DISCLAIMER: We don't anything from Labyrinth. It is owned by the Jim Henson Company.

Jareth was impatient to get to Sarah before Damien could damage – and I mean damage – her, but he forced himself to sit with the dwarf and the fox to come up with a plan. The plan was as follows: Sir Didymus would ride to the castle of Damien with a small bastion of goblins, demanding the release of Lady Sarah, whilst Hoggle and Jareth carefully dissected the magic barrier surrounding Sarah.

Jareth had finally managed to locate her, only to find that Lyonara and Damien had combined their limited magical resources to build a sufficient trap for Sarah, capable of keeping Jareth from her. Here is where he'd need the dwarf's limited magical ability. Hoggle was very good at creating diversions…

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Sarah gave one last scream then gave up pounding on the door to her room. She had been thrown in with little ceremony other than a threatening leer, and then left to her devices. And based on the moans and gasps from the other room, she didn't really feel like escaping out into the main room.

She took a closer survey of her room. The stone walls were worn smooth with age, and there were a few well-worn tapestries covering them as a small consideration of the cold.

Suddenly the relative quiet of the room was shattered by a scream of completion from the other room, followed shortly after by a guttural moan. Sarah wrinkled her nose. It wasn't bad enough that she was stuck in here alone, simply a pawn in the political games of emotionally underdeveloped fae, she had to listen to them going at it like animals too?

Her fury built up inside her, feeding on itself as she thought of the various indignities she had suffered since the Goblin King first saved her from that car crash. She released her anger in a wild yell, and felt something akin to electricity flow through her veins, setting the roots of her hair tingling. When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to find that the door she had been fighting against was no long closed.

In fact, the whole wall was rubble, and she stared out through the settling dust to see both Damien and Lyonara, in a very distracting position.

She didn't have much time to think, so she ran. She ran as hard and as fast as she could, hoping that it would take longer for Lyonara and Damien to untangle themselves than it would for her to reach the door. And, she was right. She had made it to the door and wrenched it open only to find Sir Didymus and a rag-tag collection of armoured goblins standing there. Didymus had been ready to knock, his paw raised into a position for knocking. He seemed shocked to see Sarah, and she was relieved to see him.

"My lady," he said, bowing low.

Sarah didn't pause for an instant, but grabbed the small fox and bolted away from the castle she was in.

"My lady, the battle is behind us! My lady? My Lady!! Turn around this instant!"

Sarah stopped and pick Didymus up bodily and shook him gently. "Didymus, we need to get away from here. NOW."

"But my lady, is it not cowardly to run from battle?"

Sarah thought wildly to think of a way to appease the fox's qualms. "It is not cowardice – if you are protecting the fair maiden. I need you to protect me, Sir Didymos."

His chest puffed out in pride. ""For you, milady, I would fight anyone, anywhere . . ."

"Hush! Yes, I know Didymus. Now we have to get out of here!" Sarah began dragging him again, towards the Goblin castle just visible on the horizon.

"But milady," he squawked, "What will the king do when he arrives and finds you yet again far from him?"

Sarah came to a sudden halt, dropping the fox none too gently on the ground. "Jareth's coming for me? Here?"

"Verily, my sweet maiden! In fact, I was leading the charge, and he was arriving shortly to take you away from that treacherous villain."

Sarah ran again, without taking Didymus with her. She could hear his cries behind her, as she took off towards the north – away from the goblin city and away from Damien and Lyonara. Her mind was in a whirl, she was so confused she didn't know who to turn to . . .

She ran full speed into Jareth's smooth white chest, and remained upright only because he was gripping her tightly over her shoulders.

"Well, my dear, it seems we need to talk." Something dangerous flickered through his eyes. "I need to know why you're running away from me, what you really want out of this little adventure here in the Underground, but above all, I want to know: When were you going to mention that you studied dark magicks?"

Sarah's eyes were wide in horror, and all she could do was shake her head from side to side, her mouth unable to form words. She frantically searched for an out, looking for some way to escape the grasps of the fae brothers once and for all. It was not possible, Jareth had her gripped too tightly. His eyes narrowed at her frantic wiggling.

"Well, really Sarah," he said. "Enough is enough!"

Sarah had barely registered his words when she was rendered unconscious. Jareth transported them back to his castle, placing Sarah into a bed. He waved a hand, and her bedraggled clothes became a long silky nightgown. He carefully constructed a magical forcefield around the room to protect her from further interference from Damien and Lyonara, as well as to protect himself and his subjects from Sarah's uncontrolled use of dark magic.

He sat beside her on the bed, and brushed her hair out of her face. Even in her magically induced sleep, she looked frightened and worried. I could only imagine the nightmares that were tormenting her, after her disastrous few hours in the Underground. He held her hand, and placed a spell of well-being over her. The lines on her face eased, and she was at peace.

Was she worth all this, he wondered. Was she worth the years of watching her in crystals, reordering time, the spells and enchantments that he and Damien had been throwing for the past day? Was she worth the ruts made in his throne room and study, while he paced, hoping against hope that she would call for him? Was she worth the loneliness, the frustration, the physical pain after she had caused him to turn down other female company while waiting for her?

He lay down beside her, and she immediately rolled over and snuggled into his warmth. He wrapped his arms around her. She was. Her fiery determination, her underlying passion, her conviction, her beauty – she was worth anything and everything to him.

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Meanwhile, Damien and Lyonara had their hands full of a messy goblin army, which attacked haphazardly. Damien cursed Jareth as the goblins caused more and more damage to his meagre castle. Lyonara had been rendered useless, in a fit of sobs, both angry and disgusted that she had given herself to Damien so freely, realizing that she had lost Jareth forever.

Sir Didymus had rejoined the battle with brilliant speed and endurance, loudly professing his loyalty to his king and the Lady Sarah. Hoggle, on the other hand, was trudging back to the castle angrily, cursing Jareth. He had not been needed after all, since Sarah had managed to get herself out of the castle. But Hoggle was not completely blind to magic use, and he knew that the sharp course of dark magic that had flown forward originated from Sarah. He was worried for his friend, especially since Jareth had scooped her up and disappeared with her. She not only had to deal with the threat that she caused herself in this state, she also had to worry about the King's advances. And, Hoggle thought, if she's fool enough not ta worry about 'em, then I will for her!