Chapter 13- Bare-naked

Jaret knew she would be hesitant to do this. He knew she would get embarrassed and self-conscious. That was why he tried to hide his rather obvious arousal at seeing her naked. She was very inexperienced and he knew he could teach her so many things. However Jareth couldn't do that just yet, she had to become accustomed to her own body before she would allow him to explore it.

Jareth looked at her body. He looked past the initial burst of lust aimed at her body, instead he looked at the marks. There were purple bruises along her side. She had scars and scratch marks along her legs. His eyes followed her arm where he found the scab on her wrist where he had bleed along with her.

He reached out to touch her arm but she moved out of the way. "Sarah…" He called gently.

She shook her head and let out a shaky breath. "I, I Can't." She finally looked at him. She had tears falling from her eyes and she looked so conflicted.

"You are beautiful, with or without the marks. I love you for more than your beauty. Your determination and passion, your inability to keep your mouth shut, you are valiant and courageous, and you have a kind and caring heart. And that Sarah-mine are just a few reasons as why I love you." Jareth said walking closer to her.

He held out a crystal and when it disappeared a set of pyjamas replaced it. Slowly he dressed her in them. There wasn't anything truly attractive about them. But he knew that she needed to be comfortable before she revealed anything else about Reagan. Sarah didn't say anything as he picked her up and laid her on the bed. She got under the covers and turned her back to him. He sighed, this is going to be more difficult than I thought. He got changed into his own pyjamas before walking over to the side where Sarah lay staring at the wall, lost in her own thoughts.

"Sarah, please, what did Reagan say?" He asked brushing a small piece of hair from her face. Her eyes focused on his. She reached out a hand and ran it along his face.

"He said he was going to keep me there forever. He was going to kill everyone I loved and befriended in the Underground. He called me scum, he wanted me to rot in the dungeon where I would never see the sun again." She had soft tears falling from her eyes as she recalled her living nightmare. Jareth attempted to brush them away but Sarah moved his hand away.

"You said before, when you first got here, that he had tricked you, how did he do that?" Jareth asked. He now sat on the end of the bed.

"He, I had fainted after he had hit me again. When I woke up it was like nothing had happened. I was here. Everything was fine, my wrist had stopped bleeding and although my hand was still broken, it didn't hurt as much as before. Then the door opened and you came in. You asked me some questions and I was hesitant to answer. I had a feeling something was wrong. His eyes aren't like yours. Then he kissed me. Well, he didn't really kiss me, he more attacked my mouth with his. I ended up with blood in my mouth because of his teeth. He said that I had cheated on you with him. Then he tried to rape me. I don't know how I gained half of these scratches and marks. My guess is that he attacked me after I had fainted." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"Jareth, I can't look at you without second guessing who you are. That is why I reacted the way I did earlier. I just, I just need some time to think. Please, I know that time isn't exactly something we have a lot of, given the fact that there is some war that I'm supposed to stop, but that's what I need right now. I need time to move on from what has happened. Please." She begged. She had changed positions and now sat up in bed, facing Jareth.

Jareth took hold of her hands and held her close. He felt a sudden wetness on his bare chest and he realised that Sarah had been crying.

"Sarah-mine, I promise to give you time. You are right though, it is something that we don't have a lot of but know that the wedding must continue as planned. We, my family and I, are in an agreement that you will be able to talk to your mother…" Jareth was cut off by the kiss she gave him. It was soft and gentle, but he could find the hidden passion in there. It was also wet given the fact that she was still crying.

"Thank you. I didn't even know she was here." She said with a sad smile.

"You must understand that what she did is against the laws the Underground was built on. She is being punished and that accounts for the condition she is in. You may visit her every second week and you must be in the company of myself when you travel to the oubliette." He had moved so that she lay cradled in his hold. Jareth ran a hand along her hair. It had become rather curly and wavy after her bath.

"What if she doesn't like me?" She whispered quietly into the night air.

"Sarah, witches are weakened by being away from their families, she will be thrilled to see you." He said placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"What about the war? Jareth I'm scared. What if we don't win?" she asked.

"Love, it has already been foretold that whoever has you as their allies will win. You must meet with the oracle that foretold your victory and see what she has to say on the matter. Once that is done you will know what to do to stop the war." He comforted her.

"Thank you." She said. Jareth looked at her and found that she was on the verge of falling asleep.

"What for precious?" He asked getting himself comfortable.

"For being there for me while my world falls down." She replied before falling completely asleep.

Jareth paused in his actions.

Did she remember? Did she recognise those words as much as he had? Did she still remember the promise the song had held?

Although at the time he was just hoping to keep her here as were Jenny's wishes and that of the Oracle. But as she began to discover and develop whilst in the Labyrinth he knew he wanted her. Jareth watched her become the heroine as she had always wanted. He saw her determination to find her brother and take him home with her. Nothing he threw at her stopped her. The challenges were complex and although she did often make the wrong choice Sarah maintained a positive attitude to it all.

Jareth began to hum the tune to the song he had sung to her so many years ago. He continued until he felt his own eyes begin to fall close. Before too long he too fell asleep.

OoOoOo

I awake to something tickling my nose. I brush it away but after a few moments it returns. I sneeze. I hear a chuckle. This time I open my eyes and find golden blond hair in my eyesight. What on earth is going on here? I sit up and find Jareth looking at me. He smiles as me before indicating that he wants me to look down.

What is he up to? I look down and find Imogen lying between us. How did she get here?

"How did she get here?" I mouth at Jareth. I don't know how asleep she is but I don't want to wake her up if she is completely asleep.

"I bought her here." He whispers.

"What?" I yawn. Gosh, I should go back to sleep.

"She was crying and I bought her back here. She seems to have settled down though. I'm sorry she woke you up." He says.

"I, No it's fine. I, I'm sorry this is a little strange." I say with a small shake of my head.

Why are we acting as if we have been married for several years and our child always ends up in our bed? There is a war about to happen unless there is some way that I can miraculously stop everything. And not to mention the whole Reagan thing, which only ended yesterday. Why is he acting as if this happened every day? Maybe that's what he wants? Maybe Jareth wants us to wake up with our children sleeping with us? Wait, I just said children, as in the plural for child, as in more than one. Do I want more than one child with him? Do I even want a child with him?

Yes.

But why? Why do I want his children? Is it just because we are going to get married soon? Or does a small part of me actually like him? Or does it love him? Do I love Jareth?

How can I? I've only been here a few months? Is that really enough time to love a person? And besides what about Chad?

You are never going to see Chad again, Sarah

I push that thought away. Do I want to see Chad again? Should I ask for a new chain for my necklace? Should I get rid of Ashley's 'A'? Can I really forget about my whole life Aboveground?

A migraine begins to form in my head and I close my eyes to prevent the tears from coming.

I'm crying again. Great! I never used to cry so much. If anything I never cried. I only cried at our graduation after High School, but I had been saying goodbye to a lot of friends. People I will never see again.

Maybe I should move on from the whole 'I'm-stuck-here-poor-me' thoughts. It can't be healthy.

Why am I thinking all this after I just woke up?

"Sarah? Are you alright? You look a little pale." Jareth places a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine, I'm going to…I'll be back." I mumble as I make my way towards the bathroom.

My stomach grumbles. I haven't eaten in a while. Shit, completely explains the way my skin is looking. Jareth was right it is pale. It's not as grey as it was yesterday. Maybe I'm just completely stressed. Really, really stressed.

Hey, I guess that's what running a kingdom does to you. Not that I run the kingdom, Lord help the kingdom if that was the case.

I really need to switch my brain off. I run the water for the bath and before long I am lying in the hot water with steam curling around me. Maybe I can ask Jareth if I can see the garden. If there is one. Yeah, a nice day in the garden is just what I need to de-stress. And chocolate. That helps everything.

A/N: A little early but really who cares… Hope you enjoy this. Thankfully I am several chapters a head so I won't be scrambling to reach my self-imposed deadline and writing won't cut into my school work. Anyway… Any thoughts, opinions, small ideas you think I could include are welcome. As previously stated, If I have said this earlier, I do intend to go back over these chapters in order to correct all mistakes, however this won't be done until about November…