The dog was pure black, shining in the gloom of the trees. Its eyes were the color of emeralds in the sun. His collar, moving strangely with magic, shone like a beacon. He grinned distinctively, wolfishly. Almost like Jareth. Thought Sarah.

Sarah approached, arguing with herself profusely.

It is probably friendly, only wants me to pet it.

It's ten times the size of a normal dog!

It's still only a dog, they only want love.

And I'm the queen of England.

Labyrinth.

Pfft.

Pfft, yourself.

I will.

"Good!" Sarah said aloud.

"Arguing with yehrself, are ye now lass?"

Did the dog just speak?

"Aye, t'was me."

"H…hello." Sarah said, approaching slightly crouched down. The dog, still grinning wolfishly (of course he was a dog,) nodded its head at Sarah. Sarah smiled, inside beating herself up.

"'Ello. Me name is Alastir. To pass ye must solve me riddle."

"Alright." Sarah was good at riddles. She was very good at riddles. It was one of her and Marge's….

Marge. Oh god how Sarah missed her. Her heart wept at the thought. She hadn't even thought of Margery this whole time, except for the first couple weeks in the Labyrinth. Sarah felt the tears coming on and thought of her friend all in white standing in the fields of green.

Right where she belongs

God She missed her.

"Lass, yeh still there?"

Sarah looked up and brushed away a tear, to her surprise. " Oh, Yes. Just thinking of someone."

"Alrigh' lass, are ye ready for year riddle?"

'Shoot."

"Wha'? I am not goin to shoot ye lass." Stated the large hound, looking confused.

"No that's not what I meant. I meant…Oh never mind. Just give me the riddle."

"I am going to give you three answer them all and you may go. Answer only two and you must stay here for a week in this realm's time. Answer one and you stay for two months in this realms time. Answer none, and you stay forever." He explained, his cockney-ish lilt suddenly gone, grin fading from his face.

"Oh dear, but Jareth!"

"He needs you to solve them."

"Alright."

"The first one is : What is broken every time it's spoken?"

Oh, thought Sarah. I have heard this one before. She smiled. She knew the answer.

"Silence."

"Very good Lass. Next: This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down."

"Oh, erm…." Sarah had to think. This was a decently hard riddle. It sounded like a riddle form something she had read once. A very long time ago. Something….oh dear…. She knew this. She began to curse herself. And then…

"Time!" She called out, elated. It was from The Hobbit!

"Very, very good lass. Now can you get my riddle? Faces and smiles, animals and features

We can make out faces features

We cannot speak and yet we've voices

We conduct the way for traveler's choices."

Conducts the way for traveler's choices. Well that sounds familiar.

Oh, that's easy.

"Stars."

"Very good lass, ye are free the go the year man. Tell Jareth I said 'Ello."

Sarah bowed to the dog, her hair falling in waves. The dog bowed back, its ears touching the ground

"Goodbye Alastir! I will tell Jareth!"

"Goodbye lass, come visit me again."

"Someday!"

Say Ran around the dog, her hair streaming behind her. The woods were darker now, without the dog there for company. A scream tore through the woods and Sarah ran faster. Jareth.

IOIOIOIOIO

Gwen sat there staring at both Sarah and Jareth, side by side on beds. She still thought about killing Sarah who was in the coma of the travel. The knife sat, gleaming, in her hands awaiting. It was malicious in the firelight.

She couldn't believe that Sarah would let something like that happen, it was her fault. All her fault! The greatest ruler that this realm could have possibly had was going to die. And all because of one girl.

Tromlui.

Tromlui.

It was him, that evil monster. That vampire. Finally added to the list of kingdoms and he ruins it. The rulers would never, never, go for it again.

It was Tromlui.

In a wisp Gwen had vanished.

IOIOIOIOIO

Jareth sat in a ring of fire, eyes wild and panic. Monster of shadow attacked. One stayed on his face, altering his vision. Probably showing him his worst nightmares.

Sarah lay on the ground next to him bleeding.

Sarah gasped as she approached, seeing herself dead was something new. Black lilted at the edges of her vision, threatening to take her down.

"NO!" She screamed. The black faded away.

Sarah ran to the fire, and jumped, her gown catching on fire. These are Jareth's nightmares, oh he has so many. "How do I help?" she whispered.

Jareth looked up.

"Sarah?" he said, his voice harsh with pain.

"Oh gods Jareth!"

The ring on Sarah's finger began to pulse, warm and bright in the darkness and wavering lights of the fire. It was pure light, untainted by anything dark. It was a goddesses ring and it was beautiful.

Suddenly Sarah's hand felt very heavy. Both hands did actually.

She looked down.

In each hand a sword sat. Glowing and pulsing like the ring. On the pummel of one sat a huge purple gem, and on the other a huge green gem. She handed the one with the green gem to Jareth, the more masculine one.

"I think we fight your nightmares Jareth. We kill them."

The nightmare that was on his face had fallen away and the dead Sarah was gone.

"I think we do also, love."

Sarah looked at him sharply. He smiled wolfishly at her, just like the dog. He put up his hand in a sign of surrender.

"Please, can we just fight?" he asked.

"Of course!"

They ran through cutting the nightmares to pieces. Out of them ran blood as black as pitch. They screamed, high and human, as each sword cut them. The swords, it seemed, were made just for this. They cut through the nightmares like butter, with ease. It disgusted Sarah the first few, but after one bit her, and hard, she stopped caring. They weren't human, they were monsters

By the end Sarah was covered in bites and scratches, and Jareth was untouched. At lease she has some sword practice. Jareth had centuries or millennia's worth. Only one problem.

"Jareth aren't their bites poisonous and their scratches fatal?" Sarah asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, why….Oh gods." Jareth looked like he was about to pass out.

"Get me home Jareth, get me home now"

"They knew! The nightmares knew! They knew who you were, oh Sarah I'm so sorry. They went for you because of me." a tear fell from his one green eye. "I have caused you so much pain, I am so sorry."

"Jareth…" Sarah said breathlessly. "Take me home."

And then the world was no more.

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

Jareth's eyes opened and he turned over. Sarah was sick and pale, tossing and turning in the candle light of the room. No one was here, not a soul. He could have sworn Gwen would be.

In his mind he called out, touching every mind in the Labyrinth "Help!"

Instantly his mother and father appeared, and so did Gwen, who was covered in blood.

"Jareth!" they all cried, in unison. "Oh gods, you're alive." cried Alainn, throwing herself at him.

"Yes, mother. Sarah isn't going to live. Get that book, the one Sarah always talks to and get the realms best healers! Please. She's been bitten and scratched by my nightmares!"

"Oh gods." breathed Gwen.

"Gwen what did you do?" asked Jareth, noticing her dress.

"Inflicted pain to someone who deserved it." she replied, nothing in her eyes.

"You didn't."

"Oh yes."

"Mother check on Tromlui. May he still be alive, for I want to see him burn!" he turned to Gwen. "I swear Gwen if he is dead I will exile you from this kingdom, never to return. Do you understand?"

"Yes." something went out of her eyes then, something that no one noticed but Jareth. She lost a little bit o her softness. It was the end of the soft Gwen they all knew. It was time for a whole new world.

Erini suddenly appeared on one of the closer bookshelves, his covers stretching is tiredness. "What?" he snapped, and then his eyes traveled down. "Oh good lord Sarah, what now?"

"Nightmares." answered Jareth. "From trying to sac me.'

You could see the scratches, oozing blood constantly. They were bright red and turning a sickly green colour, the edges of the wounds black. The bite mars were blue and black, almost like bruising. They oozed green and red blood constantly. Every five minutes the bandages had to be changed.

"She's going to turn into a nightmare."

"What?" snapped Jareth, surprised.

Erini looked sad. "If she isn't cured she'll be a nightmare."

"How do we cure her."

"You must invoke the goddess with the gods given monarchs of the realm."

"the…The…Goddess?" asked Alainn and her husband.

"Yes. The goddess. She must lay hand on Sarah if she deems her worthy to cure her. If not, then all is lost."

Alainn fainted. Gwen went white. Jareth sat and said nothing.

"Do you have the things to make the circle and the spell to invoke the goddess?" asked Jareth to Erini,

"Oh I have the spell, but you must fetch the ingredients. You should have them. Open my pages to 713. That's what you need."

Jareth had paled.

"So let us begin." Erini echoed.

IOIOIOIOIO

Okay so I finally updated and I am so sorry. I have been very very depressed since my mother died and have been having a lot of trouble with custody issues. Please forgive me. I promised the next chapter would be longer, AND IT IS so here it is. Please review. The more I get the more encouraged I will be and I may update sooner!!

AlainnAnam