Jareth popped back to his throne-room in an odd mood. It simply didn't seem right that Sarah didn't seem to understand why he wanted her. Or Toby, for that matter. Of course, he wanted them both for different reasons, but still...

It just didn't make sense to him. Why didn't she understand?

How could she not know that they both positively reeked of power?

After all, why else would a fairy bite Sarah? Fairies were positively picky about whose blood they devoured, and Sarah had been near the Labyrinth for literally minutes before one had bitten her.

This time though, none had dared come near. Physically, Sarah might have been diminished, but magically?

Jareth had almost had to shield his eyes from her aura.

He wasn't sure how it had happened. Sure, the seeds had been there before – why else would he have spent so much time watching Sarah in his owl form – but somehow after their brief exposure to the Labyrinth, Sarah and Toby had become more and more saturated with magic until they were practically sparking with it.

Speaking of the boy...

Jareth turned to see Toby raptly watching his sister's progress in the crystal ball, still in his perch on the edge of the pit. It seemed that the light magics laced through the pit that were designed to keep the children calm were working on him for the most part. Tears were still running down the boy's cheeks in a steady stream, but instead of being a hysterical mess, the boy just sniffled every once in a while.

Jareth winced inwardly at the thought of how the boy was going to react once the magics wore off. A distraction would be good, he thought, and so he decided to convey the words that Sarah had spoken to him for her brother.

"Your sister wished me to pass on the message that things are going to work out."

Toby looked back at him, apparently unsurprised by his presence (and wasn't that strange) and rolled his eyes at him.

"Of course she's going to say that," Toby retorted. Jareth's inward wince nearly became visible. Foolish. This boy was related to Sarah, and Sarah had always had an odd resistance towards his honeyed words, even when they were the ones she wanted to hear.

"She's Sarah." Toby continued. "She said the same thing to Dad when he was freaking about about her injuries and what a 'financial burden'," he made finger quotes, "she would be on the family."

Jareth frowned. "He was expecting a bride-price for her?"

Toby blinked.

"A bride-price?" he asked. "If that's what I think it is, then as Sarah would say, I'm pretty sure that went out of fashion with hoop-skirts. No," Toby said, "I'm pretty sure he was just talking about the medical bills, and her chair, and physical therapy. Things like that."

Jareth supposed he was somewhat relieved that bride-prices were "out of fashion". He had always found the thought of selling one's children abhorrent, especially when so many did their best to conduct such a transaction with him, not even bothering to try to get their children back.

He took pride in making sure that he took inspiration from the djinn when he granted such people their dreams. People so rarely wished for things that were actually good for them.

He supposed he could see why the father might have been apprehensive about the expenses, but he thought inflicting such apprehension on someone who could not help their situation, let alone Sarah, was... not fair.

Oh the irony.

"So." Jareth almost visibly startled. Almost. It wouldn't do to show such a reaction, especially due to the actions of a 9 year old human boy.

"Yes, what is it?" Jareth queried in a tone of studied boredom, watching as a few of his goblins scurried about in the shadows. He wondered why they had yet to pop out yet. Normally they loved to alternately play with and terrify the Wish-Aways.

"What's going to happen to me when Sarah doesn't make it here on time?" Toby asked bluntly.

Jareth turned to look at the boy, and had to admit he was mildly impressed with what he saw. The boy was obviously nervous, but nonetheless looked Jareth dead in the eye.

Jareth shrugged expansively. "That will be up to you. I give all the children left in my care the same options. They can either become a goblin, and spend the rest of their days playing and causing trouble, or they can elect to be trained to become a useful member of my court. Some decide to do the former first, and then later work to become the latter. Either way, you won't be leaving the Labyrinth any time soon, and the exposure to its magic will eventually change you so that you are one of the Underground.

Toby's brow creased. "You mean I don't have to become a goblin?"

Jareth grinned a goblin grin.

"You don't have to do anything. Except stay here, because in wishing you to me, your dear sister has made a bet, in which you are the stakes."

Toby swallowed. "I'm not sure I'm happy about being considered property."

"A King owns all of his subjects. But he can't be a king without them, so it is a relationship based on balance. If my subjects were truly miserable, then they would revolt, and believe you me, revolting goblins is a sight to be seen..." Jareth smirked, "though that said, some would claim that the goblins are always revolting."

"So you weren't always the Goblin King?" Toby asked.

Jareth raised an elegant eyebrow.

"No. There were others of my line before me and all things going to plan there will be even more to follow. I have however been King here for more than 400 years, so do not think that I am not old."

Toby cocked his head. "How old are you?"

Jareth smirked slyly. "A gentleman never tells." He lowered his voice confidingly, "but I will admit, that by the standards of my kind I am not that old at all. About the equivalent of a human in their mid-twenties."

Toby gaped, and Jareth snickered a little at his expression.

Their conversation might have occurred for longer, but it was then that Jareth suddenly felt an irritating call.

I wish the goblins would come and take you away! Right now!

Jareth said several extremely rude words in Gaelic, Old Norse, and Sanskrit.

Of course this had to happen right now!

Nothing could be simple when Sarah was in the Labyrinth. Jareth had not had to host multiple simultaneous runners since the Crusades.

Still swearing, Jareth snapped his fingers and switched dimensions to figure out what in the Underground was going on.