Robert tapped his foot as they stared at him in shock. "Well? You wished away your brother didn't you?" Pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
Jareth spoke tilting his head as Sarah continued to stare opened mouthed at her father. "I thought something about Toby seemed familiar."
After a moment Sarah started sputtering. "What? How could you possibly know about any of this, let alone know who Jareth is?"
Robert sighed. "When I was 5 I was wished away by my mom on Christmas, that book of yours was hers. There's a lot I don't remember but he's not exactly easy to forget. He actually made it snow inside and his goblins took me sledding down the stairs."
Jareth laughed. "I remember that you were so terrified I had to think of a way to calm you down." He chuckled. "My goblins must've carried you and that sled up those stairs at least 50 times before you fell asleep on my thone. Your mother actually made it through the labyrinth and I took you home. You didn't know it but the teddy bear you got that Christmas came from me."
Sarah stared at her father a moment. "You mean Lancelot! Why didn't you ever tell me about this?"
Her father smiled at Jareth before giving her an incredulous look. "I always wondered why my mom looked so surprised to see it that morning. And Sarah really who would've believed me? I would've ended up in the nuthouse if I'd told anybody. The only other person who ever knew about it was your mom."
Jareth spoke. "I still don't understand something. I never mentioned anything to you about what I was or about life-bonding so how did you know to look for the markings?"
Robert gave him a half smile before turning to Sarah. "I never thought I'd ever have to tell you this but apparently now I have to. You might want to sit down for this honey." When Sarah sat he began again. "I met your mother when I was 25; she was beautiful and sang like an angel. It took a solid 3 years to get her to marry me." he chuckled. "Finally she agreed, but it wasn't until after I married her that she told me that she was fae." Sarah and Jareth's eyes widened and they looked at each other as he continued. "4 years after you were born she told me she'd fallen in love with one of her own kind and ran off. I'm sorry I lied to you but when you didn't show any signs of having magic like your mom, I knew I couldn't tell you the truth."
Sarah was frozen as Jareth moved over to her and took her hands in his. "How could I not know? How is this possible?" She whispered to him.
Jareth sighed and glanced at Robert before he explained. "A fae's magic is buried under a genetic lock until they reach their 18th birthday. Otherwise there would be too many childhood accidents, until then even a full blooded fae child appears almost human. This actually explains a lot, why you're changing so fast. Why I was drawn to you from the beginning, your beauty and your talent for singing. Even your interest in fairy tales and quick acceptance of the underground. Even if I hadn't started the transformation your magic would've started developing."
Sarah's head was spinning so fast she was dizzy. She was stunned by what she'd learned, just the fact that her father knew about the underground was confusing enough. But learning she was born half-fae was hard for her to process. She took a deep breath before letting out a nervous laugh. "Well I guess this means you didn't need to disguise yourself after all." She joked.
Jareth burst out laughing before giving her a kiss as her father shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I suppose not." He answered before changing himself into his normal appearance and winking at her. Standing he faced her father.
Robert blinked at him for a moment. "You haven't changed a bit; you look exactly how I remember you 40 years ago. It's strange to say the least but I suppose I'm going to have to get used to you being my son-in-law." They both laughed.
Jareth shook his head, now he knew where Sarah got her sense of humor. "I'm glad to see you taking this so well. Please know I love your daughter and that I plan on keeping her safe. We don't have long to be here because I plan on teaching her to control her magic this afternoon. But we will make sure to visit you often."
Robert shook his hand and nodded. "If anyone can protect her and make her happy it's you. I'll think of something to tell Karen since I know you can't lie." Walking over to Sarah he gave her a hug. "I'm going to miss you but as long as he makes you happy I can handle it."
Tears filled her eyes as she hugged her father goodbye. "I love you daddy, I'll come to visit whenever I can." As her father left them to pack she wiped away her tears and got to work. Leaving behind most of her clothing she only packed a few things such as her favorite books, pictures and the gifts she had gotten from her friends. Turning she smiled taking Jareth's hand in hers as he took them home. Once they put away her things Jareth left her for a little while as she sat down into the armchair next to the fire.
Deciding she'd had enough excitement for the day Jareth brought a light lunch of sandwiches and fruit up to their rooms to eat. Sitting down next to her he draped her legs over his lap as they ate. As they finished he rubbed her ankles as he spoke. "Are you ready for me to teach you?" At her excited nod he chuckled and pulled her back against his chest. Taking off his gloves he framed her hands in his. "Alright precious, now we'll start with something simple. You've seen the crystals I use for certain spells. I use them to either contain a spell for later use, conjuring items or to view things from a distance. The spell starts in your mind and you will it into being. You'll feel your magic drain a bit when it happens so don't be alarmed. As you learn to control it you'll barely notice it after a while unless you do a particularly difficult spell. I'll be connected to you so that I can guide you through it at first. I'll start you out with the elements." He waved his hand and a small table appeared before them on it was a candle, a bowl of earth an empty glass and a feather. "Now we'll work on lighting the candle, growing a flower, creating water and creating a gust of air to make the feather rise. Are you ready?" at her nod they began.
After a few hours of trying each element she found she was actually quite good with the water spells but she had some trouble with the others. She'd melted the candle into a puddle of wax, only barely managed to get the flower to sprout and caught the feather on fire. Feeling drained and exasperated she huffed and put her head back onto his shoulder as he laughed. "I'll never be able to do this." She exclaimed.
Jareth rubbed her arms. "You're doing quite well actually, you've barely even started. It took me several years to perfect quite a few spells. It'll come in time." He gave her a small encouraging hug and squeezed her fingers. "We've already found out you have an affinity towards the water element, it's a good start for a single afternoon. We'll work on it some more tomorrow when you've recharged." Kissing the tip of her nose he smiled down at her in pride. "Let's get some dinner and get ready for bed it's been a long day for you."