Disclaimer: I don't own 'Labyrinth'.

CHAPTER TEN: And Yet More Promises

Jareth moved toward the chair nearest him, hoping Sarah wasn't too uncomfortable. He was well aware that she had never sat at a table this large. She was obviously intimidated. Still beautiful, though. He spotted her arm, pulled into a sling, and another pang of guilt hit him as he remembered that he was the one who had caused it. He took a calming breath as she approached him.

Just act natural, Jareth coached himself. Yeah, right.

"Sarah," he said, by way of greeting. He pulled out a chair and motioned for Sarah to sit. "How are you feeling?"

Sarah glanced around her apprehensively, noting how huge the dining room was. The large table was set for just two people. There was a painting on the wall, a very well done portrait of Jareth sitting in the throne room. Sarah looked back at the goblin king, sighing to herself quietly.

"I feel like I just got smacked around by a big huge monster," Sarah said wryly, sitting down. Jareth smirked as he moved to sit opposite her. Sarah looked a little uncomfortable, but he supposed that was to be expected. He was almost pleased to see that she still managed to hold her head up high, as if trying to prove that the situation in which she found herself didn't really bother her. That's my girl, he thought. Still, she looked slightly nervous; Jareth doubted, given her family life and her on-the-go parents, that she had ever sat down to a formal dinner. He was glad that he had ordered something simple that she would be familiar with (roasted chicken and potatoes, with green beans). He and Sarah both picked up their forks and began eating, neither saying a word.

After several minutes of silence, Jareth began to panic. What ever happened to the cocky Jareth who didn't care what anyone thought of him? I'm getting to be pathetic. Desperate, he thought of something to start a conversation.

"How's your arm feeling?" he asked suddenly. Sarah's head snapped up, startled. She looked at him, as if trying to see if he were trying to mess with her head. After a moment, she seemed to think it was safe to answer him.

"Still hurts, but I'll live."

Jareth nodded, searching for something to continue the conversation. "It should be healed within a few days. According to the medigoblin, it could have been much worse. Some nonsense about compound fractures." Sarah nodded, still concentrating on her plate and refusing to meet his eyes. She was hardly listening to Jareth. Jareth realized that he had run out of things to say. Calm down, he coached himself. At least she's talking to you . . . . sort of.

Sarah tried to snap herself out of it. It could be worse, she thought. I could be locked in a dungeon somewhere with nothing to eat. And God knows how long I'll be stuck here. She cleared her throat.

"Er . . . good food," she said, a bit lamely.

Jareth bit back a grin, inwardly cheering. That's better. He worked to calm himself down; it wouldn't do to scare the poor girl.

"Er . . . yes, it's quite good. The cook's very talented, been working here for a little over four hundred years. I remember the day he was hired; I was very impressed with him. Hired him on the spot." That's it, keep the conversation going.

Sarah couldn't help raising her eyebrows at this, no longer just pretending to be interested. "Four hundred years? How old are you?" Jareth laughed out loud at this; he had forgotten what a shirt life-span humans had compared with the beings that lived Underground.

"Going on 1,254 this year," he answered her, chuckling harder still when her eyes widened to become about the size of the dinner plate in front of her. "Oh, that's nothing. My father lived to be 4,002. We age a lot more slowly than humans do; the equivalent of sixteen Aboveground is about 400 years here."

Sarah's mouth continued to gape open. She couldn't imagine being that old. And she thought her parents were getting on in their age . . .

"Well, I feel young," she said at last, smirking a bit. She paused for a moment to think about the situation she was in: she was sitting at a table with Jareth- the cruel, heartless goblin king- eating chicken . . . and actually enjoying herself a little. She had even forgotten how furious she was with him for a moment. It was hard to hate him; as much as he was infuriating, he was charming; he made you forget everything. She looked at him now, noticing how much happier he seemed to be since they had begun talking; he'd been so sullen before.

"Well, I suppose compared to the rest of us you are," Jareth said, smiling along with her. They were silent for a moment, taking the time to eat some of their food, before Jareth cleared his thraot again.

"So how have you been since last I saw you?" he asked. Sarah raised her eyebrows.

"Because of course you haven't been keeping an eye on me." Jareth's face became flushed, making Sarah's eyebrows shoot up even more. Did he just blush? Oh, my God. She suppressed a giggle.

"I've been okay. Finished up with school and everything, and I'm . . . I was working on going to college." Jareth didn't miss the sad note in her voice as she thought about her life Aboveground. Way to go, you bloody idiot.

Sarah tried not to think about home, her enthusiasm about going to college, her friends, Toby . . . She brought her hand up discreetly while Jareth took a bite of his food, wiping away a tear that had leaked slowly out of her right eye. She hoped Jareth hadn't noticed it.

"So how have you been since the last time I saw you?" she asked him, hoping that he didn't notice the change in topic. Of course he did, but for once he didn't mock her for it.

"Busy. Lots of things to do, running a kingdom." Sarah resisted the urge to ask if he had stolen anyone's little brother lately. She mentally kicked herself for reminding herself that she wasn't ever going to see Toby again.

Jareth caught the pained look on her face. "What's wrong, love?" Sarah looked up, a tear threatening to streak down her face.

"Nothing," she said quickly. Jareth gave her a look, obviously not believing her. Sarah heaved a sigh, cursing Jareth mentally again for his stubbornness. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again when she realized that she didn't know how to say it. She decided to put it simply.

"I miss Toby."

Jareth's heart plummeted. He had known that Sarah was going to be upset. This, however, was too much. He looked at her, feeling a wave of sympathy pass over him. Sympathy. That was something he had not experienced in quite some time. He glanced at Sarah again and realized that she was crying, though she was trying to hide it by lowering her gaze to the table. His heart cracked.

He was silent for what seemed like several long minutes. Then he took a deep breath.

"You'd like to go back, wouldn't you." It wasn't a question. Sarah's eyes remained directed at the table. "To see your family again . . . and your friends, your life." Sarah looked up at him, not answering. Jareth didn't require a reply.

"After your arm heals." Sarah's eyes widened, wondering if she had heard the king correctly.

"It needs to heal completely before I can send you back, or it'll cause problems Aboveground. But as soon as it does, you'll see your family again." With that, Jareth quietly excused himself from the table. A tear slipped down Sarah's cheek as she stared off into space.

Jareth collapsed on his bed, sighing heavily. He could have kicked himself for what he had just done. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid; he'd finally gotten what he wanted: Sarah, with him forever. Things had even been going well, at least for the time that they had actually been conversing in the dining room. And he had just thrown it all away. He knew he was going to regret this.

But it makes her so happy. He was shocked to discover that that was what he truly wanted. Her happiness.

On the other hand . . . he didn't think he could have lived with himself if he had forced Sarah to stay Underground for all eternity, watching her be miserable for the rest of her existence. It would have been too much.

He contented himself with the thought that he would have a few more weeks to spend with Sarah, before he lost her again. He wouldn't think about what would happen after she left- the unimaginable torment- until he absolutely had to.

Sarah sat on her bed, wondering if she was dreaming. She was going to go home. She wiped a tear off her face. She was going to go home.

A knock came at her door. "Come in," she called. She raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw who her visitor was. Jareth.

He looked perfectly calm, unnaturally so. "I just came by to make sure everything was satasfactory." Sarah nodded.

"Thank you, everything's fine." Jareth nodded, turning around to walk back out the door.

"Jareth?"

The goblin king stopped dead. He turned around slowly, hesitantly meeting sarah's eyes. She smiled softly.

"Thank you."

Jareth let the tranquil façade drop for a moment, surprised at the sincerity in Sarah's voice. He had no idea what to say; the words refused to come. He nodded once more, awkwardly, and left the room.

Sarah stared at the door. She felt a little bad; Jareth was genuinely upset that she was leaving. She still couldn't help but feel excited that she would be going back to see her parents and little brother shortly. She missed them so much already.

Another knock came upon her door. Sarah pulled it open, looking down at the female servant goblin, who bowed to her.

"Beggin' your pardon, miss," the goblin said, "but you have visitors." The servant goblin gestured around the corner, where Sarah saw Hoggle standing. He smiled at her, coming into her room without invitation. Sarah thanked the servant goblin, who curtsied again and left down the hall to attend to other duties. Sarah turned to her guest.

"How was dinner?" he asked her. Sarah smiled a bit.

"You'll never guess what happened."

"He kicked some goblins around for no good reason?" Hoggle guessed. Sarah shook her head, looking appalled at the suggestion.

Hoggle looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, that's all I can think of. What happened?"

Sarah smiled even more widely at saying it aloud for the first time.

"I'm going home."