Something about me stood apart

A whisper of hope that seemed to fail

Maybe I'm born right out of my time

Breaking my life in two

- Thursday's Child by David Bowie


Time passed and as the archway remained empty, Jareth began to fear. What if she had changed her mind? Or what if she couldn't get through? Even if she was a mortal, he was dead certain that wouldn't be a problem. It shouldn't be. Then, to his great relief, magic filled the air and she came through the portal. The image made him smile. Her eyes were shut tight and she was holding onto her horse for dear life. Trying not to laugh, he said, "You can open your eyes now."

She heard his voice. That meant she must have made it to the other side; and in one piece, no less. Sarah opened her eyes. He was right before her and, this time, she was actually happy to see him smiling. She relaxed and leaned back in the saddle. "Sorry if I kept you waiting. I was a bit… nervous." Her eyes scanned the surroundings. They were standing on the top of a hill, but not like the one on the other side of the Labyrinth where she had first set foot on Underground soil. Everything on that side was dead and desert-like. Here, tall, green grass grew all over the hill and beyond, as far as the eye could see. The portal had led them straight onto a gravel path which went down the hill and into a forest. "Is this our path?" she asked.

"Indeed, it is. Shall we?" Without waiting for her response, he started down the hill. Why does he always do that? Sarah didn't even command her to do so, but Calypso immediately followed behind her sister.

"Seems like I haven't got that much of a choice, anyway."

Once they had reached the bottom of the hill, the path widened and the two mares could walk side by side. A signpost stood at the edge of the forest with three arrows pointing down the road, reading the following…

Moon Lake, 24

The Dwarf Kingdom, 31

The Faerie Kingdom, 63

Sarah had no idea what kind of unit they used in the Underground, so figuring out exactly how long it would take them to get to the Faerie Kingdom was a task she wasn't even going to take a shot at. She could probably ask Jareth, but she wasn't going to do that, either. She remained silent, avoiding conversation as much as possible. So far, talking to him had only made her upset. However, as they kept going down the road, she soon found that not talking to him made her feel… awkward. Think about it, her inner voice began to speak, you're going to spend the next week with this guy. If you don't strike up a conversation at some point (that point preferably being now), I think I'll go crazy. Her inner voice was right. This never-ending silence just wasn't going to work. And now that she thought of it, there were plenty of questions still left unanswered. Might as well start with one of them.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why is it that you've never approached me before? Why wait for thirteen years?" Did she actually just speak to me? He had grown so used to the silence that hearing her voice was like waking up from a deep slumber. Why wait, indeed?It's not like he had a choice.

"If I could have approached you earlier, I would have."

"What, you mean you couldn't?" She said it as if she thought him to be all-powerful. Though it was flattering, in truth; he was far from it.

"No. Once I returned to the Underground after bringing you home, the barrier between my world and yours remained closed to me. There was no way to get through." He was wise enough not to mention the detail about not even being able to watch her through his crystals.

"Because you had no power over me." He had long wondered if it really was that simple. The only thing he could say for certain was that nothing ever was. Not in his world.

"Supposedly." Thinking back on the time which had passed, Jareth sighed. It was torture. "Thirteen years might not seem like a very long period of time, but to me it might as well have been a hundred. The fear of not seeing you again was growing stronger each passing day. Then, about two months ago, I felt the magic awaken and surge through the Labyrinth stronger than ever before. The barrier had opened."

"Just like that?" she questioned. "For no particular reason at all?"

"It's hard to say. Magic is unpredictable. Especially when it comes to the Labyrinth." Even to him, the maze was a mystery, among other things. It was also a blessing. It was also a curse.

"So that's when you found me?" He gave her a nod.

"Yes. And when I did, it was under most undesirable circumstances." Here, he paused and turned to look into her face. "Another man was already courting you." He looked away before he could catch a glimpse of her reaction.

"Yeah," she said. "A man that I happen to love and who loves me back." It was just a statement, really. But to him, it was also a warning. She was telling him to back off.

It was quiet for another moment before he dared to speak again, changing the topic. "So you earn your living by teaching young children?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I thought you wanted to be an actress." Dreams could change. That much, she had proved to him. But she had been so passionate about acting. So why hadn't she pursued that dream? He tried to get a look at her face from the corner of his eye and he thought he saw that young girl again. The girl who was still fighting the chains within.

"I did, but…" But what? he wanted to ask. Why wasn't she living her dream? "It just wasn't for me." She looked up and met his gaze. "It was for my mom." Ah, yes. He remembered that woman. The woman Sarah had looked up to and idolized as a young girl. That was no longer the case, it seemed.

Sarah had not spoken of her mother in a very long time. Had barely even thought of her. She figured it was all in the past. That woman had made her choice. She didn't care about Sarah and Sarah didn't care about her. So why did she feel like crying? "When I was young," she began, "I wanted to be just like her. But as I grew up, I realized that… I just wanted to be me. You know what I mean?" In the absence of a response, she asked, "Does that disappoint you?"

"No," he said, without a second thought. Nothing suggested he was trying to cover up a lie. He was being earnest. "Not at all. As long as you're happy, that's the only thing that matters."

"And I am. I love my job and my…" She was going to say 'boyfriend.' At the last minute, she chose not to. "… my family."

"I would suspect no less. How is Toby?"
"He's…" Did he just ask me about Toby? "He's… just fine. He's doing great, actually. At school, he's a top student. Much better than I ever was. Practically a genius." She loved him like any sister loved their brother, but Sarah loved Toby even more.

"That's wonderful," she heard Jareth say.

"Yeah," she agreed with fondness. "He's fourteen now. It feels so strange. He used to be so small and now he's almost taller than me."

"Do you think I would recognize him?" If Sarah wasn't mistaken, Jareth was hoping to see her brother again. Instead of crushing his hopes, like she had already done so many times before; for once, she tried to be kind.
"I'm sure you would."

"And do you think he would recognize me?" Alas, it was going to be difficult not to destroy those hopes.
"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, it was so long ago and he was just a baby. I'm not sure he has any memories of this place. At least he's never spoken of what happened and, quite frankly, I think that's for the best."

"Why do you say that?" She knew he would be disappointed, but that couldn't be helped.

"Jareth, you have to understand this. Your world… your reality… it doesn't exist in mine. It's only a myth." She looked at the road ahead. It would soon take them up a small slope. That slope was nothing compared to the mountain she had had to climb through the years. "You don't know how hard it's been for me. Ever since I returned, I haven't been able to talk to anyone about what happened, save for Hoggle, Ludo and Didymus, but as you know, I stopped calling them after a while. If I ever talked about it, people would think I'm crazy. Sure, I'm all grown up now and I suppose I could take it, but Toby…" The mere thought of it broke her heart. "He's still just a kid. I couldn't stand it if he got bullied for talking about faeries and goblins as though they were real." It was ridiculous, she supposed, but Sarah was afraid of looking Jareth in the eye when she said it. Long ago, the people of her world may have believed. But that was then.

"I understand." She fought to ignore the sadness in his voice.


After some time, Sarah started to feel hungry and when she couldn't stand it any longer, she removed her backpack and brought it in front of her. Calypso kept a straight course no matter what, so she didn't feel guilty about letting go of the reins for a minute. "What are you looking for?" Jareth asked. Just in that moment, Sarah found it.

"Food," she stated proudly, showing him the paper-wrapped bar in her hand. He eyed it with a quizzical look.

"What kind of nutrition is that?"

"It's called a protein bar," she explained while peeling off the wrapping. "You wanna try some?" She held it out within his reach, but, as if afraid of it, he recoiled.

"I think I'll pass, thank you very much. But I do believe we should get something to eat and now seems like a good time to rest. After that, we can continue towards Moon Lake." He looked up at the sun shining through the trees and estimated the time. "We should make it before sunset. I thought we could spend the night there. Would that be all right with you?" It was kind of him to ask, but it wasn't like she had a counter proposal. He was the one who knew the way around here.

"You know better than me."


Just as Jareth had predicted, they arrived at the lake right as the sun began its descent. The lake itself was a perfect, round circle in the middle of a glade. Apart from the birds singing their soothing melodies from up high in the tree tops, there was no one there. All was peaceful. Sarah gazed at the water, which had a silvery sheen to it and she understood why it was called Moon Lake. Something made her feel drawn to it. As Jareth tended to the horses, Sarah walked to the edge of the water and squatted down to touch the surface. It was rather cool and felt as smooth as silk against her skin. She saw her own reflection staring back at her. She looked different, somehow. Younger. Then, the reflection of another face appeared. His face. Sarah craned her neck and saw him standing right behind her, leaning forward slightly. "How is the water?" he asked, whereupon she got to her feet and shook her hand dry.

"Fine, I guess," she replied, not really knowing what kind of an answer he was looking for. He must have been pleased with it, though, because he was smiling.

"Good," he said and proceeded to take the black gloves off his hands. That's when she realized she had never seen his hands before. He always wore gloves. Why, she did not know, but that inner voice of hers thought he should leave them off more often. She turned the voice off right then and there. Since when were hands an interesting topic? Let alone his hands? In spite of herself, she followed their every movement. She watched them unbutton the leather jacket and the waistcoat underneath. Watched as his arms stretched to tug at his white shirt. And that's when she came to her senses.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing?" she all but blurted out. He pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it onto the pile of clothing he had created. Great, now his chest is bare, too. And that was the only comment she allowed her mind to make.

"Getting undressed," he said, bending down to pull off his boots. He failed, or more likely, ignored to see her problem. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I can see that! But why?"

"I'm going for a swim. I don't know about you, but I haven't had a bath in almost two days. Care to join me?" Her eyes narrowed, though it did not achieve the desired effect. He merely smiled.

"I happen to have something called dignity. No thank you." A shrug was all she got out of him.

"Suit yourself." His hands continued to move down, her gaze still following. Big mistake. Although his abs were easy on the eyes, there was no need to see what was below them. She realized this as he started pulling his pants down. Slowly. Oh yeah, he was definitely teasing her. With a loud groan, Sarah tore her eyes away from him, her cheeks turning bright pink. No proof was needed to know he was smirking.

While waiting for Jareth to come out of the water, Sarah went to join Desdemona and Calypso, who were happily munching the grass on the bank. "You seem like a fine pair of horses," she said, petting Calypso's neck. "I hope His Majesty treats you well." The sound of approaching footsteps told her the man in question was coming their way and sure enough, he stepped into view. But he didn't look the same as before. He had changed his outfit. Instead of grey, his pants were brown and the white shirt had been replaced by a black one. In addition, his hair was as perfectly styled as ever. Completely dry. You would never have believed he had stepped out of the water just a minute ago. One of the many perks of having magic, no doubt. "Nice outfit," she commented. Jareth straightened his shirt.

"Yes, I had hoped you might like it. Or perhaps you preferred me without one?" It was very tempting to just slap him in the face again.

"You wish." She pushed past him and started walking towards the forest.

"And where are you going?"

"I'm going to look for firewood," she called over her shoulder. "Or had you planned for us to freeze during the night?" The sound of a crackling fire gave her the answer to that question. She turned back around to see a big, burning flame hovering above the ground, fueled by nothing whatsoever.

"Will this do?" He looked so damn pleased with himself, she could have hated him for it. Could have.


Jareth said he would go search for some edibles (instead of having to "waste the food they'd brought"), but not without making sure Sarah would be all right on her own. She assured him it was fine and into the forest he went. The light was quickly fading and now stars were gazing down on her from above. Sitting by the fire, Sarah looked out over the lake and an idea came to her mind. There were a few lake rocks here and there, maybe not that big, but big enough to let her have some privacy. Who knew when she was going to get an opportunity to wash herself again? And now that the sun had finally set, she could use the darkness to her advantage. He wouldn't be able to see that much of her this way. Desdemona and Calypso remained still where they lay as Sarah made her way to the water. Going behind the rocks, she stripped down.

The downside with waiting until it got dark was that the water was colder now. As soon as she made contact with it, her body reacted by giving her goosebumps all over. Taking a deep breath to brace herself, she closed her eyes and dived in. It felt like someone had dropped a bucket of ice over her head. It wasn't long before she reached the surface again. No one in their right mind would stay under water that cold any longer. She pushed the wet hair out of her face and began swimming the short distance back to the rocks. That's when it hit her.

She didn't have anything to dry herself with.

Cursing herself for not thinking before acting, she contemplated what to do. Staying in the water was not an option. Peeking out from behind the rocks, she saw that Jareth had made it back to the campsite. And he was watching her. Way to go, Williams. There was no other way. She simply had to swallow her pride. "Um, Jareth?" she called, still staying hidden. "Do you think you could conjure up a towel or something?" If he could produce a fire, but not a towel, then what was the point in having magic at all? When he reached the lake, he crossed his arms and casually leaned on one of the rocks. Sarah lowered herself further into the water. Even in the dark, there was no mistaking the smug grin on his face.

"Why? Are you not enjoying your swim?" When she involuntarily shivered, he faked a gasp. "My, Sarah, look how you're shivering. The water's not cold by any chance?" She would have laughed at his sarcasm if it weren't for her teeth chattering.

"Why don't I drag you down and you can feel for yourself?" Her snarky reply did nothing to wipe the smugness off his face. On the contrary, his grin widened and that's when she knew she had said something wrong.

"How considerate of you to invite me." His tone was suggestive and her cheeks grew red, contrasting the blue of her lips. Damn him.

"Just give me a goddamn towel!"

"Say your right words, Sarah." Everything was a game to him and the only way to get what she wanted was to play by the rules. 'Say your right words, the goblins said.' She knew the right words. Rolling her eyes, she delivered them clearly, without missing a beat.

"I wish you would give me a towel." He raised an elegant brow, still waiting for the second part. "Right now!" It only took one sweeping motion of his hand and there it was; plain white and perhaps not as big as she would have liked, but it would have to suffice. He stretched the fabric and held it out in front of him. He was waiting for her to come to him? Why couldn't he just give it to her? She clenched her jaw and tried to keep it together without shaking too much. "Are you really making me do this?"

"Well," he shrugged, never dropping his outstretched arms, "you could always stay in the water." Once again, there was nothing left to do but swallow the pride.

"All right, but don't peek! Or I swear I will kill you."

"I believe you," he said and turned his face away. Tentatively, she stood up, her body shaking. She watched him carefully as she approached. Not once did he glance her direction. What a gentleman. She took the towel from his grasp and wrapped it securely around herself.

"Thank you," she said, letting him know it was okay to look now. And he did. With those penetrating eyes. It didn't matter that she was wearing a towel; she felt naked nonetheless. Well, don't just stand there like a dummy. Say something! She cleared her throat. "Now I wish you would leave, so that I may dress." Was she really going to have to begin each sentence with 'I wish' to make him comply? He bowed his head.

"As you wish… Princess." When he turned his back on her, Sarah shook her head at him. I wish you would stop calling me that. That wish, she kept to herself.


When she got back, they shared some fruits and berries which Jareth had found and in silence, they watched the flames of the fire dance before them. Despite the heat, Sarah was unable to keep herself from shivering. Jareth noticed and reached for one of the saddle bags. Her jaw dropped as she watched him put his whole arm inside it in search for something. "Who did you get that from? Mary Poppins?" It was just like the bag in that movie.

"I'm afraid I have no idea who that is." Finally, he got hold of whatever it was he'd been looking for and pulled it out; a piece of midnight blue cloth. "Here, I brought you a cloak." For a split second, she was paralyzed. Not because of the fact that he had a magic bag, but because he had been kind and considerate enough to bring her a cloak. The slight shock gave her pause for a moment.

"Um… thank you," she finally managed to say. She accepted the cloak and threw it around her shoulders.

"Better?"

"Yes." She pointed to the bag. "How much stuff have you got in there? Doesn't it get heavy?" He shook his head, smiling.

"No. It's as light as a feather."

"Bu how much does it have room for?"

"As much as you'd like. Though," he added, "the more you put in, the harder it is to find whatever you might be looking for at the moment and any object you pack has to be able to fit through the opening."

"Okay. So… no beds, then?" He chuckled.

"No." He reached into the bag once more and took out another item. "But sleeping bags." One for her and one for him. Well, her inner voice returned, how about that?


A/N: As always, I'm posting the update late at night when I'm super tired and really don't give a damn whether it turned out all right or not, because the only thing that matters is that I got another chapter posted! That was particularly important this time around, because tomorrow my life as a college student will recommence. I can honestly say I don't think I will be able to post one chapter/week from now on, but I will of course update as often as I can. That's a promise I intend to keep! But hey, this chapter is the longest yet! Hope you didn't think it was too long. This time, most of it was from Sarah's POV, but next time there will be more from Jareth's POV. :) I struggled writing this chapter, because it does take them a while to get to the lake, but who wants to read boring dialogue all the time where nothing happens? So I needed to speed things up a bit (as well as save some of the dialogue for later chapters). I also want to thank everyone who's reviewed/followed/favourited or even read, of course! I'm so happy that you seem to enjoy/take interest in the story!