~*~Chapter 17, Part 2~*~

Something Wicked This Way Comes

"Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble,
Something wicked this way comes."

-"Double Trouble" from the movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"

(Inspired by Shakespeare's "Macbeth")

*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*

Not far away in a shadowed corner of the ballroom, a man with flyaway blonde hair grinned wickedly from beneath his domino mask as he watched a distressed young woman in a violet gown slip into a curtained alcove, seeking rest bit from the party. He murmured low to himself before giving himself over to silent chuckles.

"You're no match for me Sarah."

*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*

Jareth was feeling quite wicked at the moment. Almost goblin-like, in fact. He watched Sarah from the shadows as she slowly pieced together what was happening, first when she was talking with the dwarf, and after when she caught a glimpse of him when she was dancing with the overzealous whelp.

It was so amusing to Jareth that Sarah had actually thought that she had truly escaped him. And to throw a party in celebration of her homecoming…it was just so tragically poetic that he had to laugh.

Really Sarah, did you think that it would be so simple to forever cut me out of your life?

Jareth smirked and emerged from his corner, ignoring the glances he received as he passed through the crowd. Jareth sighed inwardly, exasperated.

Jareth could not help but feel a bit miffed that he stuck out in this crowd like a sore thumb. What's more, he stuck out at a masked ball. Oh the humility. Jareth had hardly thought of it before, but perhaps he had gone a bit overboard with his disguise, or perhaps it was just the fact that he was a magical being, no matter how human he looked.

No matter.

He was here, and Sarah knew it, element of surprise be damned.

Jareth wove his way through the crowd to the spot where the dancers gave a wide berth, wherein a young boy with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes was waving a tin sword around, presumably fighting imaginary monsters, whacking anyone and everyone who got too close.

Jareth smiled.

Perfect.

He broke through the dancers to the boy, who glanced up at Jareth has he approached, returning to his swordplay for a moment, and then doing a double-take, staring at Jareth.

"Woah…" said the boy, awestruck, "Cool armor."

"Yours as well, young knight." Jareth smiled indulgently at the young boy, who continued to stare.

"Are you a real knight?" queried the boy, pushing up his tin helm as he looked up into Jareth's face.

"No, I'm afraid I'm not. Though it would be a most thrilling course of work, would it not?"

Jareth knelt down to the boy's level and removed his mask. "Tell me, you are Sarah's brother, are you not?"

"Yup," he said proudly, puffing out his chest, "I'm Toby."

"It is very nice to meet you, Sir Toby. My name is Jareth. I am an-" he paused, "-ah, old friend of your sister."

He shook the boy's hand, who beamed up at Jareth.

"Cool name."

There was a short pause, perforated by the sounds of music and chatting couples, before Jareth spoke again.

"Toby, I was wondering if you would be willing to do a favor for me." Jareth hedged, tugging absentmindedly on his gloves. "You see, I have not seen your sister in quite some time, and I would love to surprise her."

"Sure," piped Toby, unsheathing his tin sword in preparation of fighting his was through the crowd. "How about I go get Sarah an' take her to the entrance hall, an' you can be there, waiting to surprise her! Does that sound good, Jareth?"

"It sounds perfect, my dear boy. I shall go wait for her now."

"Cool." Toby turned and plunged headfirst into the fray of dancers, excited at the prospect of helping Sarah's old friend surprise her.

Jareth grinned after the boy. It was all too perfect. He slipped through the unsuspecting townsfolk to go await his dear Sarah.

*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*

Sarah emerged from her alcove, furtively looking around at the masked revelers. Sarah sighed and walked cautiously out, walking along the fringes of the dance floor, scanning the crowd. If he really was here, she needed to get rid of him as soon as possible before he could cause any real mayhem.

Damn you, Goblin King.

A small and rather shiny someone collided with her just as she passed the long banquet tables, forcing her to stumble backwards a few paces.

"Toby! What on earth are you doing?"

The boy grinned up at her, clearly excited at something.

"Sarah! Ya gotta come with me! I have a big surprise for you!"

"Do you now," replied Sarah, raising an eyebrow at her younger brother, stifling her smile, "And what exactly is this surprise of yours?"

Toby grasped her hand and pulled, trying to force Sarah to move, who in turn refused to budge, grinning all the while at Toby like a Cheshire cat.

"SAH-RAH! C'MON! MOVE YOUR BUTT!" Toby groaned as he futilely tugged on her arm. "I can't tell you, because it's a SURPRISE."

"Oh, all right. Begin thine quest, sir knight."

Sarah good-naturedly conceded, letting Toby lead her through the ballroom towards the doors to the entrance hall. He stopped just before the doors, dropping Sarah's hand and turning to his sister.

"You ready for your surprise?"

Toby and Sarah stepped through the doors and turned to the staircase that led to the second level. Leaning insolently on the balustrade was a figure Sarah recognized immediately, clad in black goblin armor and a triumphant smirk. The man spoke, low and with an edge of danger underlying his words.

"Surprise."

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed Toby's shoulder, propelling him towards the doors to the ballroom.

"Hey, Sarah…OW!"

"Go. Toby, go. Leave, please." Sarah's voice was steady, though her hands shook, betraying her fear and shock.

Toby grumbled and trudged back into the ballroom, throwing Sarah a dirty look before disappearing within its depths.

Sarah turned slowly back to the figure on the stairs, feeling his eyes boring into her back the whole while. She stiffly inclined her head at him.

"Goblin King."

"My dear Sarah." He pushed off from the balcony and strode forward to where the girl stood. "May I suggest that we take our conversation somewhere more private? I would hate for anyone to actually know the truth around here…" He gestured to a door in the entrance hall that led off into a side parlor.

Sarah brushed past him as she made her way into the room, tearing off her mask as she walked, flinging it onto a chair.

She heard the door click shut behind her, and she knew that she was in very, very deep trouble. She turned slowly, glaring at the fae.

Jareth ignored her glare, walking further into the parlor, flinging himself dramatically into a wing-back chair, his legs dangling over the arm.

"Not a bad party, dearest, especially for a town in the middle of the country. Not bad…" he grinned impishly at Sarah, who still stood, glaring all the while.

"What are you doing here? What did you say to Toby? I swear, if you've harmed him in some way, Goblin King…" Sarah spoke coldly, through gritted teeth.

"Sarah. I really do not think that you are in any position to be making such threats."

"What did you do to Toby?" reiterated Sarah, undeterred.

The Goblin King sighed and sat up straight in his chair as if her questions were unduly tiring to him. "Nothing. I simply asked him if he could help me set up a meeting with you, and he obliged."

"You stay away from him."

Jareth ignored her.

"You look lovely tonight, Sarah. I seem to remember you wearing that dress when you decided to leave my castle oh-so-suddenly last week."

The Goblin King's voice took on a slightly icy chill as he spoke. Sarah blanched.

"So I was."

A stillness crept into the room as the two fell silent.

"What are you doing here? Why are you doing this? Why torment me?"

The Goblin King rose from his chair, but remained silent.

"You know, if papa hadn't lost his ships and his business, we would never have come here to the country, to Bracknell Fen. Papa would have never gotten lost in the forest, and never would have found your castle. Never would have picked that rose. None of this would have ever happened."

"Is that so." The Goblin King spoke dryly, an edge creeping into his voice.

Sarah ignored him, continuing her lamentations. "Oh, how I wish I-"

Sarah paused for a moment, lost in her sorrows. Jareth turned his head, a frown forming on his lips.

"Wishes can be a dangerous thing, Sarah."

"I wish…I wish…" Sarah continued to ignore him, her mind off on a wild tangent. "…I wish that you would go away, Goblin King. Right now."

The Goblin King grimaced for a moment before a wicked grin spread over his face.

"As you wish."

And with that, he was gone.

Sarah stood absolutely still for a few moments before shakily sinking into a chair.

As you wish.

*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*

Sarah spent the rest of the party trailing Toby like a shadow, glancing over her back the whole time, half believing that the Goblin King hadn't truly left at all, but was still following her, playing games with her already distraught mind.

Once the party had finally commenced in the early hours of the morning, and all the townsfolk had left, the Williamses locked the Dorian house and departed, quite eager to go home and collapse into bed.

Sarah trudged drowsily in through the front door of the cottage, retrieving a candle from the kitchen. She half-carried Toby up the stairs, depositing him on his own bed before going into her own room. She closed the door softly behind her. Sarah set her candle down on the chest of drawers before making her way blearily to the bed to turn down the covers.

The candle flickered out as a cool breeze swept through the room, lifting the curtains that framed the window.

Sarah didn't remember leaving the window open.

The reason for Sarah's window being open was leaning gracefully on the window ledge, a crystal twisting its way through his fingers.

The Goblin King had returned.

"Hello again Sarah."

*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*

AN: I'm back! I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will be posted on November 6th, two Fridays from now! (I am excited for the next chapter, as I have had it written since way back since like chapter 6!) I am getting into the busy bit of the semester (I have a 22x30 drawing due every week for the first three weeks of November, and lots of tests, projects, and design projects coming up) so I ask you to not freak out if I don't post a whole lot this November and first few weeks of December! Thanks to everyone who wished me luck on my midterms! I am pretty sure that I kicked butt on both my tests, and I didn't get any homework in my design class, which is a first!

Anyways, please read and review, it makes my day! Thanks to those who have already done so, and thanks to those who have added me to their various favorite lists and to their author/story alerts!

Disclaimer: Labyrinth and its characters do not belong to me. Quotes from the movie belong to Henson, Froud, and Lucas. Quotes from the book belong to A.C.H. Smith.