A/N I do not own Labyrinth and write for fun only.

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Chapter 9

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The morning sun rose steadily over the Labyrinth and the goblin city. Its rays danced across the walls and blazed a trail along the many corridors and paths before climbing the outer walls of the castle, steadily creeping into the room where Jareth slumbered. As the light crawled across the bed and settled its warmth across the Goblin King's face, he stirred from his sleep. Even after such a late night, he felt completely rested and content. The mix of renewed magic from the Labyrinth, and the brandy he had consumed, had sent him off into a deep sleep. As his eyes adjusted to the light of the invading sun, his senses became aware of the presence next to him in the bed. As a hand ran down his bare arm, he felt the razor-sharp nails scratch against his skin, an icy chill entering his bloodstream. Gritting his teeth, he flung the arm away before he removed himself from the bed, all the calm from waking totally erased.

"Get out," he hissed.

"Not much of a morning person, are you, darling?"

"GET OUT, NOW!"

Melandra rose from the bed and walked to Jareth, placing her hand against his naked chest and running her nails across it before trailing over his shoulder and down his back. "You need to relax, Jareth. We will be sharing this room soon enough, and the things I am going to do to you here…" she purred in his ear. "As I feel generous today, I will even let you keep that little pet of yours. Call it a wedding present. I am sure we will find her quite entertaining."

Jareth snarled at her and tried to dampen his growing anger. Melandra removed her hands from him and headed to the chamber door. Before exiting, she turned. "I hope she enjoyed the little gift I sent. I put quite some thought into it."

Immediately, Jareth lost control, and a ball of fire shot towards Melandra. Before it had even reached halfway, it simply evaporated into plumes of dark smoke. Melandra laughed as she turned and left.

Once she had gone, Jareth slammed his fists into the stone wall, seething with rage. He should have known the damn nightmare was her doing. He summoned his magic and dressed himself quickly. His original plans for the day would have to wait, he needed to visit Sarah.

There were so many questions he needed to find answers to. Sarah would not simply welcome him with open arms, he knew that, even after last night. She had some hostility towards him, far more than just annoyance for him taking her brother and her running the Labyrinth. The girl seemed to hate him most of the time, but why? What had he done to cause such emotion? Whatever it was, he needed to sort it out, and fast, or he would be stuck with Melandra as his wife for eternity.

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Sarah had spent her morning avoiding the twins. They had been firing questions at her the previous night about her dreams, and the fact that, apparently, she kept uttering a certain Goblin King's name. It was like being interrogated by some special intelligence unit when those two got ahold of you. How was she supposed to tell them how she felt about him when she didn't really know herself? One minute, she hated and despised him, then the next she was cozying up to him in her dreams. She let out a groan as she walked into the study. She smiled as she saw Garrett seated on the couch, but the smile quickly slipped away when she saw Jareth silhouetted against the large balcony window.

Jareth watched her reflection in the glass as she entered the room. He could feel her emotion through the newly opened heart-bond, and watched as her expression changed from pleasure to indifference once she spotted him. He did not turn immediately, this needed careful handling. The emotions coming from her confused him, first one of happiness, then filled with a feeling of uncertainty and confusion.

Garrett stood and bowed to her. "I will take my leave here," he said. "Jareth, play nice."

Sarah watched as he headed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Great, just what she needed. After one lot of interrogation, now an audience with the Goblin King.

"Sit down, Sarah."

"I would rather stand."

"Do you have to defy me on everything?"

A small smile crept onto her face. "Yes."

Jareth turned then, to see her smirking at him. So, little Sarah wanted to play, did she? He began walking towards her and took a seat on the couch, placing his feet on the small table in front of him.

"Sarah, please sit down while we talk."

"Fine." Sarah crossed her arms and slumped into the seat opposite him.

"Do you remember much from last night?"

She simply nodded. She remembered everything from last night, but had hoped to forget it. Anything she hadn't remembered, Sky and Star had been only too happy to tell her.

"Tell me about your dreams."

Sarah eyes widened at his request. Why the hell was everyone suddenly so interested in her dreams? There was no way she was sitting here and recalling her dreams to him. After all, he featured quite a lot in some of them. She lowered her eyes from his.

"You should know, you're there often enough." She put her hand quickly over her mouth. She had not meant to say that out loud.

Jareth smirked at her and leaned forward, noticing the sudden rush of colour to her cheeks. "So, you dream of me, do you, precious? And what happens between us in these dreams of yours?"

Her colour deepened even more. "Stay out of my dreams, Goblin King."

Jareth laughed; he could not help but tease. He could feel the desire flooding into him as she squirmed on the couch. "Dear Sarah, my appearances in your dreams are your doing, not mine, I can assure you. Although, I am rather flattered and quite willing to make them more of a reality."

Sarah sat back further into the seat, warmth spreading through her body at his spoken words. Damn, even her own body was a traitor. She could see Jareth smirking at her. Well, two could play at this game, and she would take that smirk right off his smug face.

"That is quite the offer, one I might even consider accepting." Inwardly, Sarah smiled to herself as she saw a brief glimmer of surprise cross Jareth's face. Yes, score one to me, she thought, before continuing on. "Yes, the most recent one might be fitting as it had you dead on the floor. Rather pleasing, that one."

Jareth shot her a strange look that sent a chill through her body. His eyes locked with hers, as though he was trying to read her very thoughts. Maybe tormenting him was not such a good idea, after all. He moved so fast she didn't see him coming, and within just a blink, he was standing in front of her. He grasped her hand, pulling her up from the couch and into him, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her flush to his body.

"Do you hate me that much, precious, that you would want me dead?"

His warm breath danced over her ear as he leaned in towards her. She faltered and swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat.

"And my death, dearest, was it at your hand or someone else's?"

She did not reply. Her mouth had gone dry and her thoughts seemed to scramble in her head. She could feel the heat from his body, and the scent of him filled her nostrils. He was too close, overwhelming every sense of her body. She wanted to hate him, wanted to despise him, but the desire in her was growing the more he held her, and all she could think about was how much she wanted him.

"Sarah." The way he said her name sent a shiver through her whole body, his voice like silk. He gently tilted her chin to bring her eyes up to meet his. "Why?"

Suddenly her mind crashed back to where she was. "Wh-why, what?" she stammered.

"Why the hate, Sarah?"

His question caught her completely off guard and she was unprepared for it. Suddenly, being held in his arms so closely felt uncomfortable. If she was going to have this discussion, she needed space. Sarah brought her hands up to Jareth's chest with every intention of pushing him away, but as her hands touched his bare chest, a warmth filled her heart and she felt safe. But no, this was Jareth, he was definitely not safe, her mind screamed. Then the words just seemed to flow from her mouth before she could stop them.

"You lied to me, Jareth. You played with my mind and my emotions, offering me something that, at the time, I did not understand. Then later, I thought was so genuine, that I mourned its loss. It destroyed my happiness with my family, and that I truly hate you for. I wasted years on a lie-your lie." And as the words came, so did the feeling of betrayal and hate, and she shoved away from him hard, breaking out of his embrace.

"Sarah," Jareth reached out to pull her back, but she moved quickly away. "I do not lie."

"No, but you manipulate the words to make a false truth."

Jareth was still at a loss as to exactly what it was he had supposedly twisted the truth about, but he could feel the sadness and the anger building within her. "Sarah, when did this particular upset take place?"

She could not believe it. Had he been so lost in spinning his web of deceit that he didn't even know what she was talking about? She could seriously slap herself. Obviously, it had meant so little to him.

"Forget it," she snapped. "I can't change the past, and neither can you."

"No, but I could at least attempt to gain some forgiveness if I knew exactly the wrong I have committed." He should have kept the question to himself, things had been going rather well up to that point. Now, he would have to work that bit harder to gain her trust and her affection.

"You want my forgiveness? When you don't even know what you want forgiveness for?"

"Yes, and then maybe your trust so we can move on from this. I do not wish to fight with you, Sarah, no matter how enticing you are." He was getting distracted, he needed to win her over before the wedding or Melandra would be his wife and the game would be truly over.

Sarah said nothing for some time. The words he spoke seemed genuine enough, but she had fallen into that trap once before. "Can I ask you a question?" Sarah asked with a little hesitation.

Jareth nodded at her. "You may."

"Do you love, Melandra?"

"Love her? Hell no, do you think me an idiot?" the words left his mouth harsher than he had intended, and he saw Sarah visibly flinch. "Dear, innocent Sarah, Kings rarely marry for love, especially here. It is more to do with power and control, or in my case, what is best for my people."

"And marrying a monster who tortures them is best, is it?" Sarah spat.

"How do you know she tortures them, Sarah? You know nothing of her."

"I know what I saw in the throne room, and what I saw last night."

"Forget it all, dear Sarah, it is not your concern," he gently stroked his glove down her cheek before cupping her chin. He gazed into her eyes, losing himself in the pools of emerald green. He could feel her heart rate building and matching that of his own. There was a nervous tension in the air, and before he could stop himself, he had bent down and kissed her. The kiss was brief, but passionate, and as he removed his lips from hers and walked away, Sarah stood completely still.

Jareth retreated quickly from the room, the taste of her still on his lips. He had not intended to kiss her, he had simply intended to entice her with the promise of one. As he stood outside the room with his back against the door, he felt the sudden rush of elation erupt through him. A smile spread over his face. Maybe kissing her had not been such a bad idea after all.