After an hour of ruminating by the fire, Jareth had finally managed to convince himself to head to their room, but first he wanted to see how Sarah was doing through a crystal. He conjured one with a turn of his wrist and began to stare into its glassy surface. He was surprised by what he saw. He had expected to see Sarah pacing back and forth in the room in anger or he even expected the room to be empty and then find out she was somehow trying to escape his Labyrinth and the Underground. But no, she actually seemed to be asleep. Not wanting to wake her, Jareth materialized himself into their room, instead of walking to their room and using the door. Sarah did not stir at his sudden appearance or when he waved his arms to change into his pajamas. Even when he sat and then laid down on the bed, she did not move. She had crawled under the covers, so as a sign of respect, Jareth pulled the fleece blanket over him in order to sleep on top of the covers.

The Goblin King did not sleep well that night. He tossed and turned. He was restless thinking about Sarah. She, however, never moved a muscle. At times, Jareth became worried and had to watch for the gentle rise and fall of her upper body to assure himself that she was still breathing. For most of the night he just stared at her sleeping form, puzzled by the strange hold she seemed to have over him.

This is how Sarah found him in the morning. Sleep was still heavy in her eyes, but the bright light peeking in through the window was bothering her, so she decided to open her heavy eyelids. It took Sarah a few seconds to understand the scene before her. She was still under the covers and Jareth was now in the bed with her, but on top of the covers and he was staring at her wide awake.

Jareth could not read what her mood was like from the sleepy expression on her face, so he chose to stay quiet, not wanting to anger her again. Sarah didn't know what to say either, so they just laid there staring at each other for several minutes. She noticed dark circles under his eyes and wondered if he had slept at all.

Why wouldn't he have slept? She wondered. It couldn't be because of me.

Jareth couldn't stand the silence and staring for any longer, so he decided to break the ice. "You say," he began slowly, "that you would like to get to know me. Please feel free to ask me any questions you have at this moment. I am an open book."

Sarah, surprised at his willingness to be open, scrunched her eyebrows in thought for a few moments before speaking. "How old are you?" She asked plainly. She had decided to start off her line of questioning in easier territory before moving to the harder questions.

Jareth was pleased by her first question. This had been something that he had been wanting to explain to her, but it was a complex concept. "This is going to surprise you, but I was actually born around the same time as you." Jareth could see the clouds of confusion drift into Sarah's eyes. "I know that I look older than you," he continued softly, "but you have to remember that time moves differently Underground. I have not really kept track as it has no real purpose here, but I assume that I am hundreds of years old. However, if I lived in your world, I would be around sixteen years of age as well, maybe seventeen or eighteen."

Sarah's eyebrows automatically raised in surprise at his statement.

"Why?" He allowed himself to chuckle lightly. "How old do I look?"

Sarah calculated her response, carefully analyzing his features before saying, "I've always thought around thirty."

"And..." He paused, afraid to ask, but he needed to know. "Is being thirty good or bad?"

Sarah's face remained in a state of confusion for another moment. What does he mean is being thirty good or bad? Does he want to know if I think he's too old for me? Is he? I don't know...

Jareth anxiously awaited her response, but tried to keep his face neutral as she pondered.

"Well..." Sarah started, not really sure where to begin. "In my world, you'd be considered too old for me by your looks..." His face fell at her words. "However," she continued and his ear perked up, "we're not in my world at the moment and as you just explained, your true age is a little complicated. If I'm being completely honest with myself," she began to blush, "I have always been attracted to older guys..." Sarah couldn't look up at him, she just stared down at the bed sheet she was twisting between her fingers. If she had looked up, she would have been surprised to see the genuine, wide smile gracing Jareth's features. He was content to know that she wasn't ruling him out just yet. He still had a chance.