In the fractures of the mirror, Sarah glanced at herself. Her face was no longer worn and pallid, but fresh and rosy. Her eyes widened as she raised her hand to her head, surprised that her tresses felt freshly washed. Supple ringlets that fell upon her face, while the rest of her hair gathered to form a sophisticated bun. With her other hand, she slid her fingers down the ivory satin that bred her gown. She saw that it glistened with the rays that crept through the stone walls of the castle's chamber. It seemed funny to her, how radiant she looked amongst the dank hollow, like a rare diamond that had become lost in the depths of the gravel. She did not know why, but she felt impatient, and whatever it was she was waiting for began to prey upon her mind. Peering out the window, she saw a crowd of goblins. But it wasn't a battle that brought them to a mass! Instead, they all sat patiently in front of an alter, anticipating the arrival of someone. That was when Sarah's heart jerked in fear. Could they be waiting for her?

Her instincts warned her to run, but before she could even think about an escape plan, she was already outside, pacing down the lengthy aisle that had formed throughout the entire Goblin City. Her heart pounded as her legs carried her further and further down the gangway. Creatures of the Labyrinth celebrated as she strode to her fate with a veil over her face and a bouquet of calla lilies in her hand. So many faces, and none of them she knew. Though they were smiling, they made her feel uneasy, for she had never known goblins to show kindness, especially not for a human girl.

As she neared the alter, she caught sight of the bridegroom who had been awaiting her arrival, and suddenly everything became tranquil. He gazed into her eyes and smiled softly. She beamed back, happy at the thought she would soon be betrothed to the one and only Goblin King! Oh, how handsome he looked - although, his sleeves were a tad poofier than usual, and his hair was a little wilder, but none of that bothered her, for she knew she belonged to him.

However, as she reached to take his hand, he scooted to the side, revealing that he, in fact, was not the groom, only the best man! And right there, in front of her, stood a little shabby dwarf, who gaped lovingly into her eyes.

"This is the 'appiest day of our lives" he grinned, striking her with panic. She loved Hoggle, she really did, but marrying him? It was unthinkable. She wanted to voice her feelings, but sooner than she could blink, the ceremony was already in full swing.

"We are gathered here today in the face of the Goblin City, to join together Hoggle and Sarah in matrimony; which is an honourable and solemn estate and therefore is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly," summoned the minister, who Sarah now realised to be none other than Sir Didymus. As the fox continued to speak, she also saw Ludo, who stood by the side of the alter, wearing a small bow-tie which he had attached to his fur, smiling happily at the scene. Behind her, was Jareth, who stood with an empty expression, simply watching as the service went on. "If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace. Who gives this lady to be married to this dwarf?"

This was her chance! All Jareth had to do was object to this foolish charade... But nothing.

The sermon went on, and appeared to be speeding up with every word Didymus spoke. Though, Sarah wasn't really paying attention to anything he was saying. She was too busy gazing at all the goblins behind her, who ogled at her with their exaggerated smiles.

"I do!" exclaimed Hoggle. The words shook her back into reality, and made her take notice of the fact that her hands were now in the palms of the dwarf's. It was as if some outside influence was making her do all these things involuntary. It appeared that she had already been uttering her vows without any control over what she was saying.

"And my Lady, do you take for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy kingdom of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live in this Labyrinth?"

The fox, who held a familiar red book up to his pointy nose, urged for her to respond. Hoggle, too, pleaded with her to say the words. But all Sarah could do was look behind at the man she had thought was to be her true husband. Strangely, his hair had grown a little longer since she last glanced his way, rendering her more and more curious about the scene. Still, she scanned his face for some kind of indication of what to do, but his features remained motionless.

"I...I..." she hesitated.

"You must answer, my Lady!"

Once more, she cast her eyes to the fixed countenance of the Rapunzel-like Goblin King, only to receive no defence. Her lips proceeded to part without her say so, and reluctantly she spoke the words.

"I do!" she cried dramatically, to which the everyone cheered, everyone apart from Jareth, who showed no emotion whatsoever.

"In so much as Hoggle and my Lady have consented to live forever together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this company, having given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and having declared same by the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husband and wife."

On the articulation of the word 'ring', Sarah noticed she wasn't even wearing such a thing, but instead Ludo stepped up and jingled a small bell in front of their faces. It seemed that the Labyrinth hadn't quite grasped the full concept of a human wedding.

"You may now seal the promises you have made with each other with a kiss." urged the fox.

Sarah stared at the dwarf and became filled with unease. His lips were pursed and ready to smooch. She grimaced as he leaned in closer, inches away from planting a warty smacker on her mouth.

'This is wrong' she thought. But the external force still overruled her objections, and thrust her head forward, but not enough to prevent her from letting out a protesting scream.

"NO!" she shrieked.

Awake, she jolted, in an awry mess of blankets and bewilderment, desperate to flee the lumpy mattress and wipe the globules of sweat that had dripped from her forehead. After she had processed the fact that she had not just gotten married to an inhuman dwarf, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. Just to be certain, she glanced out of the window to see that the goblin battle was still burgeoning. She was assured when she saw a flash of light, followed by a poof of smoke, launch a goblin into the midnight air.

Refusing to stay in that torturous cell any longer, she crept over to the door and carefully pulled on the door-hold, praying that it's high-pitched creak hadn't woken any of the castle's inhabitants - if there were any. The elderly goblin had led her far from the main hall of the castle, and far from where the Goblin King's chamber she had previously encountered lay. The thought of that soft, lavish bed made her feel angry that he had appointed her to such a morose dungeon. He was probably laughing at her right now, priding himself over the fact that she was trapped in his world. She hated that.

So lost in her thoughts she became, that she failed to noticed the small foyer she had stumbled across on her travels. Just ahead of that foyer, rose a flight of stairs she had never come across before, and Sarah being Sarah, decided to ascend.

When she arrived at the top, she was staggered to find herself standing on a concealed terrace, situated to the rear of the fortress. Since it was completely open, with no barricade, she had to be vigilant not to step too close to the edge of the craggy beige rock that the castle was composed of. From here, she could make out the spire of the castle, and looking further out into the distance, she could see the vast expanse of the Labyrinth, stretched out as far as her eyes would take her. The scene took her aback, as if she had discovered the secret window into the entire universe. There were so many secrets, so many adventures and journey's that she could be taken on. What other strange creatures lurked behind the stone walls? Were there more Goblin Kings? Queens?

She stepped forward to admire it some more, glad that she had uncovered this place, for she was prepared to stay and marvel at the landscape for the remainder of the night. As seconds went by, her eyes flickered in all directions. There was so much too see, she did not know where to start. The fact was, she had become so preoccupied with panorama, that she hadn't seen that at the very far end of the balcony a small ledge extended out from the castle, and at the end of that ledge sat another soul, who had also come to appreciate the kingdom - His kingdom!

Concurrently, Hoggle was teetering up to the gate that would direct him straight into the heart of the castle. There was only one person on his intoxicated mind, and now he had been told that he was the sole subject of hers, nothing would stop him from reaching her.

"I'm on me way, Sarah!" he croaked, pulling up his trousers, which now resembled a shapeless potato sack. His garments had virtually fallen apart from the stench that permeated his wrinkled body, so he had to try his best to preserve his modesty, even when in a drunken stupor.

In contrast, there was man who possessed not a modest bone in his body, and this man was presently being observed by Sarah on the sly.

Jareth posed on the ledge. With one knee bent and the other stretched, he watched over his Labyrinth like a lion would watch over the pride-lands. But his expression was not one of haughtiness, like Sarah had first thought, but one of melancholy. His lips wilted, reflecting the yearning in his eyes. But what was was he yearning for? Sarah could only guess. In spite of this, she felt like she had intruded on his private moments, and turned to retreat back into the castle's interior.

"You may stay..., if you wish."

The power of his voice stunned her footsteps, and she swerved back to find that he hadn't even tilted his head to see that she was there. He just knew. He must have known all along. This made her feel ill at ease. Stumbling on his whereabouts by accident was one thing, but stopping to watch him for several minutes was the vulgar behaviour of a Peeping Tom. She didn't know what to say so once more, he broke the lingering silence.

"Trouble sleeping?"

This time he faced her as he spoke. His midnight eyes piercing into hers, so full of vitality, unlike in her recent nightmare. His velvet ensemble only added to the mystery that made up the man.

"What do you think?" she replied rather viciously, implying that the room he had sent her to was hardly fit for a young girl.

Jareth only laughed at her response, one of those supercilious cackles she was beginning to detest. She did not quite know how to respond to this. Her usual instinct would have been to raise her voice up to the shrillest level she could, demanding that he returned her home, and stopped tormenting Hoggle. However, past experience had taught her that things just weren't that fair, especially not in the Labyrinth. If she wanted to get anywhere she had to take a different route. Sarah had to use the one thing she had over Jareth - the human touch.

"It's beautiful up here. You can see for miles!" she stated in a dreamy tone.

Her declaration caused Jareth's eyes to widen in amazement. He looked at her as with curiosity she gazed out into the great beyond. She did look charming in the moonlight.

"This view kind of makes up for all the hardships and dangers of the Labyrinth..., not to mention the goblins," she continued, causing suspicion as to why she was being so compassionate towards him. Being a Goblin King, he was used to handling creatures who lied, cheated and showed little or no empathy at all, so he wasn't quite sure how to deal with her sudden attempt at it.

"It's not all that bad," he answered, deciding to avoid questioning her behaviour and simply see where the conversation would go. "There are feasts, live puppet shows, masquerade balls..., and that's just the non-magic side of it!"

"Balls? Like the one I…I mean…" Something halted her from finishing her sentence, for she wasn't so sure she wanted to remind herself of that time, but Jareth knew exactly what she was getting at, and wanted to explore the subject further.

"Yes, that was a rather enchanted evening, wasn't it? Such a pity that you didn't stay long enough to enjoy it."

"I had a responsibility!" she reminded, fully aware that he was teasing her.

"Ah, yes...your brother!" he cited, as if he had hardly remembered Toby's capture. "Well, even so, you could have stayed to say goodbye to your guests. It was your party after all."

"Oh, please."

"What?"

"I didn't exactly fit in there, did I? All those people whispering and laughing at me! And you, you..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing," she sighed, after a brief cause.

Jareth arose, and took a step towards her, challenging her armoured stance. The terrace was small, so his closeness slightly unnerving. His sultry breath released a bouquet of sweet aromas in the air, and this made her feel unwillingly comfortable in his presence.

"You're right, Sarah. You did not fit in at all at that ball." He paused to take her hand in his, and not knowing why, she let him. His slender fingers slid into hers and clutched gripped each of them in turn. Smiling at her lack resistance, he glanced into her eyes. "Not one of those dancers had half the beauty you had."

After those words, Sarah was caught.

At the same time, Hoggle had finally stumbled upon the whereabouts of his true love, after searching throughout the entire castle. He had heard the sound of her soft voice, and followed it to the pinnacle of the fortress - a perfect place for them to declare their undying love for one another. Excitedly, he planned on what he would say to her when he reached her. Then he decided that maybe words did not need to be spoken. Maybe a kiss would say everything. Besides, he wasn't the most sober, so a speech wasn't going to be the most alluring.

But as he emerged onto the promenade, he was dismayed to see she was not unaccompanied. And when he peered closer, he was crestfallen at the sight of her holding hands his immortal nemesis. He watched them in the shadows, his beady eyes swelling as the girl he held dear fell into the arms of another soul.

"Jealousy. It's an ugly thing. Those guests at the ball could only have dreamt of possessing your innocence, your purity. Why, the other women wanted to be you, and the men wanted to be with you. But not one of those men were good enough for you, Sarah. Not one of them."

Hoggle listened in to Jareth's attempt at wooing her. What a sleazebag, he thought. Surely, she wouldn't fall for that?

"Why not?" she whispered, leaning in closer to his touch.

Oh dear, she's falling for it.

"Because Sarah, you're a delicate flower, one that will be crushed by the hands of any of those brutes. You need someone who will fawn over your magnificence and allow you to shine, not some repellent little scab!"

Hoggle knew exactly who he was referring to, and it crushed him. Jareth was fully aware the dwarf was behind them, even though Sarah wasn't. At first he pondered why she couldn't sense his notorious odour, but soon realized that Jareth would have probably shielded her from the scent with his own fragrant charms.

"Jareth, I..."

But he shushed her, and pressed his finger to her lips.

At least it was only his finger, Hoggle told himself. But before he could be thankful, Jareth leaned in for a real kiss.

The moment their lips pressed together in a fervent embrace she couldn't tear herself away. She never knew a kiss could be so breathtaking. Maybe it was the fact that he used his magic to make everything seem more rousing, or maybe it was simply because he had been her adversary for so long, and that made him a forbidden fruit which she couldn't resist the taste of. One thing she knew, was that she wouldn't let herself fall in too deep. After this kiss she would not let him take it any further but while it was happening she knew that all she cold do was enjoy it.

Now one single kiss doesn't usually mean that a couple suddenly become united forever in a compulsory bond. In fact, you can bet that tomorrow Sarah will probably regret she ever did it. But when someone else sees it, someone who had wished for so long that she'd kiss him like that - that is when the kiss becomes more that it's supposed to.

That was the moment his little aching heart broke in two. Hoggle knew about Jareth's allure, and how he occasionally tried to seduce Sarah, but he never in a million years thought that she would actually fall for him. If there was a goblin to be felt sorry for, Hoggle was the one. His sorrowful eyes gazed reluctantly at the girl he loved so dearly and the man who had stolen her from him. It was too much for him to take. He couldn't stay a moment longer. Hoggle ran back to the door and scampered out of the castle, not knowing where he would go and what would happen to his life after this day.