Now to wrap this story up.

Mirror mirror in the bog. Only two minutes left on the clock.

Queen Elspeth dropped down onto discoloured grass. She landed quite unfortunately on her ankle but would not loose time over that. She scrambled to her feet in a hurry. She saw nothing but mud before her. She ran. There was a clock face hovering in the air above the bog like a huge spectre. It was as unsubtle a mocking as she had ever seen one. She had some time left. Anything could happen in the labyrinth. She would get out of this filthy place at least. The smell was unbearable and even here everything was covered in glitter but it only made the place fouler. How much time was left on the clock? One minute. She felt her shoe slide on the ground. She slipped down a brown green mud trail leading to a pool of bobbling slime.

Jareth sauntered through the bog following his own whimsical way over its misty paths which were treacherous to anyone but him. He was in a good mood, he was positively over the moon. He cast a triumphant smile as he saw Elspeth get up and turn away from where he stood.

He had sent her to a place inside his traditional labyrinth. In the worst case, the impossible scenario that she should find her mirror there, he would claim that her departure of her personal labyrinth annulled her victory. She had lost and had to stay, as simple as that.

Jareth caught her by the waist in the nick of time. His face loamed over her. "Time's up." He sang. "You lost." She almost wanted him to let her fall into the yuck. "You are nowhere near the castle. Mine or yours."

She raised a warning hand. "I don't believe a word you say." She lost the mirror game and still managed to keep her own form. This man was full of lies. Not a surprise, really.

"Look at the clock."

"Your clock. You can call it quits whenever you want to."

"That is the idea."

"No." She kept her hand positioned firmly between them. "I won't give in." She slid from his grasp and walked on, careful not to fall into the slimy water. The rocks made weird sucking noises.

He grabbed her arm. She spun around.

"This was never really a game, Elspeth. You have always been mine. My pretty little goblin." he purred.

Queen Elspeth did not like it when he called her that. She should not like it. She frowned. "I am not little."

An interested hmm sound erupted from his throat.

The queen clenched her jaw. "What will you do with me?"

"You lost, my dear subject. You have to stay here."

"Here here? "

"The bog is a nice spot. There are less appealing places. Your fate could have been so much worse. You picked your home well." He smirked beyond amused.

She looked away proudly. "I fail to see how. And my beauty?"

"It would be a waste to undo a beauty so rare amongst goblins. You are right, I would not let such beauty go to waste in the bog."

She placed a hand on his lips. "I do not take losing well."

"Surely you can't call this losing. Your beauty remains unblemished and you found a better party than your weary king husband."

"Oh I have no objection about that."

"The goblins."

She cast her eyes down and nodded.

"They do say it is dangerous to kiss a goblin. You never know what might happen."

"They are ugly." Any other insultive word has lost meaning to her.

"I will risk it. Whatever the consequences." He kissed her.

She pushed him away.

It was only fair. An insult for an insult.

She saw him frown and fake suffering from damaged pride. Suddenly she felt scared of losing him.

A sly look came over her. "Won't those goddesses be disappointed? "

"Some jealousy might do her good." He stroked Elspeth's fine orange hair. "Can't you tell when I am playing with you? Why would I prefer you as a child or hag when I can have you like this? Why would I want another more mundane woman? "

"I'm a goblin." The word forcefully popped from her mouth.

He held her unusually sad figure. "Yes you are. A very yummy one. It makes you perfectly irresistible. As I said I will take my chances on you."

The world disintegrated around her by his proximity. His hand was in hers. He smirked at her.

"Merciful as I am you may stay in my land and remain as you are." She felt herself bend back in oddly comfortable bog moss. "Now we will live happily ever after." The softness under her had turned into cushions. The bog had completely faded. It had given way to his bedchambers. She smiled at his charming offer and his equally charming smile that accompanied it.

He toyed with a lock of her hair. "To irk me." She said, lying back in his bed.

"Naturally."

She looked up at him. "Will you stop grinning?" she smiled herself.

"Not in a million years, sweetling."

He bent over her and covered her in kisses.

"Where is my mirror?" She interrupted.

"I flung it through one of the mirrors. I will pick it up tomorrow wherever it landed. It's perfectly safe. Shall we continue?"

She took him by the arm. "Let us both have some fun."