A/N; Sorry i havent uploaded for a while guys, been busy with college and family matters. To make it up to you i have made this chapter a bit longer than the others! Hope you'll forgive me x

Mercy was too busy 'defending' herself to notice Nathan appear behind her. The things in front of her kept talking and laughing and the way they could just pull their arms off and be fine scared her. She swung the branch in front of her and the fire made a glowing line, warning the beasts away. The one that had been speaking to her suddenly clapped its hands and flames suddenly surrounded them. Nathan grabbed Mercy's hand and pulled her behind him.

"Go back to your games" His voice was clear and the fieries backed away.

"Hey that lady was rude!"

"Yeah! She stole our fire!" They started arguing amongst themselves and Nathan turned to Mercy. She was gripping the stick tight and he had to pull harder than he thought to make her let go. He gave her an apologetic look and tossed it to the fieries; who threw their hands into the flames and started dancing.

"Nat…" Mercy touched Nathan's shoulder and he turned to face to her. She was hugging herself with one arm and placing the other hand on her chest.

"Can we go home? I don't like it here" She sounded so scared his heart broke. He took one last look at the fieries before taking her back to the castle.

~#~

It had been two days and Mercy had not left her room. As soon as Nathan had landed them in the castle she had ran and somehow she knew where to go. She had thrown herself into the bedroom and locked the door behind her, listening to Nathan beg her to come out. Food had been brought to her and Nathan had come every so often to try and get her to come out but she had ignored him. She had taken up a sitting position with her knees to her chest and had made camp in a corner of the room. This was hell.

After the second day she had been coming in and out of consciousness from lack of food and drink. Jareth had been going to her when she was asleep and had tried forcing her to drink fluids, but every time he had brought the liquid to her lips she had started to wake. He would always grow irritated and vow to not go to her again…but he never was good at keeping those vows.

Nathan knew the king would visit her and he had started staying outside of mercy's door, listening in case she needed him. He knew if she didn't eat or drink soon she would die and he refused to let that happen. It was growing to the end of the third day when he had finally had enough. He got to his feet and tried the door; it was locked as always. He took a deep breath and pushed his shoulder into the door. Nothing. He tried again four more times and the door didn't even creak under his weight. He frowned; he wasn't the most muscled of men but he should at least be able to break an old wooden door down. He placed a palm against the wood and growled. Magic. He banged a fist against the door and cursed the fae who had built the castle. He knew Mercy would be mad but he had no choice. He willed himself into her room and he found himself a few feet away from her.

"Oh Mer…" He shook his head and picked the sleeping girl up from the floor. As he placed her into the large bed he lightly shook her. Her head fell slightly to the side and her hair fell over her face. Nathan brushed the locks away and crawled onto the bed next to her. He prayed she would wake up soon.

~#~

Jareth had been called aboveground and he was grateful for the distraction. The prince was a constant irritation and that girl had been plaguing his mind since she had got there. As he landed on the windowsill the window blew open and he transformed into his fae self. A young girl gasped and spun to face him, her arms held out in a way that made the king assume she had once held a small child in them. The king smirked and crossed his arms.

"Your…you're the goblin king aren't you?" Her voice was small and her eyes wide. Jareth nodded his head slightly and tears formed in the girl's brown eyes.

"Please…give me my sister back. She hasn't done anything wrong…"

"If she did nothing wrong" Jareth interrupted her "Then why was she wished away"

"I didn't mean it!" The girl cried and Jareth raised a brow, completely bored with the usual scenario.

"Oh you didn't?" He slowly walked over the girl who cowered against the wardrobe. She shook her head and he stared blankly down at her.

""I've brought you a gift…" A crystal appeared in his hand and he held it out to the girl. She frowned and reached for it.

"It holds your dreams…would you like it?" She nodded and reached for it again.

"Then forget about the baby" Jareth's voice was no more than a whisper but he knew the girl had heard him. She paused for only a second before grabbing the crystal and grinning as if she had won. The king looked away in disgust and flicked his wrist; the crystal shattering and a cloud of glitter exploding over the girl. Her mouth went slack and her eyes glazed over. The king did not wish to remain aboveground any longer than he needed, he had a child to take care of.

~#~

Mercy opened her eyes to the sound of a baby crying. She sighed, content, and rolled onto her stomach closing her eyes again. Her arm landed softly on someone's chest and she opened one eye to find a red-headed man sleeping soundly on top of the covers. She smiled at him as she remembered who he was; Nathan, the only man she ever truly loved. She let her fingers trail down his shirt and over his chest until she felt him start to stir. She pulled the covers higher until they were over her chin and she closed her eyes as Nathan woke up. He hadn't realised he had fallen asleep and was disappointed that Mercy still was. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and flung his legs over the side of the bed. He thought he had felt something…he shook his head and ran a hand through his messy red hair. He knew watching Mercy sleep wouldn't do anything so he stood and made his way to his own home.

Mercy sat up and frowned as the baby kept crying. Why hadn't he gone to comfort the child? She shuffled to the wardrobe and pulled out a long silver nightgown and left her room. She didn't recognise the hallways and something felt off about the place, but she knew that if she found the child things would feel normal; she was just tired. A few moments of walking found her in a lightly painted room that resembled a nursery. There were dressing tables against one wall and a box of toys against the other. She took a step forward and grinned at the feeling of soft carpet under her bare feet. She wiggled her toes and took a few more steps. A small cot lay along the far wall and thin gold material hung above it, stars and moons hanging (she couldn't see any string) from the fabric. She ran her fingers along the wooden sides and smiled down at the now silent child staring back up at her. The girl was beautiful; brown tufts of hair sweeping over her head and wide green eyes sparkling up at the strange woman. Mercy reached down and picked the baby up and cradled her against her hip, the girl giggling and reached up towards Mercy's face. Mercy placed a hand over the child's and placed her cheek against the small hand. Mercy gave a sad smile and started swaying slightly with the child.

*Dancing bears…painted wings…things I almost remember…

*And a song someone sings…once upon a December….

*Someone holds me safe and warm…horses prance through a silver storm

*Far away…long ago…glowing dim as an ember

*Things my heart used to know…things it yearns to remember

Mercy's voice grew to a whisper as she noticed the child's head lull to her chest. When she felt the child's breathing even out she slowly placed her back into the cot and pulled the thin blanket over her. A tear fell onto the blanket and she quickly wiped under her eyes. She refused to dwell on the past. She took one last look at the child as her memory slowly came back to her; Nathan, the king and the underground. She suddenly felt a great sadness wash over her and it took everything she had not to break down in tears. She blew the little girl a kiss and turned to leave. She paused when she noticed a figure in the doorway and ran a hand through her long hair. She didn't want to talk to the goblin king, not right now, but she could tell he wouldn't let her leave. She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes.

"What do you want, king?"