Thank you to everyone taking the time to read this fanfic, and especially to those who leave reviews. Please do keep the feedback coming, I really do appreciate it. It looks like this story will run to 15 chapters in total, and I'm working on the last one now. There are scenes of an adult nature in this chapter, as would be expected from an M rating, but I do try not to go overboard. Less is more, or so they say. Thanks again - Mrs P.


A World Full of Shadows

12. Can't See the Wood for the Trees

Sarah ran out of the castle and through the Goblin City, not really knowing or caring where she was headed. She reached the gate and commanded the guard to open it, he hesitated.

"I am your queen, and you will do as I say," she bellowed with all the bravado she could muster.

The armoured goblin jumped to attention and did as he was told.

She bolted out into the labyrinth without a thought for anything, except getting as far away from Jareth as she could. It wasn't that she wanted to leave him forever, she just needed some space. These drastic changes in her circumstances had been thrust upon her. Yes, she'd been screwing a king, but she'd never given any serious thought to becoming his queen, let alone providing him with an heir. Sarah blamed herself, as much as Jareth; she knew what a trickster he was right from the start. Her victory over him gave her a false sense of security and superiority. She got used to calling the shots, and she liked it. But now she realised, the Goblin King always got what he wanted in the end.

There was no longer a huge junk pile outside the city walls, and instead it was surrounded by a lush green forest. Sarah slowed down to a more leisurely pace as she disappeared inside the tree line. She didn't know her way through as it wasn't there when she'd been a challenger. Jareth had transported her around on her most recent tour, and they'd only paused briefly in the forest. It seemed a tranquil place, with the sound of birdsong and the whispering wind blowing through the leaves on the trees. Sarah didn't see the nightingale which was keenly following her progress. There was an air of hidden menace in the shadows which put her senses were on alert. She snagged her gown on a bramble and began tugging and cursing.

"Stupid fairy tale dress," she yanked hard and heard a tearing sound.

The green velvet hem ripped leaving shreds of fabric flapping about on the thorns.

"Oh, such a great pity," a small feminine voice said.

Sarah spun around looking for its source and saw a pure white hare sitting in her path.

"Your pretty gown is ruined," it lamented.

"Who are you?" She questioned with suspicion, remembering that nothing in this place was what it seemed.

"A friend," the hare replied.

There was something so familiar about its voice, but she couldn't place where she'd heard it before.

"We don't have much time, the Goblin King will come for you soon, and I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. I could help you to get back home, if you're not happy here, what do you say?" the creature asked.

Sarah couldn't believe her ears. Who was powerful enough to make her such an offer, and were they to be trusted? She hesitated, because as much as she wanted the option of returning to her own world, she had no intention of taking the proposition at face value.

"Well?" The hare tried to hasten her decision.

"You say you're a friend, but I don't know who you are. How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you can take me home?" Sarah questioned.

The creature became skittish and sniffed the air before hopping closer to her.

"He's coming, and I must go. If you should ever need me, I'll be around," the hare sped off into the long grass.

"Hey, wait," Sarah yelled after it, but it was long gone.

She turned to continue deeper into the forest when she caught sight of a glittery mist taking form just ahead of her. She huffed with contempt as the Goblin King nonchalantly leant back on a nearby oak tree.

"Are you enjoying your exercise, my queen?" he smirked.

Sarah was about to tell him to go to hell when a sudden feeling of nausea overtook her. She retched and stumbled forwards. Jareth was at her side before she could blink and he scooped her up in his arms.

"You haven't been taking the elixir have you?" He fretted.

The next thing Sarah knew she was lying on their bed and a goblet was being pressed to her lips.

"Drink, my precious," Jareth coaxed her.

She sipped flinchingly at the vile tasting black liquid.

"Why do I need to have this?" Sarah questioned.

"Is there something wrong with the baby?"

He let out a heavy sigh.

"You are still completely human, and our child is not. He or she needs a lot of energy to develop, and that is what's making you sick. They might have given you something containing iron in the human world, which would have been fatal for the baby. This is an old fae remedy, and soon your body will have absorbed enough of our energy so that you will no longer require the elixir," Jareth explained.

He was angry with himself for not anticipating the toll the pregnancy would take on her health. He had been so focused on regaining his power over her, everything else was secondary, even their baby. He felt a pang of shame and his anger over her earlier behaviour was long gone. Sarah's hormones were all over the place and she couldn't stop herself from crying. She started to sniffle and he reached out to comfort her. She let him hold her and wipe her tears away.

"Hush, precious one, all will be well," Jareth murmured as he tenderly kissed her face.

Her thoughts went back to their stormy encounter in the throne room.

"Where's the little girl?" She asked.

"Is she still here?"

Jareth shook his head.

"She's with the Seelie Court now, they will see she is adopted into a suitable family," he said.

Sarah realised that during their time together she'd told him pretty much everything about herself, while he'd shared only small fragments of his life. The book she'd written was based on her fantasies of him, and he hadn't bothered to correct her. Sarah wanted to know all about him, good and bad. She toyed with the amulet which was ever present around his neck, as it rested against his chest. He once told her it was the goblin seal of power and that he must wear it always.

"How did you become the Goblin King? You've never said, and I'd really like to know," she inquired.

He seemed surprised by her question and was lost in his own thoughts for a moment.

She gazed at him expectantly until he began his story.

"The goblins have always been regarded as nasty little creatures, but they aren't really bad, just mischievous. Over the centuries, they earned a reputation for stealing human children and putting changelings in their place. The matter of what to do about them was often discussed by both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Their stolen babies had great value here, as many of the fae are barren. But the goblins refused to hand them over to either ruling council, and chaos ensued as the growing children were left to run wild," Jareth explained.

Sarah winced as she drained the goblet of the last of its foul contents.

"Please, continue," she prompted as he had fallen silent once more.

"I told you how my mother abandoned me, did I not? I was brought up in the Seelie Court by my grandparents. They indulged me, and I regret to say I was rather a spoiled child."

He saw how Sarah rolled her eyes at that revelation, but he continued.

"The older I got, the more I began to realise I didn't belong there. They didn't make me feel that way, not consciously at any rate, I just knew I wasn't one of them, and I didn't want to join the Unseelie either. I'm an outsider, or what is known as a solitary fae. I left home as soon as I was able and wandered aimlessly for centuries, concerned only with pursuing my own selfish pleasures. I happened upon the goblins one day by accident, and I found them to be amusing little creatures," he smirked.

"So you made yourself their king?" Sarah asked.

She imagined him as the spoiled child he'd said he was, declaring himself their lord and master.

Jareth could see her perception of him and he let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Not exactly," he said.

"The Seelie Court's power was growing, while the Unseelie were in decline. They were claiming more and more lands as their own, regardless of who inhabited them. The Unseelie couldn't mount a serious challenge, and so the Seelie took what they wanted. I heard they were planning on purging the goblins, as they were bringing the Underworld into disrepute with their antics. I had grown fond of them and didn't want to see them exterminated, and so I interceded on their behalf. My grandfather was a prince, and he was part of the Seelie ruling council. He proposed a compromise regarding the goblins, as he was against bloodshed of any kind. He said that if they couldn't curtail their baby snatching activities, then certain rules would have to be established, and adhered to at all costs. It was decided that they would require someone powerful enough to oversee them, and to make sure the rules were upheld. The goblins looked to me, and said they wanted me to be their king. The Seelie Court sanctioned their request, and I was given this," he lifted up his amulet.

"You became Goblin King to save them?" Sarah was astonished.

He shrugged.

"I suppose so, although, no one but you, has ever cast it in such a romantic light. My grandparents thought I was mad, as did the rest of the Seelie Court," Jareth still wasn't sure they weren't correct in their assessment.

"I must follow the rules which were set down to the letter, or else I will forfeit my kingdom and my power of protection," he explained.

She gazed adoringly into his unique eyes and all thoughts of wanting to return home evaporated.

"You are a good and noble king," Sarah declared earnestly.

Jareth almost looked bashful.

"It's a dreadfully tedious job, but one does what one can," he said.

She began nuzzling and kissing his neck.

"Although, lately, there have been some perks," he grinned.

"You should probably rest, my precious," Jareth half-heartedly protested as she pushed him to lie flat against the pillows and straddled him.

"I'm in bed, aren't I?" Sarah gave him a mischievous smile which turned to a look of wanton lust.

She began tugging desperately at his tight breeches.

"Couldn't you just magic our clothes off or something?" She huffed with frustration as she fought with the buckles on his jacket.

Jareth roared with laughter as he helped her in the task of undressing them both without using his powers.

Sarah was practically purring as he trailed his tongue down her neck towards the swell of her bosom. He took a firm hold of the fabric of her gown and tore it open, she gasped with surprise.

"It was already ruined, precious," he smirked as he indicted towards the frayed hem and continued teasing her exposed flesh with his lips.

She moaned with pleasure as he slowly worked his way down her body and settled between her open thighs. He gently grazed her creamy skin with his teeth and trailed his tongue over her most sensitive parts.

"I want to taste you too," Sarah murmured as she glanced down at him, her eyes hooded and lust filled.

Jareth grinned devilishly and was only too happy to grant her wish. He repositioned himself and let out a hiss of pleasure as she took him deep into her hot eager mouth.

They worked each other to the brink, but they wanted to look in each other's eyes when they finally went over the edge.

"Oh, my Sarah, queen of my heart, I do love you so," he sighed as he mercilessly plundered her velvet depths.

She kissed him, tasting herself on his lips, and clung onto him as if her life depended on it.

"And I love you, Goblin King," she mumbled in his ear.

She was so close and when he fixed his unique eyes on her, one shining bright blue, and the other almost black, Sarah felt her body begin to pulse with pleasure.

"I love you so much, my Jareth," she gasped.

His rapture couldn't be contained and he poured it all into her until they were both crying out in ecstasy.


Queen Mab shuddered as she fluttered about in her avian form outside the Goblin King's bedchamber window. She had seen enough of him frolicking around with the human for one lifetime. Were they part rabbit, she wondered, there were certainly some similarities. She tried to focus her mind back onto the task at hand. The mortal's stomach looked disappointingly flat for one who was with child. It obviously needed a little more cooking time if they were to be sure it would be enough to awaken the black heart. Mab didn't regard the delay as catastrophic; after all there were plans to make and traps to be laid. She flew off into the night chirping with delight.