Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are the property of Jim Henson and are only used for fan related purposes. The title of the story, as well as the lyrics included, are from the Nightwish song, Sleepwalker, and are used to set the tone of the story.

Sleepwalker

Part Ten: A moment of introspection
That's where I'll wait for you…

A moment later, and without any sort of impressive entry, Jareth arrived in his throne room. A thoughtful expression flittered across his face as his blond hair settled on his shoulders. He was alone and grateful that none of his goblins had slipped in while he was with Sarah.

Sarah...

Leaning back into his throne, Jareth retrieved his scepter from its place at the side and absently tapped it on his thigh. The remnants of the magick that allowed him to see inside Sarah's mind had faded but that didn't mean he had forgotten what it was he had seen. It had been... interesting, to say the least, watching himself through Sarah's eyes. And, perhaps, a little illuminating.

With an aggravated huff, he dropped his scepter back to the floor and, presenting the flat of his palm to the ceiling, he conjured another crystal. But he didn't activate the scrying spell on it just yet; he left it blank. Then, holding the smooth glass orb in the center of his gloved hand, he awarded it a very rare genuine smile.

Jareth kept his mismatched gaze on the crystal, rocking it a bit forward, and a bit back, enjoying the weight of the scrying vessel in his palm as he danced before he tossed it up in the air. He folded his hands together underneath the slowly spinning crystal and, once his palms met, the crystal froze, mid-air.

It didn't fall.

The crystal hovered in front of him, as if it had managed to get itself stuck right in the patch of air right in front of Jareth's odd eyes. Yes, he mused, things are going rather splendidly for now… but what to do next? Just the fierceness and stubbornness in the way Sarah had behaved during their brief confrontation was more than enough of a sign that the girl wasn't ready to give up or give in. Not yet, at any rate.

He would have to work a little harder.

Which was, after all, the reason he had transported himself back to his throne room. It was time for some further stategizing. The coffin had stalled her just like he wanted it to, and his sudden appearance in the labyrinth had left her both angry and confused. But there was still eight hours left and Sarah could be wily and resourceful—not to mention the fact that he left her walking the right path. He needed another obstacle to waylay her on her journey towards his castle.

Of course, he would have to wait a bit before throwing another slice at her. For one thing, if allowed her the chance to build up her wavering self-confidence again, it would be all the easier to get her slip up later; if everything went according to plan, maybe Sarah would continue to blame herself when she was defeated. For another, Jareth was well aware that, if he continued to thwart her, stall and stop her, Sarah would stubbornly refuse to give in when her ten hours eventually ran out. She might not realize it yet, but every step she had taken, every turn she made, ever since she had enter the labyrinth again, she'd only been hurrying towards him.

Sarah Williams had no chance of winning. In fact, the girl had already lost. But she had no way of knowing that and Jareth, master of her fate, had no intentions of telling her just yet.

He couldn't tell her the truth—and, even if he could, he wouldn't. Not until the tenth hour tolled and she had no choice but to surrender to him at last. Only then might she finally understand the intricate dance the two of them had undertaken. The pair had been carefully entwined in a dangerous duet for too many years. Sarah might've thought the song had ended when she was fifteen and broke through the crystal of his masquerade, but that was then. This was now.

Let the music play again...

Almost unaware, Jareth began to hum Sarah's melody under his breath. It was her song as much as it was his and he longed to have her in his arms again to continue the dance—but it wasn't time for that just yet. He knew he had to play it safe. Like all great dances, there had to be an element of suspense and an air of awkward tension—a moment when the two partners were separated by nothing but individual apprehension and a heavy breath of air. He could reach for her but if he did, his perfect dance partner would shatter, crumbling inwardly at his touch. Hadn't she already, pulling away from him in the labyrinth?

He had to keep his distance, enticing her into his embrace rather than pull her forward with force. That was where he had failed last time. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Titling his head back, he lazily blew on the crystal. Softly, gently, the crystal began to float free, drifting upwards. His narrowed gaze followed it, his thoughts still focused on the mortal girl currently attempting to win her freedom from him. In the solitude of his throne room, Jareth had to echo her question: Why? In all the time he begrudgingly lorded over the Goblin King, he'd never had a mortal wish themselves away before. And why would he? What sane mortal would willingly wish herself into servitude?

And then there was the labyrinth itself. A structure as vast and as enchanted like Jareth's maze was too large to be sustained solely by the magick of a single fae, king or not—it had a substantial amount of power of its own. Though too many assumed the magick belonged to the Goblin King, it was really the labyrinth that decided whether a careless wish was made with just enough meaning for Jareth to interfere. Only the labyrinth knew whether or not the mortal doing the wishing truly understood the magnitude of those ominous words—

I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now.

If the labyrinth believed that the words were simply chanced upon and the speaker had no clue what was at stake, the child was left alone. When Sarah Williams had foolishly wished away her baby brother, the labyrinth was more than happy to send out the goblins to pull the child into the Underground. It was well aware that Sarah had the knowledge of her little red book; therefore, she understood what the fate of Toby would be.

But the labyrinth also knew that the Goblin King had used small magick to entice the girl to speak those very same words, and the maze knew what Jareth was up to now...

It was an interest at first, nothing more, that made the fae king notice the mortal girl. From the moment the old book fell into Sarah's hands, the Goblin King worked cleverly to bring her into his realm. None of his goblins, his kin, his people... none of them knew; only his precious maze had any idea just how interested and conflicted he felt. There was something about the girl, the way she seemed to believe in him so honestly, so innocently, his interest evolved into something close to affection.

That affection very quickly became infatuation. From there, it was only a short leap to full-fledged desire.

It took all of his cunning, every ounce of restraint he had before the girl finally invited him into her life, if only because she wanted him to remove Toby from it. At first, it seemed as if the girl was aware of the king's affection for her. That night, the night she made her careless wish, he could hear her voice as clear as day, a whisper on the wind—

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. And the baby was a spoiled child, and wanted everything for himself, and the young girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew is that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers—

Jareth waited on bated breath, even more anxious than his goblins. When she finally said the right words, they disappeared first. And the Goblin King hurried to make his first appearance, all the time wondering: How did she know?

It was a mixture of pride and stubbornness that kept him from showing her how he felt. He went out of his way to show everyone how indifferent he was to her, even if he did falter. Twice. After getting the real gatekeeper of the labyrinth to give her an enchanted, Jareth awarded himself by attempting to seduce the young girl amidst a garish masquerade scene. Of course, fifteen-year-old Sarah was too naïve to understand the meaning behind his words, the meaning behind his glance and she fled from him. Then, later, when they finally faced off within the confines of his faux castle, still transformed under the illusion magick, he at last lowered his mask and revealed himself to the Sarah. He offered her everything he could think of in return for only her will—

I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.

But she had denied him—

You have no power over me.

As Jareth lounged further back into his throne, the floating crystal lowering itself gracefully so that it remained at his eye-level, his lips quirked into a wry smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. It had been those same five words that propelled him to devise such an intricate plan. It would've been easy—too easy—to forget the girl. Goodness knows there were plenty of eligible fae women in the Underground just itching to become his Queen.

But he didn't. He couldn't. Damn it, he'd been generous, hadn't he? Why had she refused?

The Goblin King, even as a child, he'd never gotten accustomed to losing. Anything he wanted was his, either by magick or tricky or any other means he cold find. Sarah Williams was not just a mortal girl to him—she represented something that he wanted and could not have. Which was why he kept his crystals turned towards her for the past three years.

Through the use of his scrying crystals, Jareth watched and he waited and he learned all the silly mortal customs. He was an invisible witness as Sarah seemingly grew out of her fantastical habits, hiding away her copy of the old book, forgetting how to view her old friends from within the depths of her vanity. Despite his best intentions, he watched as Sarah put her past behind her. He was just beginning to question his own aims—why, really, after a millennium of life, was he allowing a mortal to dominate him?—when he chanced upon another venue to Sarah. The girl turned eighteen; according to the customs she lived by, such an age made her an adult.

It was the labyrinth's rule: Jareth couldn't touch a child that had bested his maze. But was an adult different? Yes. His obsession, made all the stronger for his momentary lapse, came again at full force. It was then that he decided to try the old magick, forsaking some of the newer spells for those that had worked in the past. It was much more difficult, and vastly more draining of his powers, but it worked. And, though it didn't work the way that he had initially planned, Sarah was in the labyrinth again.

In a little less than eight hours, she would be his. Finally.

Still, It bothered Jareth how, even three years later, Sarah managed to act as if she was unaware of the feelings he had for her, dominant and possessive and wanting as they were. The grin that had played out across his lips faded and he closed his eyes momentarily. In the recess of his mind he could still see her—he could see the way that she looked up at him, unshed, bitter tears glittering in her green eyes. She had asked him 'why'; the look of surprise that slipped out was genuine. How does she not know? How does she not understand my desire for her?

The sight of her upset, looking up at him as if he were a cruel monster, made him feel just a twinge of guilt—but nowhere near enough to stop him from continuing this game. He would have the girl, that much was certain. When all this was said and done, Jareth would impress upon her the depths of his devotion; Sarah would never had to cry again. She would be his Queen. All he had to do was convince her of that.

The Goblin King exhaled softly as he opened his eyes again. Snapping his fingers, the crystal hovered closer until it nestled itself into the cup of his palm. Once it touched his glove, the image lit up. It had been enough time since he left Sarah alone in the labyrinth. Why not check to see what her next move was before he planned his?

It was just as he expected: Sarah was heading down the same strait, heading ever closer to his castle. A change had overcome the girl, however. She didn't seem as flustered and, rather than wasting her energy by running, she walked purposely forward, ignoring any of the arrows or the marking that might lead her from her path. Every few turns she would dare a glance at the silver watch on her left wrist but she didn't seem anything less than confident.

Jareth shook his head, the smile returning to his beautiful face.

My precious thing still thinks she can defeat me, he mused, tapping the tips of his fingers against the glass. He stifled a superior chuckle. Ah, precious but such a silly, silly girl.

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Chapter Ten, woot! I was kind of torn on this chapter – I know what the next big twist will be, it was just the matter of whether or not this was the moment for it. After looking over the reviews (of which I am so grateful for – I never, in my wildest imagination, thought that I would get such a response like this – THANKS!), I decided to get a look inside of Jareth's head again. Even if Sarah did not get an answer to her question, it does not mean that we don't get to know, right? Anywho, enjoy this chapter – hopefully I'll have the next one out quickly since I already know what direction this is heading into. Yay :)

eta: 06.08.11 - updated!