute gesture. Jareth smiled, preparing to bare his heart for the third and final time, to find a home in which it could sit, a queen with which it could rule.

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say." The words rang out, so like the first time, yet different. They were burdened, now, with the knowledge of his previous defeat. No less sincere, simply more aware. He knew now what he had not known then; there were two answers to this question. Leave it to Sarah to find a third.

"But… no, my family, I can't leave them… what would you… and love- you can't force love…" Her voice was mere whispers, growing higher pitched as she went on. Jareth studied her with growing impatience, waiting for a syllable that wasn't present in her tirade of mumbled excuses. It was only as the silence grew so long he considered breaking it himself that she stood. Staring him straight in the eye, she talked with newly kindled fire in her eyes; a type of resolution that only hardship could bring.

"If… if I don't accept your- your proposition. What will you do to my family?" Jareth blinked. Damn her, she had to go and ask the one question, in the one form, that he couldn't answer without voiding the deal! Not 'if I accept will you leave my family alone', not just taking it for granted that he would hurt them if she didn't… bitterly Jareth realized he had been beat not only by her infamous stubbornness, but a lesson he himself had organized for her to learn. Take nothing for granted. How he wished she would, just this once. There was still a chance, though. Wordplay was a tricky thing.

"Oh, can't you guess, little Sarah?" It was an effort to keep his voice light, to avert his eyes so she wouldn't notice the burning intensity within. Something flickered in her eyes and he knew he was once again defeated.

"Will you do anything to my family if I reject?" Her voice was steadier now, fueled by the rage of the nearly- conned. Her cheeks grew an enticing shade of red as her tirade continued, her confidence seeming to grow with each statement.

"Can you do anything to them? I don't think you can! You have to be wished to go up there and they wouldn't do that! You're just a lying, arrogant, spoilt little king and you have no power over them!" Here her mouth curved into a smirk that closely mirrored some of his own. She stepped close enough to make him inhale her scent, staring down into her eyes while his mind fell into the chasm of rejection.

"And that means you have no power over me." There was no tone to this, there didn't need to be. The simple words, spoke as fact, closed the earth over the chasm he resided him. Jareth snapped. Wrenching her to him by the shoulders, he shook her with unrestrained force.

"Why, Sarah?! Why do you reject me! I offer you everything! I threaten everything! I give all I know how to give and yet you turn it away like it is common filth!" Sarah's eyes showed too much white as she stared up at him, but her arms were strong as she pushed him away. When she stood independently, she met his gaze.

"Everything? You offer me slavery, Jareth. 'Do what I say'- you want me to be nothing more than your slave!" Bitterness steeped into her voice and her eyes grew moist. Jareth stared at her. Could she really be so blind? Why would he go to all this trouble for a slave?

"I don't want you to be a slave, Sarah. I want you to be my wife." Of course, he might have to file for divorce if this fainting thing became a habit, he thought sardonically as he caught her head before it hit the ground.

A/N: It has been a really long time since the last update, I actually had this chapter nearly finished a while ago and then I switched to an older computer and when I transferred the documents, I forgot to convert them to an older format so I couldn't open them. I know, stupid *rolls eyes at self*. Sorry about that. Hope you guys liked this chapter, you're all awesome for reading! And an extra special thanks to my awesome reviewers!! And if you're wondering, I haven't forgotten about the time limit or any of that, you'll see what it means soon enough! School's back on, so I'm pretty busy, but I will try my best to write the next chapter soon now I have my files back. Anyway… hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember, reviews make my fingers type faster :)

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's the wonderful work of Jim Henson and not mine.