Sizzle

Jareth pulled Sarah gently to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and his around her shoulders. Her ear rested on his shoulder and her forehead and nose against his neck. He could feel her eyelashes every time she blinked and she could feel and hear his pulse race just from holding her. He touched his nose to her hair, inhaling it's scent of strawberries and cinnamon as a swirling column of dust and glitter, though it was mostly glitter, rose up around them, it teased at his hair and lifted the dark tendrils that had escaped from Sarah's bun before it twisted itself into a sphere around them and then it rushed at them like a dying star collapsing in on itself. There was an audible 'pop' as the pair disappeared and the dust and glitter exploded like a firework. After they were gone Scooter muttered to himself,

"Good god, if that's what happens when he embraces her I'm almost afraid to see what would happen if they did wind up in his bed together."

Sarah smiled into Jareth's shoulder, "Are you always this dramatic?"

"No, Precious. Not quite." When they landed in the castle in a shower of glitter that got positively everywhere, (and I do mean everywhere) as much as he would have liked nothing better then to just stand there, holding her warm body in his arms, he refused to lose her this time so he carefully extracted himself from her embrace. "I'll be waiting for you in young Tobias's room, hurry, Sarah, Hurry." He bowed and kissed her hand before vanishing, leaving behind only glitter and a single wing feather, which she picked up, admired and placed into her bun carefully. She looked around and recognized the suspiciously silent goblin filled room as Jareth's throne room. All of a sudden, chaos broke out. There were shouts, cheers and goblins jumping on her.

"Whoa-Hey! Watch-Ow! Yipes! WOULD EVERYBODY PLEASE JUST CALM DOWN?" She bellowed, and miraculously they all shut up. "Thank you. Geez. Look, I am Out of Time. I need to know which way to get to the bedrooms, specifically Toby's if anyone knows. And just as she thought they weren't going to help her several grubby little goblin hands swung towards the archway Sarah hadn't gone through last time. "Great, Thanks. Remind me to have Jareth reward you all later. Party on." She said as she raced through the door beating the party eruption by mere moments. She climbed up the stairs, taking them three at a time, joy of long legs.

When she reached the top of the stairs she faced a room very much like the Escher room only, instead of stairs it was doors. Not to say there weren't any stairs, there were several, but they all led up to doors. Cursing under her breath Sarah quickly examined the doors from where she stood, the all looked different but none stood out in any particular way. Narrowing her eyes at them she gave a tentative "Open Sesame?" And nothing happened, not that she had expected anything to happen though it would have been nice. Stubbornly she stood there and told the doors, "I am NOT going to waste what little time I have left by trying you all so either you tell me which door I need or I call in reinforcements. SO, what's it going to be?" And by reinforcements she meant the goblins, For a long moment nothing happened and just as made her mind up to call for goblin assistance she heard a familiar yell and a familiar, muffled response. 'Gotcha' and with that triumphant thought she bounded up a set of stairs which of course twisted so that when she reached the top she was defying gravity. There came a muffled 'Hello Your Majesty.'

"Hi, look Mute, I don't have time so if you or Deafy over here is going to waste my time, when I make it through, and believe me I will, I will have Jareth relocate you. No more cushy castle gig or even labyrinth gig, oh no, I will have him stick you somewhere worse then the bog and the lake combined. Got it?"

"Huh?" The knocker with the ring in his ears yelled "I didn't hear any of that! That's the problem with you kids. No one speaks clearly anymore it's all mumble, mumble, mumble! It's a wonder anyone understands anyone!" The mute knocker spoke around his ring.

"Just Knock and the Door shall open." Sarah nodded and knocked on both doors. They gave her a look that said 'cheater' and in return she gave awry smile.

"No one ever said I couldn't knock on both." As both swung open Sarah recognized the Firey forest from her last visit and promptly chose the deaf knocker who had opened onto a room. Which was on fire. As she stepped through she saw the fireys throwing their heads around and dancing, if you could call what they did dancing.

"Hey guys! Long time no see! I see you've set the doors on fire, really useful guys. Thanks for that." She said, her voice more then a touch sarcastic as she barreled through them. Reaching for a flaming door she recoiled when it gave off heat. She hurtled on to the next, and the next and when those two both gave off heat she reached for the feather in her hair. With it she poked the doorknob, when the feather tip caught fire she quickly blew it out and repeated the process with the next door and then she turned to the last door and poked it with the feather, when nothing happened she grabbed hold and twisted, throwing herself at the door, or through it really when it swung wide open.

She ran past the wise guy with the bird hat with a mind of it's own blowing up balloons, she grabbed one as she ran through the open door thinking she might need it later. She skidded to a halt when she saw the guard to the city who started his 'Who goes there' speech but stopped abruptly when he realized it was Sarah, champion of the Labyrinth, and woman on a mission standing before him. He causally reached behind him and opened the door.

"You may pass." He said and she ran around him shouting her thanks over her shoulder. With a start she realized that the song Jareth had sung on her first trip round the crystal ballroom was stuck in her head and that she could almost hear Toby's conversation with the goblins in his room.

She ran through the empty room and shrieked her surprise when the floor fell out from under her. She was deposited promptly into the hands of, well, the Helping Hands. She would have laughed at seeing the hands decked out in party gear but was frankly, too out of breath. "Down!" she panted and they gently lowered her to her oubliette all the while talking of how happy they were Mistress Sarah had returned to the Labyrinth. Once on her feet she wasted no time, she found the door opened it, closed it while kicking a bucket out of the way before opening it from the other side. "Stupid Broom closet." She muttered. She ran past the Easter Island false alarms that sang their false alarms as she rocketed past with speed she was unaware she had.

"So, You're the little human are you?" A cool voice spoke behind her. Sarah turned to look,

"Sorry, lady I so don't have the time right now." Veradani appeared in front of her this time as Sarah turned back to the tunnel ahead of her.

"Make the time Princess Sarah." Sarah could practically see the disdain dripping from those two words.

"I'm not your princess and I have to get to my brother, so If you'll excuse me." Sarah said, her patience worn thin already from all the running.

"I think not. There's something I want and you are going to help me get it."

"No, I'm not. Now move before I do something drastic." Sarah discovered she hated Veradani's laugh, it was all slime and no honey, "I warned you." Sarah said pulling a sharp needle from her hair and throwing it as Veradani closed her eyes, that oily laugh turned into a pained scream and Sarah raced past. "Jareth! I could use a little help!" in a flash Jareth was at her side and poofing her to safety.

"Keep her out of trouble." He ordered and Sarah looked around surprised to see familiar faces. Before she could breathe a word Jareth poofed back to deal with Veradani who's eye was sizzling nastily. Sarah was lucky that the girls had given her weapons incase of Fae attack, if they hadn't he shuddered to think what might have happened. Jareth grabbed hold of Veradani's wrists, pinning them behind her back and poofing back to the lake he conjured up a pair of magic dampening, cold iron hand cuffs Alanna kept for just such purposes. He threw her to the mass of partying Goblins,

"She threatened your Queen, do what you will." The Goblins grinned a devilish smile and attached her to a rope and pulley system in place over a nearby fire pit that had an active fire going. He poofed himself back to Toby's room where he found Sarah, collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily.

"Jareth, if you ever make me through that again, I will kill you." She panted just before the clock struck thirteen.

"Next time, don't wish Toby away."

"I was asleep! I- oh forget it." She wasn't going to win this argument and she knew it. With a twinge of sadness she heard Jareth's song end and instead of cycling back to the start like it had been, it faded away. She lay there in silence for a few minutes before sitting up, "Hey, Jareth?"

"What is it precious?"

"About this whole Queen thing? Can I live here for a week and then above for a week and alternate until I figure out what I want to do?"

"I'd be delighted precious. And I'm sure all your friends would enjoy that very much as well."

"We sure as hell would!" Hoggle said

"Sawah, stay?"

"Yes Ludo, my brother, the Lady is staying!" Sir Didymus announced, accompanied by much tail wagging from his noble steed, Ambrosious.

Sarah smiled and closed her eyes and fell quite fast asleep beside Toby who held her hand in his.

"Jareth, she's asleep…" Toby said quietly, so as not to wake her.

"So she is. I'd best take you both home then, if I may?"

"It's probably a better idea then her waking up here. Take us home." Jareth nodded and scooped Sarah into his arms and with Toby clinging to his shoulder he glitter poofed back into Sarah's small but cozy house. Toby shook his head to get most of the glitter out of his hair and then stifled a laugh at the kitchen floor. "Sarah's gonna kill you when she wakes up." In a childish 'oooh, someone's in trou-ble~!' tone of voice.

Jareth rolled his eyes, "Go to bed Toby." And Toby began to walk off laughing quietly.

"Her room is across the hall from mine Jareth go ahead and go in, and if you want to stay, the place she's the least likely to freak out if she finds you, is the couch. Night, Goblin King. See you later. This is gonna be good." Jareth smiled and followed Toby to the hall where he turned right instead of left and found himself in Sarah's bedroom. He carefully placed Sarah in bed and pulled the covers over her. He kissed her temple and prepared to depart when her magnificent green eyes opened a little and she caught hold of his hand,

"Stay…" She whispered, his heart melted at the request and he nodded,

"Very well." She smiled and closed her eyes again falling back asleep. Jareth pulled a blanket from her closet and placing it in her top drawer he turned himself into his owl form and snuggled down into the blanket which he the wrapped around himself making clever use of his beak.

It wasn't until 7 'o clock that night that Sarah and Toby woke up again and it was Sarah's immediate reaction to having an owl in her bedroom that woke Jareth. When Sarah woke she first wondered if it had all been a dream but as she woke further she realized she wasn't wearing her pajamas, no, she was wearing velvet shoes and a dress, and through some miracle her hair was still mostly in a bun.

She sat up and finally looked towards her dresser. She saw the sleeping owl in her underwear drawer and looked on but as what she had seen sunk in she turned her head back to the owl in her drawer and screamed. The owl woke up, amber eyes snapping open, instantly alert and focused on Sarah who then put her hand over her eyes and with a groan dropped back against her pillow. Seconds later Toby, his hair all rumpled from sleep ran into the room.

"What? What is it? What happened?"

"There's an owl in my underwear drawer."

"Huh?" Toby said. Sarah pointed to the owl in her underwear drawer. "Oh. Hi, Jareth. I figured you were going to take the couch." The owl shrugged and with the blanket trailing behind him like a cape he flew out of the drawer and reverted back to his non-feathered form.

"She asked me to stay." He replied, rearranging the blanket draped over his muscled body just before two goblins burst through Sarah's door.

"Kingy and boss Lady in trouble!"

"Goblins rescue!"

"Stop!" Jareth Commanded and the two goblins, Irving and Georgia, froze in mid action looking up at him.

"Jareth why are there Goblins in my house?"

"They think of you as their Queen, Sarah, is it so surprising they'd have taken up lodgings in your home?"

"Specifically my closet." Toby piped up. "I told them that you wouldn't like having them in yours so I built them a nest in mine. They like socks, but only the left ones…"

"How long have they been here?"

"I discovered them the week I stayed with you after you moved in." Toby said after a moment's thought.

"Six years? They've been here for 6 years and I didn't notice? How is that possible?" Sarah cried looking at the goblins who now grinned shamelessly at her.

"Hello Boss Lady!" Georgia said with a grin. Sarah Groaned.

"All right all of you out of my bedroom." When they didn't move Sarah sat up and looked at them all, "OUT!" She demanded pointing to her door. "All of you! Move it! Andale, andale, andale." She said as she stood and herded everyone out the door. "Toby, go get dressed. You too Goblin King." She said before shutting and locking her door. "Whew."

"I told you she'd freak out." Toby said in the unmistakeable tone of I told you so.

"Toby, stop behaving like a 4 year old." Sarah's voice came from behind the door and Toby's features moved into a 'busted!' expression. Jareth glitter poofed back to his room and started humming.

No goblin dared disturb his good mood by mentioning Veradani, they had cooked her to the point of almost death when the Weeping Willows had taken over the job. They waited till she woke and then they hung her from their vines so she strangled while she was dissolved by the acid in the lake. The goblins danced, haphazardly, to her choking noises as she tried to scream. Those selfsame goblins decided Not to tell their King until later when he was no longer on Cloud 9.

After Jareth had dressed he called for his favorite maid, Clio. Clio brought her human daughter, Tabatha, a charming two year old with red gold curls, along.

"You called sire?" Clio smiled as he swooped down to pick up Tabatha.

"Yes Clio, The Lady Sarah will be visiting every other week so I'd like you and Darling Tabatha to ready the Queen's chambers for her." Jareth cradled the giggling baby in his arms, bouncing her as he rocked side to side while making faces at her.

"Oh sire! That's Wonderful news! Absolutely wonderful! I'll go start on that right away!" She said, practically hopping up and down as she made her way across the room to the door that joined the King's chambers to the as of yet unused Queen's chambers. As soon as Clio was out of her sight Tabatha began to squirm and whimper. Smiling, Jareth set the girl down and watched as she toddled off to her mother. Jareth walked over to his nightstand where a small portrait of Sarah stood. He picked up a small rock, a geode that had been converted into a ring box, and he opened it.

"You going to give that to your young miss?" A voice floated in from the windowsill. Jareth turned and saw a tall, slim girl with long white blonde hair tossed over her shoulder.

"Not just yet, Indirianna. I'm going to court her before I marry her. Assuming she'd even accept."

"She will. I was watching her with Scooter, He told her what happened when she left, and about that portrait you've kept on your nightstand since she was 22. When you showed up again it looked like it was all she could do not to snog you within an inch of your unmistakably long life."

Jareth didn't say anything, choosing instead to simply pull a black leather bound book out of his nightstand drawer. Flipping past his sketches of Sarah from over the years, he stopped on a sketch of a pendant to match his. It was tradition that every king, or queen, design a pendant to match their own for their spouse, assuming they married. The pendant he wore was not just a piece of jewelry, it was his emblem of office, it marked him as King. When he took it off it meant that he was no longer acting as king but as a man. When there was another pendant around someone else's neck it served the same purpose as a wedding ring did Aboveground. Placing the book on his bed he scrawled a quick note to Clio, asking her to take the page to the Blacksmith to start work on it.

Before he poofed back to Sarah's house he walked over to his windowsill and gave the blonde a brotherly kiss on the cheek and unceremoniously pushed her out the window. He grinned and poofed away before his little sister could throw her shoe at him.

Landing on Sarah's front porch he discovered a young woman about Sarah's age holding a large box balanced on her head. "Allow me to help you with that." He said smoothly, startling the raven-haired woman who spun around and found herself staring at Jareth's chest. Jareth took the box off of the petite woman's head and watched her pale blue eyes find their way to his face. "Hello."

"Hi." She squeaked and gawped at him. "Good god, you're gorgeous. Do you model? Oh please say you do!" She said and spun quickly around as the door opened behind her.

"Tessa! Jareth! Hi, why are you both standing on my front porch at 7:30 at night?"

"Would you have rathered I fly in through your window?" Jareth asked with a smirk.

"I was in the neighborhood and I decided since I have all these new clothes that you could model them for me." Tessa said, gesturing as she ignored or possibly didn't hear Jareth's comment.

"Well, come in. Don't just stand there." Sarah said waving them in. Sarah smiled when Tessa mouthed 'Gorgeous' at her while she walked in the door. Sarah narrowed her eyes at Jareth and whispered "Behave." Jareth leaned down and gave her swift kiss behind Tessa's back.

"Trade you." He whispered back, offering to give her the box and he would shut the door. Sarah fought back the smile that rose to her lips.

"Not a chance Goblin King." She said before closing the front door, very aware of Tessa's eyes on them.

"Sarah, aren't you going to introduce me to your hunk?" The petite woman whined with a sly smile.

"Tessa, this is Jareth, Jareth this is Tessa, we were roommates in collage. She swings by every time she's in town to bully me into modeling for her."

"Nice to meet you, So! How long have you known Sarah?" Tessa asked with a coy smile.

"Thirteen years." The pair said in unison. Sarah blushed and muttered something about finding Toby.

"So, do you model?" Jareth shrugged and leaned against the hallway door jam all Kingly stance,

"If they're good enough to warrant modeling." Tessa grinned widely,

"Oh I think I'm going to like you! So how long have you and Sarah been Dating?"

"About 13 hours."

"13 again huh?" Tessa said, absent mindedly as she began to notice conspicuous amounts of glitter everywhere. "Good god, I wonder what happened here… Did Sarah throw a party or something?"

"No, that's just Jareth, He sheds glitter." Toby said as he walked in the room with Sarah following close behind.

Sarah promptly grabbed Tessa and they got to work setting up Sarah's dressing room, catwalk, and music. Toby took pictures to commemorate the occasion, taking an extra for Jareth whenever he tapped the boy's shoulder. Two hours later when Tessa was packing up to go home Jareth cornered her and mentioned that he was planning on taking Sarah out to dinner. Tessa interrupted him,

"She's my best friend, and this is your first date, I've got just the dress." Looking around for Sarah the girl pulled out a lovely dress of green and gold. Handing it to Jareth her eyes flashed dangerously, "Don't you dare break her heart, you hear me? If you do, so help me I will murder you and hide your body in the woods."

"Understood." Jareth said as she pressed the dress into his arms.

Tessa Grinned brightly and stood up shifting the box to lean on her hip. "So long, Sugar! See you in a few weeks!" She called as she let herself out. Sarah poked her head out of the makeshift dressing room.

"Tess? Tessa! Tessa wait!" She called as she ran out after her friend. Jareth looked at Toby after Sarah left,

"Are they always like this?"

"No, this was mild. Usually, there's movies and pizza and once one of Sarah's neighbor's called the cops because the music was so loud and it was 2 am." Toby explained with a nostalgic look on his face.

"I was hoping to take Sarah out to dinner, would you like to accompany us or would you rather stay with the goblins who will, no doubt, flood the place once Sarah and I have gone." Toby thought about it.

"Lets see, chaperone my sister and the Goblin King or babysit a horde of goblins… I'm going with you dude. This way when the goblins make a mess of the house I won't be to blame for not keeping them in line." Toby said evilly.

"What's this I hear about a date?" Sarah asked. After no small amount of begging and pleading done by Toby, Sarah finally gave into to what she dared not say sounded like a fun idea. "Let me guess, you want me to wear that? Alright Jareth, you win this time." Sarah said as she took the dress from Jareth's arm and locked herself in the bathroom where as she changed she began to hum quietly. Jareth's keen ears picked up what Toby's were not and Toby stared at him as Jareth's head snapped towards the bathroom.

"There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel, open and closed, within your eyes, I'll place the sky within your eyes…" He sang quietly, so quietly Toby almost couldn't hear and he was sitting next to Jareth.

"What're you singing?" Toby whispered getting the feeling that Jareth had rather Sarah not know he was singing.

"You know the story of the girl who ate the enchanted peach and forgot everything but still made it to the castle to rescue the baby?" At Toby's nod Jareth continued, "What the girl didn't know was that the song sung as she danced with the King of the Goblins was not a mortal's song, it was his. He wrote it for her in that moment. She is humming it now."

"I don't hear anything…"

"Listen, Toby. Listen for it." Jareth whispered and watched as light dawned on the 14 year-old's face.

"She hums that all the time! You wrote it?" Jareth said nothing as he heard the door open and saw Sarah poke her head around the door jam. Jareth stood instantly and Sarah very slowly crept out. Toby looked from his sister to Jareth and back again. "Damn." When Sarah said nothing about watching his mouth his blue eyes widened. "Seriously, Damn. Looks like I'm staying here."

Jareth walked over to Sarah, drinking in the very sight of her. When he reached her they stood there staring at each other for several long moments. Jareth reached up and trailed his bare fingers over her cheek before taking the iron senbon needle from her hair and watching it tumble down around her shoulders.

"Not that you haven't looked quite lovely with it up Precious, But I much prefer you with your hair down." Sarah stared at him breathlessly for a few moments before she became away of a burning noise.

"Jareth, You're sizzling!" Sarah cried as she looked down to his hand, which was still holding iron between his thumb and forefinger and was indeed sizzling. Sarah hastily took the iron away from him, tossing it in her bathroom drawer. "Are you okay?" She asked taking his hand in hers and examining it. "Not too bad." She said and kissed his finger. Never noticing Toby move she kissed Jareth's thumb and then heard the click of a picture being taken. Her head jerked to see her brother holding the camera and wearing a wicked grin.

"Perfect!" he shouted in glee.

"Tobias Jonathan Williams, you give me that camera right now, or so help me I will find those baby pictures of you and put them in next year's year book."

"Oh-ho! Two can play at that game Sarah Jennifer Williams! Bobby has a big, huge, hairy, Tarantula that he said I can borrow." Jareth saw Sarah give a shudder of disgust and heard her mutter a curse on all spiders. Sarah glanced at the clock in the hall and sighed

"Jareth, it's almost 10, do you want to just get some pizza and bring it back? We can watch a movie and I'll let you take me out another day. And for some reason I feel like I've been on a 12 hour flight all day."

"I'll tell you why on the way, Precious." He said and as she left to get shoes and a sweater Jareth leaned over Toby's shoulder, "Would you care to show me that picture?" Toby grinned and pushing a button showed Jareth a lovely photo of Sarah in her spaghetti strapped dress of green velvet with a slim gold belt around her waist and Jareth in his most human slacks of black silk and his favourite billowy sleeved shirt of white. "How does one get a copy of this?"

"I'll have it for you when you get back with the pizza."

"Stop plotting against me you two." Sarah said from behind them making Toby jump about three feet, at least that's what it felt like.

"We weren't conspiring Sarah!" Toby said in mock defense.

"Uh-huh, suuure. What ever you say kiddo." Sarah said with an eye roll. "C'mon Goblin King, lets go get some grub." He offered her his arm and was pleasantly surprised when she took it. They walked out the front door and started down the street.

"The reason you feel so tired, despite sleeping the day away, Precious, is because of the difference between above ground hours and Under ground hours. You have 24 hours to a day, we have 26 and you just spent 13 of those hours running around looking for Toby. It's no wonder you're exhausted." Sarah let out a small "Oh." And they both fell silent as they walked, as they neared their second block passed Sarah realized that she was leaning into Jareth's arm, comforted and distracted by his warmth. She pulled away and took a sharp left turn, entering her favourite pizza place.

Minutes later she walked back out and pulled Jareth in front of a warm window where they could see their pizzas being made. 30 minutes later they were on their way again, Sarah insisted upon carrying the pizzas, not because she wanted to snuggle up to Jareth as they walked, she told her self, no. She just really wanted to carry the pizzas. Not long later the three of them were settled on Sarah's couch with a movie she and Toby adored playing.

'What's up Doc?' was its name and Jareth found that while he had enjoyed it he enjoyed having Sarah asleep on his lap much more. She had started off on his shoulder but as she wriggled she wound up with her head resting comfortably in his lap. She was beautiful when she stopped pretending or worrying and simply relaxed.

Having no power over Sarah he could not take her to her room with out being invited or told to, and since both siblings were fast asleep, it wasn't going to happen. Toby on the other hand was a completely different matter. Toby he could just lob a crystal at and have the boy tucked in, nice and cozy, in his own bed. And he did just that. Sarah on the other hand he stretched out on the couch and from the hall closet he pulled two blankets and a pillow. Wrapping her up with gentle care he was careful not to jostle or wake her. When he was done and she was warm he traced his fingers over her cheek and with his usual cloud of glitter he was back to his castle.

"You really love her, don't you big brother?" His sister's voice asked as he entered his bedchambers and found her staring, transfixed at a scrying crystal.

"Yes, Indi, I do." Indirianna, clearly not expecting Jareth to return so soon gave a startled yelp and in her haste to turn around, fell right off the bed. "and before you tell me to get on with it and marry the girl, let me ask you what you saw."

"I saw a girl very much in love with you but very much in denial about said love. The boy likes you but the girl doesn't trust you and when she finds herself wanting to trust and know you she distances herself. Once she does trust you though you ought to watch out, she's just as good at threats and teasing as you are."

"Precisely why I won't ask her to marry me just yet. She refused me once, she'll do it again if I push too hard. Are you saying I've met my match little sister?" He smirked as she writhed under the question before pouncing on an idea.

"You should take her on a tour of the kingdom tomorrow. I'll chaperone!" She suggested as she hopped back up on his bed. Jareth smirked at her,

"You just want a chance to spy on me some more."

"Would I do such a thing?"

"Yes."


I'm back! sorry about leaving when this was basically done but I had finals to study for and take which totally broke my brain for a few days. but I'm back and in reward for waiting patiently you'll get two chapters. So keep an eye out and You'll get another email within the next few hours in all likelihood. if it doesn't go up today it probably will tomorrow.