Chapter Seven

Sitting at his desk Jareth stared into a crystal and watched Sarah as she continued to practice her magic deep into the night. Running a hand through his blonde hair Jareth resisted the urge to go to her room and catch Sarah out; did she truly think that he was unaware of what she was up to? It will not matter in a week, he tried to soothe himself as he turned to look down at the papers scattered around his desk.

"Hoggle!" He bellowed changing the image in the crystal from Sarah to that of the dwarf. "Fetch Sarah and bring her to my chambers, now."

"W – Won't she be a – asleep yer majes'y?" The dwarf stammered sleepily not realising that Sarah was fully awake.

"Then wake her," Jareth threw the crystal against the wall where it burst into thousands of tiny droplets of water. On his desk was a platter of peaches, elegantly arranged. Jareth stared at them determined to make sure that Sarah was not only bound to him but to his Labyrinth. Picking up a peach he waved his hand so that the rest disappeared; tonight he would begin the marriage ceremony. It was a simple enough, if they shared a bite of food and a drink from the same goblet then they would be bound by the Labyrinth's laws as husband and wife. What better food to bind her to him than the very that her bound her to his world? Gently he settled the peach on his desk and opened the door at the timid knocking. Sarah was trying her best to look bleary-eyed and half-asleep. Jareth closed the door in the dwarf's face and led Sarah over to a settee.

"Jareth it's early, what couldn't wait until later?" She asked resting her arms on the back of the settee and propping her chin on them so she could look up at him.

"Next week you turn eighteen, I would like to throw you a ball in celebration of the occasion." Sarah pulled a face and Jareth picked up the peach tossing it in the air thoughtfully.

"Why?"

"Because I am sure the Fae would like a chance to formally meet the woman who will become their queen," Sarah remained silent for only a moment.

"If I was to become queen would that not mean I'd have to marry…you?" She asked slowly as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. Jareth tried his best not to be offended, was the idea of marriage to him truly that repulsive? Jareth was vain, he knew he was incredibly handsome and despite his age had managed to keep his body lithe. He knew that Sarah was attracted to him, so why would she not want to marry him?

"That would be the general idea yes Sarah," he finally managed to answer. "This can hardly be a surprise to you – I believe my feelings have been more than clear." Sarah looked at him in disbelief and arched an eyebrow.

"You have had me scrubbing toilets and sleeping in a room where I can barely stretch for three years. It hardly screams romance," she pointed out but Jareth only shrugged. Had she still not learnt that things were different here? How did things work in her world? "Jareth I cannot trust you, how can I be your wife?" Her words struck a chord and Jareth was momentarily stunned. Was trust really such a big deal? He looked down at her, her eyes were soft and he could see that while she was faking having just woken up her exhaustion was real. You are a fine one to talk about trust, he thought slightly bitterly. Was she not hiding her power from him? Did she truly think she could keep secrets from her? Holding out his hand Jareth helped Sarah to her feet and led her towards his desk, gesturing at the papers on his desk he studied her as she leant forwards to look at the plans. He could see that she was shivering slightly and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, but her body was far from cold; she was enticingly from warm.

"Sarah?"

"Must it be a masked ball?" She asked gesturing to the sketches of masked revellers. "The last ball…" She closed her eyes and Jareth could see she was remembering the previous events.

"It is a tradition, but of course if you would prefer I am sure I could make other arrangements." Jareth turned and pulled Sarah away from the desk. "Sarah all I want is for you to trust me – becoming my queen will not stop you crossing worlds; but I cannot stress enough that you cannot leave the Labyrinth forever. You will have to return. I do not even understand why you would possibly want to leave – I am offering everything you could ever dream off."

"Except my family."

"I could bring them here." Sarah shook her head vehemently.

"No. I would not want them to endure this world," Jareth frowned but Sarah refused to back down. "Jareth you have hardly made me welcome here –"

"You have not helped yourself. You persist in acting like a child, you have argued with me at every possible opportunity. Do you not realise how lenient I have been for you Sarah? I am a king, there are consequences to defying me." He held up the peach for her to take but she only looked at it suspiciously. "This is just a peach Sarah, all I ask is for you to trust me." He took a bite from it to demonstrate that this would not send her into a hallucination. "No dancing, unless of course you would like to dance." Sarah took the peach hesitantly; her eyes flicked up to meet his and for a moment he thought she would refuse it. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut she took a bite from the peach and quickly swallowed it. He watched as her body tensed as if preparing to fall and when she opened her eyes she looked around in confusion. "See," Jareth took the peach back for a second bite feeling the first tricklings of guilt in his subconscious. It was a strange feeling, one he was not accustomed too. "Trust me Sarah, I ask for so little." He could see the doubt in her eyes, the shadow of fear that betrayed she would never quite trust him.