Even that hardest of hearts unhardened

Suddenly when he saw her there

Persephone in her mother's garden

Sun on her shoulders, wind in her hair

The smell of the flowers she held in her hand

And the pollen that fell from her fingertips

And suddenly Hades was only a man

With a taste of nectar upon his lips

- Epic pt II: Anaïs Mitchell


I wasn't supposed to be here, she thought as her boots kicked through the dirt. The stars were shining brightly above her as she slowly slipped between the trees. No, she should definitely not be here. Anywhere else really would be better. Sarah didn't know why this version of her was so against being here yet seemed to be trudging forward. Until the clearing came into view.

A beautiful, enormous bonfire lit up the scene. With flames that had to be reaching a height of well over 100 feet. Despite being surrounded by trees, nobody seemed the least bit concerned that they could catch light. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was a magical fire.

Upon closer inspection she noticed the fire was creating shapes and figures in its flames. Sarah saw a couple dancing, a man falling, a couple kissing before being pulled apart, glass breaking and a woman screaming. Each one felt just a little bit wrong.

Around the fire a group of about a hundred people congregated.

No, not people, her brain reminded her. Though it was a momentary mistake as none of the guests resembled people in the slightest. All of them were dressed as various creatures wearing elaborate masks and costumes. Some were dressed as animals she knew like panthers and wolves. Others were harder to recognize but Sarah saw a few kelpies, dwarves and brownies.

The bodies danced wildly around the fire. Cheering and singing loudly. Drinks were being passed around and shared freely as the fae roared with excitement. A large buffet was overflowing with rich foods and roasts of animals larger than her. She knew better than to touch any of the food or drink as it would almost certainly be drugged to lower inhibitions. Sarah knew looking around what this was a celebration for - it was Samhain, and she had crashed the festivities.

Wandering closer she caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors laid against trees for easy transportation to the event.

She barely recognized herself. Her hair was wild and teased and stuck up around her head. On her face was a beautiful mask that Sarah felt strongly resembled an owl with its beak, wide eyes, and brown and white markings. Her clothes were torn and dirty with several skirts in brown, olive green and grey layered on top of one another. The bodice looked like an old corset that had been stained many times over on top of a dusty blouse. Sarah thought it might have once been white but now was more of a faded yellowy brown. Without sleeves and nearing winter, Sarah was kept warm by the fire and the energy of the bodies dancing around it. Most significant of all, Sarah noticed her pendant was missing.

Or not my pendant, she reminded herself. His pendant.

She breathed in the smell of the fire and the burning wood and let it give her courage. The fire would burn until the dawn, symbolizing the end of the old year. She knew some of these fae would take the opportunity to go Aboveground and wreak a little havoc with the locals, but the majority would stay here and enjoy the party. Each kingdom had their own unique celebration and the Goblin Kingdom was no different. Sarah was also keenly aware that there were a number of visiting fae from other kingdoms who were sampling the festivities this evening, and that she needed to be careful to avoid them. Easier said than done when everyone was wearing masks. But they weren't who she was seeking as she moved through the dancers. They laughed in her face as her pretty owl mask helped her blend in.

Unable to warn herself, the Sarah in her dream grabbed a peach from one of the tables. She tossed it back and forth in her hands as she surveyed the scene. There were tents erected all around the fire with different activities taking place. Some of which were more scandalous than others. On the other side of the fire, an elf juggled several balls of blue flame that changed shapes as they spun, but next to him was a tent which Sarah could see several unclothed bodies all tangled together.

Sarah began to maneuver around the dancers, careful not to let any of them capture or distract her. She was looking for someone, someone so important. But she couldn't remember who. She took a bite of the peach. It tasted unlike any peach she'd ever had before. Earthy and slightly sweet but with a hint of saltiness. The orange juices ran down her chin, adding to the stains on her dress.

Suddenly she stopped. A smile came to her lips as she lazily turned around. Ah, she heard herself think, there he is.

He stood perfectly still. He was dressed to compliment her, even if he didn't know it. His artfully tattered jacket matched the browns and greys of her dress perfectly, the off white of the shirt underneath similar in hue to her stained corset. But on his face he held up a heavy stone mask. The horns on the end of the mask grazed the tips of his hair and he looked every inch the fearsome Goblin King.

He took the peach from her hand and took a matching bite. She smiled languidly. "I thought I'd find you here," she heard herself say.

Suddenly the Goblin King looked angry. Roughly he grabbed her arm and began dragging her back into the cover of the trees.

"You should not be here," he hissed. But the Sarah she was seemed unconcerned.

"I had to see for myself," she heard herself argue back.

When they were far enough outside the edge of the clearing, Jareth threw her roughly against a tree pinning her in place, his gloved fingers digging into her wrists suspended above her head.

"It is dangerous Sarah. Humans are banned from Samhain. If one of them had captured you -"

Sarah looked up at her hands, currently held in place by his. "It looks as though one of them did," she said challenging. Sarah felt, rather than saw, Jareth's interest as he pressed up close against her.

"Why did you come here Sarah?" he whispered into her ear.

"I told you," she said, and Sarah realized she sounded slightly out of breath. Her own interest was becoming hard to ignore as well. "I came to find you."

"Why?" Jareth hissed back, the heat of his breath on her neck sent a rush through her.

Sarah felt herself struggle against his grip but he held tight. She knocked the peach from his hand as it rolled into the dirt. His mask long since fallen by their feet. Jareth saw what she was attempting and carefully pulled loose the strings and watched as her mask fell next to his.

It was always the same with them, she distantly thought. His eyes were always so intense, like they were trying to pull her towards him.

Sarah stared at him and smiled.

"Because I wanted something," she said slowly.

She closed the short distance between their mouths enveloping him into a hungry peach-flavoured kiss. Her sticky mouth tearing into his and he responded with an equal fervour. He kept her hands pinned as he began to arch against her. If there was any doubt before just how much he wanted her, it was long gone.

Sarah struggled again against his hands but he was not letting her free.

"No," he whispered into her mouth. "I warned you about being captured."

Frustrated, she pushed against his hands again.

"Let me go!" she demanded.

"So you can do what?" Jareth asked as he leaned in to lay kisses along her collarbone.

"So that I can rip every inch of those clothes off your body," she replied evenly.

"Hmm," Jareth said pausing in considering. "A tempting offer."

"So then let me go."

"No I don't think I will," he said lazily returning his attention back to her collarbone, moving his kisses slowly up to her neck.

"Well then," she said seriously, "I hope you have a plan for what happens next since as long as your hands are pinning mine, then there's not much either of us can do is there?"

Jareth laughed into her neck.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that," he murmured.

He proceeded to trail his kisses along her neck, coming to rest at the top of her breast. Slowly, he pulled down the fabric with his teeth to reveal her bare chest. He murmured his appreciation as Sarah felt him circling her nipple with his tongue. With his teeth, he softly bit around her taut nipple. She felt her knees start to go weak. Sarah felt, that however much he desired her, she desired him equally as much. Without a warning, he sucked her breast hard, making her knees buckle. She wanted to scream, but held to the urge.

In her haze she hadn't noticed his hands pulling his shirt from his pants.

"Hey!" She heard herself explain when she realized her hands were still bound. He'd magically kept her pinned in place while his hands were free to roam.

"Shh," he said placing a hand over her mouth. "If they hear you, they'll all want a taste."

"And we can't be having that hmm?" she teased.

"I don't share Sarah," he said with authority as he slowly removed his gloves, tossing them to the side. The intimacy of him baring his hands to her was not lost on Sarah, and she absently wondered who else he'd touched without his gloves.

"So you admit it, you do want me?" she said triumphantly.

"I should think that, at least, was obvious by now." She felt her heart begin to race. Whether it was really her heart or just this Sarah's, she didn't care anymore. She was tired of these dreams leading nowhere and all she wanted to do was touch him. She wanted to touch him everywhere. She strained against the bonds again but knew it was pointless. If Jareth didn't want her free, then she wasn't getting free.

He crushed his lips against hers and there was an urgency that wasn't present before. She kissed him right back, just as hungrily. She arched against him as much as the binding would allow but he pushed her back into the tree, grinding his body into hers. Sarah felt the bark begin to dig into her back as the tree scratched against her. She didn't care.

He pulled away from his kiss and returned his attention back to her breast. She wanted to scream his name, and was grateful she wasn't in control. He looked up at her and their eyes met. Sarah had never seen them so dark. He stopped and smirked at her before continuing his work.

"This is hardly a fair fight." she hissed.

His tongue rolled down her breast as he slowly trailed one hand up her leg, meeting in her middle. Trailing the tips of his fingers over her skin before coming to rest on her mound, Sarah was flushed and felt heady with desire. Without warning, he began to caress her.

"I should make you suffer, let you writhe and moan under me until you regret coming here tonight." he whispered into her ear as she tried her best to contain her cries. "You do know how you tempt me?"

"Consider the feeling mutual" she whispered back, utterly failing at keeping her voice steady.

"All is fair in love and war," he replied

Sarah was about to respond but he began to speed up his fingers and her words were stifled by a moan. This was absolute agony, she was going to come completely undone.

"Shh pet," he whispered. "They mustn't hear you."

Her head was swimming. He wasn't letting up at all, her breathing was rapid as she approached the edge. She wanted to badly to go over it but he stopped her just short. Sarah shot a glare at him.

"While I appreciate the enthusiasm," he said, bending over to pick something off the ground. "You were making a rather telling noise just now and I did warn you."

"What are you doing?" Sarah barely had time to get the words out before he stuffed a piece of soft leather in her mouth. It only took her a second to realize what it was - his glove.

Sarah turned to glare at him and found him staring intensely at her, all of the playfulness gone from his face.

Oh, she thought in that split second before his body devoured hers.

Sarah brought her leg up around his waist as he pulled the front of his pants down. She felt him brush against her slick inner thigh. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, pulsing with how much she needed him. She arched her back, pressing her body against his, and she heard him let out a low moan.

He pressed further up against her, grazing her entrance. Sarah cried against the glove and he brought one arm around her waist, pulling her on top of him. Sarah felt her knees begin to buckle but Jareth held her up steadily, laying a trail of kisses from her neck to her breast as he thrust against her. Sarah felt the heat of each delicious gasp against her collarbone as she moved with him. She dimly agreed with his choice to gag her, as she'd long given up trying to control her cries.

Her back scratched against the trunk of the tree. The bark leaving her raw as she rubbed against it and Jareth pushed her roughly and harder against the tree. Sarah felt his breathing grow more rapid and he brought his hand back down to caress between her thighs. She tensed against his touch as he began to move more quickly, giving her no relief. The heat burned through her body, as she writhed against him. She felt herself creep to the edge again, and this time she felt Jareth fall with her as the sensation washed over her.

He slouched against her, leaning back into the tree that had shielded them so well.

"Sarah," he said taking the glove from her mouth. He brushed his lips over hers and smiled. The tips of his fingers grazed her bare shoulder.

"I'm afraid I may have left a mark," he said, examining where his teeth met her flesh.

"You were waiting for this," she said, quite pleased with herself.

Jareth released the bonds tying her hands, and the sudden loss of suspension caused her to fall on top of him. Crawling in the dirt in the nook of the tree, Sarah pulled herself up as best she could.

"I should go," she said gesturing to the bonfire. "They'll be waiting for you."

She extended a hand towards him. He took it, pulling himself upright.

"No, we should go," he answered, and began to walk away from the flames and into the woods. "Are you coming?"

She smiled and grabbed his forgotten gloves, running after him into the darkness.

Sarah woke up covered in sweat and out of breath. For a moment she forgot where she was, but the redhead lying next to her helped jog her memory.

"Jem," she said trying to catch her breath. "What time is it? Have you been here all night?"

Sarah was lying under the covers and threw them off her, she was sweltering. She was surprised to see that she'd gone to sleep apparently just in her underwear as she was almost positive she was wearing clothes when she went to bed.

"Hey quick question," she tried to say casually. "Where are my clothes?"

Jem propped herself up on one arm.

"Well you fell asleep and you seemed to kind of go into a trance. I heard you mumbling a few words."

Sarah's entire face felt hot. The image of Jareth's tongue trailing over her breast - not the sort of thing she particularly wanted anyone overhearing.

"So I just put you to bed but then you started looking like you were trying to get your clothes off so I just helped you out and took them off and tucked you into bed. You calmed down a bit after that."

"Where did you sleep?" Sarah asked trying to dodge any discussion of what exactly had happened in her dream last night.

"Here, it's my bed - where else would I sleep?" Jem said rolling off the bed. "But I've been up for hours now, it's nearly 11, you slept like the dead Sar."

Sarah grabbed her clothes off the ground where Jem had left them. These dreams needed to stop. They were getting more intense and Sarah was beginning to depend on them. She didn't want to be awake, she wanted to be in that clearing, with her back pressed up against that tree. She wanted to eat those peaches and dance around the fire. Every time she woke up she felt this terrible ache in her chest. Like she had been ripped away too soon.

But at the same time, she wasn't prepared to stop the dreams. They were … enjoyable. It was nice to have one place, just one place where it was safe to give in. They were only dreams after all, they couldn't hurt her. And it wasn't like she controlled her actions in them, so really it should have been a guilt free experience.

So then why did she feel so guilty?

It was a hard thing to wrap her head around. She wanted to stop feeling like she was being manipulated into caring about Jareth, but she also still wanted to see Jareth and find out who he was for herself. The letters and the dreams were the first time she'd actually had a chance to, in a way, get to know him. She'd been so busy imaging him as the storybook villain that she'd forgotten to grant him the same curtesy she'd granted everything else in this place; that nothing was what it seemed. So while she wasn't ready to go all in on the forgiveness train, she was significantly less interested in punching him in the face.

Well, not totally uninterested. He probably still deserved at least one punch.

Or a kiss. One little kiss, she reasoned with herself, there was no way a single kiss could hurt. What was it that he had said to her once? A basis for comparison? She'd deny it to Jem but a part of her was curious. Would his kisses feel the same in real life? Would they feel as all consuming and earth shaking as they did in her dreams? When she kissed him in real life then she'd know that it was all just a dream and had no basis in reality. It would give her closure and the story would have it's proper ending.

She was pretty aware that this was a significant deviation from her plan of three days ago, but there was no reason she couldn't go backto the plan if she needed to. This was really a lot less effort and she needed to be pragmatic, first goal was making sure her friends were safe. After that it was getting her ass home and then Jareth could factor in however Jareth wanted.

"So you want to tell me what's up?"

"What's up with what?" Sarah asked, feigning ignorance. She had a pretty good idea where Jem was going with this. If she could only find her boots she could get out of the line of fire.

"Wellllllll…" Jem drawled, "I thought we kinda came to an understanding where you tell me about your dreams and then we work together to find Jareth and stop the whole megalomania riddled king."

"No part of that dream is helpful," Sarah said dismissively.

"So why don't you share with the class and then we can talk about what is or isn't helpful. There might be something you missed."

The image of him moaning into the crook of her neck flashed through her mind.

"I'm not even sure it was a real dream, I barely remember it and there were parts that didn't make sense," Sarah said telling a half truth. She doubted she'd forget that dream as long as she lived, but there were definitely parts that didn't make sense. Namely why she was having sex with him. Well, admittedly that part would have made a lot less sense a week ago, but generally Sarah felt confident that her first instinct with Jareth was not to jump his bones.

"Sarah, stop dodging," Jem said seriously.

"I'm not dodging," Sarah replied, finally pulling on her boots.

"I'm trying to be nice you know," Jem said quietly. "But I could compel you to tell me."

Sarah spun around. Jem did not look so cheerful anymore.

"Then do it," she challenged.

Sarah watched Jem look at her for what seemed to be a long time. Finally she let out a sigh and slumped down into her chair.

"Just go," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Come back when you're ready to get serious."

"I am serious."

"No," said Jem, raising her voice. "I thought you were but you're not. You're just the same spoiled, selfish little girl you've always been. You think you're the only one in this story. That this is about you and your life. Here's a shocker, it's not. I swear…if I was jerking you around half as much about your family as you've been jerking me around about mine."

"Don't," Sarah said, suddenly very angry. "Don't you dare talk about my family. You want to talk about doing anything for your family, that's great. But don't forget the reason you're stuck in this mess with me is because your brother couldn't keep his hands off my family. So don't talk about family and jerking anyone around, and definitely don't talk to me about keeping secrets because there's a crap load you're not telling me either."

"I have that right!" Jem argued back, "You are making decisions about the situation because you think you know better. You think 'there's no possible reason Jem could need these details'. But you do not have the information to make that call."

"Yeah because assholes like you never think that maybe, just maybe, there's problems that could arise from not giving me all the information. That maybe there's something you're not telling me that could help me find Jareth but you're not telling me because you worry that I won't want to help Jareth when I hear it."

"God you're so much like him sometimes it's infuriating! Not everything is about you Sarah! There are things you can't know because no human knows them. Then there are things I can't tell you because nobody knows them and nobody should know them. The only reason they're coming into play at all is because Ryuoth has messed everything up and put the throne in danger."

"Throne be damned, he's put us in danger and you further that danger by playing into his hand of not telling me," Sarah snapped.

"There are some things you can't unlearn!" Jem shouted.

"Yeah just like there are some things that don't concern you!" Sarah shouted back.

"If it's about my brother it concerns me!"

"No! This is about me. Sometimes it is about me. You don't get to have everything just because you want it. My dreams are mine, you can't have them," Sarah replied, before storming out of the cottage.

"Do you think I care about what you and my brother get up to in your dreams?" Jem shouted after her. "You think I don't know? You wake up flushed and panting - yeah like that's a hard one to figure out. That you're too embarrassed to tell me you just had dream sex with my missing brother tells me just what a good decision I'm making here."

Sarah was proud of herself for not flinching. She didn't look back, she just kept walking. Was it so wrong for her to want to spend some time sorting out her own feelings? Was it really awful that she wanted to keep that one moment just between the two of them? Even if it wasn't real, even if none of it was real, it felt real to her and that meant something.

She was so lost in her train of thought that she nearly tripped over a loose stone. She kicked the stone out of her way and saw it fall downwards into what looked like a pit.

This whole place is falling apart without Jareth, she thought.

She kept walking. She didn't know where she was going, but the Labyrinth must have figured it out before she did. It took her right where she needed to be, back to the start.

Sarah stepped out beyond the outer wall of the Labyrinth. The walls were overgrown with lichen as the fairies flitted around the eye stalks. She leaned in to get a closer look at a fallen fairy when she heard him.

"Careful, they bite," a gruff voice said.

Sarah smiled and turned around.

"Well what else would fairies do?"

"Oh," Hoggle said, dropping his spray bottle. "It's you. Shoulda known."

He began to back away and Sarah figured she had about thirty seconds before he bolted.

"Hoggle wait!" she held up a hand. "Please, just…wait."

"You knows my name?" he said, stopping in his tracks.

"How could I forget?" She sat down on the edge of the reflecting pool and patted to the spot beside her. "Please, sit. I want to show you something."

Hoggle hesitated but Sarah didn't push him. She extended her hand towards him.

"Look there, on my index finger," she instructed. Hoggle leaned over, unmoving from his position.

"Yep, that's a fairy scar, sure as I ever saw one." Hoggle said with conviction. "How'd you get it? I didn't think you ever came this far out. Only sending your army after innocent old gardeners."

Sarah pulled her hand back.

"No, I mean, yes. Yes, I should have come to ask for you myself. I'll add it to the list of mistakes I've made lately. As for how I got the bite, that's a long story. You sure you don't want to sit?"

"What story is that then?" Hoggle said gruffly, not moving from where he was standing.

"Well I suppose it starts with me telling you about a silly young human girl named Sarah," she started.

Sarah told Hoggle everything. She felt she owed it to him, more than anyone else. After all, he was her first friend and without him she'd have lost Toby forever. The only parts she left out involved Jem's relationship with the High Throne. While she talked, Hoggle moved closer to sit down next to her and Sarah hoped more than anything that he would believe her. She just needed someone to believe in her.

"I know you have no reason to trust me," she finished lamely. "But I promise you, everything I'm telling you is the truth."

"Okay," Hoggle answered quickly. "I believes you."

Sarah had the distinct impression he was just saying that to placate her. But she'd take what she could get.

"What do you think I should do?"

"What does it matter what I thinks?" he quizzed her. "I'm nobody."

"Because you're my friend and you're not nobody," she said grabbing his hands. He pulled back and Sarah felt her heart ache. "Also, because I think you know the most about the Labyrinth and how it works. You gave me the best advice before 'nothing is what it seems in this place.' So I have to remember not to take anything for granted, like my friends.

"Well I can tells you this much," Hoggle replied, avoiding looking at her. "The High King scares me and I don't want nothing to do with him."

"Yes," Sarah conceded. "But you were also scared of the Goblin King before. He terrified you. Do you really want that back?"

Hoggle huffed in annoyance.

"Never been a Goblin King or Queen I ain't scared of. You scare the dung outta me."

Even though Sarah knew it was true, it still hurt to hear. Her best friend was scared of her.

"Why are you scared of me though?" Sarah asked, pleading. Maybe if she could figure out what she'd done wrong?

Hoggle shook his head.

"No, you's not asking the right question. I already tolds you, I's scared of all the Goblin Kings. But I'm still here. Still doing my job and living in the Goblin Kingdom. I ain't no goblin, but this is my home."

Sarah thought for a moment about what he was saying. She hadn't really thought about it before, but he wasn't a goblin - so what was he doing in the Goblin Kingdom? Why did Jareth trust him with his name? Sarah realized he was one of the wanderers who took advantage of Jareth's open door. He was scared of her, but he was scared of all the Goblin monarchs. It wasn't personal.

"So what makes the High King different?" she asked finally.

"Ah," said Hoggle, nodding in approval. "The High King don't just scare me. He scares everyone. Including goblins and they's too stupid to be scared of much. But even they knows to be scared of the High King.

"It's been a long time," he continued, knotting his hands. "But I remember what it was like, during the last war. Even if you win, you's never left with much. Just your life. You gotta want just that. There's a long of young blood that don't remember what a real war is. They can keep on that way cause I don't want to fights no more."

Sarah smiled sadly and stood up, extending her hand once again to Hoggle.

"I'm going back to the castle now and I'd like you to come with me. But I want it to be your choice," she said quickly, seeing the fear on his face. "I don't want anything from you, just to keep me company and help me figure out what to do. Sir Didymus is already there, I told you about him, and I'll tell him who you are. I just…I would feel safer with you there Hoggle."

"Ohhhh…alright," Hoggle exclaimed, giving in.

Sarah's face lit up and while he didn't take her hand, he let her lead him back to the castle. Which was more than Sarah could have hoped for.

When she undressed that night, Sarah found a sizeable mark that looked astonishingly like a love bite, right at the crook of her collarbone.


A/N: Gotta earn that M rating. I knew I had to get this chapter out before Halloween. Also how glad are you to see Hoggle? I'm pretty happy as he seems to be the only one with any sense around here.