Jareth was still sleeping the morning away, his wounds finally being healed. They hadn't seen Adrien in a while either, but Sarah still didn't like the idea of leaving her house for a number of reasons. The only time she'd leave her house was to get groceries in the marketplace or if she was sick, which wasn't likely. But her horse had seemed to be neglected for a matter of days, and Sarah knew she had to take care of him, lest she wanted to lose her only way of getting around.

She checked in on Jareth before she went on with her day, and was simply happy with the idea of actually having another person in her home. She had never really thought of the idea of having a roommate or a husband, figuring it would only take away from her independence that she was given by her parents years ago, not only that, but Sarah always felt like she had a bad judgment of character. She usually ended up dating someone who constantly got in fights during her high school year, which caused Karen to discipline her to no end until she finally gave up on dating life and decided to settle down in a home of her own after high school was through.

After that, she completely forgot about the life of people, considering her life in the country side was rather quiet and simple, but she liked having Jareth around. It made her feel special, in a way; almost like someone finally cared about her for once in her life.

Gathering her things for the morning, she looked up to find Merlin sitting at the door, his tail swishing back and forth on the carpet. Sarah smiled and laughed silently to herself. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to bring you out with me, now would it?" Merlin's tongue fell out between his teeth in reply and she shook her head at the lazy mutt.

Merlin ran out the door as Sarah went towards the barn where she kept her horse. She hadn't groomed the stallion in days, and he was probably caked in mud from the other night when she went into town. With brush in hand, she went ahead of her dog and into the barn and began to brush him off, only to find Merlin was gone.

"Merlin?" she turned around in a complete circle as she whistled for him, "Here boy!" she continued to search for him, but to no avail. He was just here a moment ago. Where'd he get off to? She searched the stall where she stabled her horse, but Merlin was no where near the large animal.

She continued to search the barn, and still no results. Almost on cue, Merlin began barking as he rushed past the barn doors and in the opposite direction. "Merlin!" He ran past the house and continued until he was almost out of sight.

Sarah didn't bother saddling up her horse, she threw on the bridle and hopped up and took off after him.

After a while, she lost track of him, but she continued to look in the deep woods. "Merlin?" she muttered softly, turning her head in different directions, keeping her eyes out for the lazy sheep dog. Her horse, Jericho, stopped every now and then, spooked by the occasional hoot of an owl. She rubbed the side of his neck, muttering softly to him, trying to calm him down a little bit.

Out of nowhere, a rat skittered by, a snake chasing it, causing Jericho to rear upward, knocking Sarah to the ground. "Now!" In that very moment, a bunch of men pounced on her, tying her hands behind her back and holding her down. "You've been an awful pain in my side, Ms. Sarah." One of the said as they came out from behind a tree, his hands behind his back; when Sarah looked up, her eyes widened.

"Adrien!" he laughed as he squatted down to meet her gaze, his hand gripped her chin and held her face. Sarah glared at him, trying to pry her face from his grasp, but she had no luck. "What do you want; let me go!" Adrien only laughed again as one of his men searched her for any threats; one of them found the dagger she had.

"Now what would you need this for?" he asked as he held it between two of his fingers by the hilt. Sarah's heart skipped a beat. Now that she was out in the open, which meant Jareth was in danger, especially since Adrien knew where she lived. Her breath caught in her throat as if she was suffocating, but nothing was there to block her air ways. Trying to keep herself from falling unconscious, she struggled against her bonds, but she couldn't break free; they were tied too tight. "I'll make a deal with you, Princess. You tell me where to find the Goblin King, and I'll free you." Adrien smiled down at her as he tossed the blade aside.

"I'm not helping you murder him!" she snapped, pulling at the ropes once more, still wanting to break out of the ropes that were cutting into her wrists. Adrien's eyebrow twitched a little bit, but an idea came to his mind.

"Oh really?" he and his thugs began to laugh. "Well, if you want your pet to be safe, I suggest you tell us where he is." He already knew he was at her house, but he wanted to make sure she didn't hide him anywhere. Adrien held up his hand, motioning someone to come forward.

The man who came forth had a cage in hand; another was following close behind, the same cage in hand, helping him bring it forward. They placed it on the ground, causing its contents to bark loudly. "Merlin!" Sarah could feel her adrenaline pumping through her veins, tears causing her vision to blur slightly. "Let him go! He has no part in this!" she choked on the last word, trying to hold back whatever tears that threatened to fall.

"Then tell me where to find the Goblin King." He sneered sadistically. Sarah swallowed the lump that sat in the back of her throat, trying to fight back her fear for her pet. "Or the dog will never be seen again, and your family will suffer greatly." Sarah hid her face, trying to decide if she should save Merlin or Jareth.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to hurt any part of my family…" she muttered softly. Adrien simply chuckled to himself as he looked at the faces of all the men that surrounded him.

"You have my word as a gentleman."