Disclaimer: The fact that this plot is killing me does not give you the right to steal anything that is not yours. Labyrinth and the GK do not belong to me, I'm just borrowing them, but Wren is mine, so… yeah, no stealing.

Esplin4966V3: I'm glad you like it, and I will!

Kat: Oh, I know what you mean about college. Hooboy, I just got my Associates, and it was a mess! Stress, stress, stress! But, I'm so glad you liked this chapter! Seriously, it nearly killed me to get it out! Hee…

Notwritten: -sniff- Thank you, so much! I swear, you make me feel so special!!!

Yami Moon: Thank you! Don't you love that song? I just totally see this creepy kind of wilderness and a horse… oh, I love it. Let's see if I can do it!

DanikaLareyna: Ah, it will have to wait until after NaNoWriMo! But… I trust you won't let me forget until I write it, so I'll go ahead and say, yes, you'll see him, eventually.

Anij: I had SO many problems in uploading this chapter! Gah! I'll edit it, eventually, but… yeah, it's too big for me to think on that now. I'm so glad you liked it, though!

Contraltissimo: I assume that's when they smoke, also! Ahahahaa!! And, man, I'm glad you like this chapter! Especially my evil Jareth! It was so fun to write!

Opaaru Tsuki: Awesome! A new reviewer!!! Wow, I'm so thrilled you like it so much! Hey, sorry about the day being gone, but... –shrugs- some things can't be helped.

Sammi C.: Oh, man, this next chapter is overlapping into my November time! Ack! But, I will get it finished! I swear!

Music recommendations:

Rhythm of My Heart by Rod Stewart – Aw.

Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall – this song appeals to me, not sure why.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (my version sung by Bowie) – not sure if this is a cover song or not, but the version of it I have is a live version sung by David Bowie, and I love it.

A/N: Is this really the last chapter of Wren's vacation??? I can't believe I made it!!!

So, here's the deal. I know not many of you will like the sound of this, but from a writer's perspective, this is how it has to be.

I will be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which is all through November. What is NaNoWriMo, you all ask? Well, if you aren't familiar with it (because I wasn't… until Danika introduced it to me… so blame her for this! Muahahah!) it is where you write a story, basically from the seat of your pants; 50,000 words in one month – perhaps not a whole novel, but at least a good start. It breaks down to about 1700 words a day.

I am VERY nervous to attempt this, but also EXTREMELY excited to try!

That being said, my time will be elsewhere than on my fanfictions. I can't say that I won't update – who knows, right? – but I will be, most likely, working on that. So… see you all after November!

Now, onto the story!

Wren's Vacation End of Day 6:

Had it not been for the fact that my stomach was threatening to eat itself, I doubt that I would have woken up that day at all. That was a… Thursday? Yes, a Thursday. Time was so different in the Underground!

Running the Labyrinth again had seriously dehydrated me. I'd drank a little while running around with Kevin, and we'd found a few things to eat – none of which were poisoned, according to Kevin's ideas – but nothing major. Water had been my main concern. I kept waking up between bouts of strange dreams to drink more water. Then use the bathroom. Then drink some more. Then go to sleep for several more hours. It was an endless cycle, it seemed, until I woke up to get something to drink, and found that I was starving!

Seriously. My stomach growled and rumbled, painfully, and I decided it was time to get up and look around.

My first stop was to see what time it was… it looked to be about six in the evening! I blinked and took a few steps closer to the clock, just to make sure I was seeing things correctly. Yes, it was six. I'd been asleep for nearly twelve hours! Well, at least I didn't feel like I was going to collapse when I was walking.

I yawned and decided to take a bath. Yes, I hadn't taken one, and I was feeling… kinda dry and dusty. So, I popped into the bath for a good fifteen minutes. It would have been longer, but my stomach was complaining loudly. Rather than dressing up fancy for only a few hours, I decided to get back into a pair of comfy pajamas and wear my robe and some slippers.

My Eyeore pajamas were looking a little on the dusty side, so I opted to search the closet of things Jareth had prepared for me. There I found some emerald green silk-cottony pant things that looked like the ones I'd seen Jareth wear in the mornings, and also found a kind of robe shirt in jade that reminded me of Jareth's top, and so I put those on. I slipped on a pair of fuzzy slippers I found in the closet and wrapped myself up snugly in the purple robe I'd gotten on my first morning here. Feeling clean and awake, I headed out.

My first instinct was to see if Jareth was awake. Obviously he didn't come to wake me up, and I had the nagging suspicion that he was sleepier than I had been, so I went right to his chambers.

Outside the double doors, I found a small goblin – that same goblin, the one who spoke to me – sitting cross-legged and playing with a small pile of sticks. From the looks of things, he was attempting to build a mini-stick tower, but they kept falling over. As they fell, he'd giggle and then he'd try again. It seemed highly amusing.

When he looked up and noticed I was there, he smiled at me. "Hiya, Lady," he said.

I squatted down and smiled at him, "Hi there. Whatcha doing?"

He puffed out his chest. "I's standin' guard!"

I nodded and gave him an impressed face, "Are you now? For the king?"

"Yes, Lady," he said, very officially. "King's sleepin', and he don't wanna be perturbed!"

I smiled, "Disturbed?"

The little goblin thought about that for a minute, "Yeah, that!"

I patted him on the head, "You're a good little guard, then. If I don't disturb him, can I slip in and make sure he's okay?"

He nodded, vigorously, "Yes! King's Lady can go see him, that's okay. The King tolds me, his Lady can come in, when she ain't sleepin' no more."

I smiled at him, "Thanks. Have fun with your sticks."

"Bye Lady!"

I slipped in through the doors, hoping I wouldn't wake Jareth. But, when I came through, I found him snoring, face down on his bed. From the looks of things, I wouldn't be able to wake him if I tried to.

I frowned as I approached the bed. Jareth had removed his shirt, and there was a cape tossed on the floor, but he was still wearing his gloves, breeches, and boots. He had fallen asleep basically still dressed. I shook my head and approached him.

No, no I was wrong. He'd gotten off one boot.

I sighed. My mind thought back to when Lachlan would fall asleep still dressed, when we were all younger. I remembered what my mother used to do… I smiled.

I rolled Jareth onto his back, on one side of the bed. Then I pulled back the covers on the empty side, as far as I could. Since he was on his back, I took the moment to remove his other boot and his gloves. His boot I yanked off without much thought, but I took extreme care when it came to his hands. I still wasn't sure of the significance of Jareth's gloves, but I knew they were important, and so I removed them carefully. When they were off, I stared at is hands for a bit, unable to resist running my fingers over them. I put the gloves and both boots against the foot of his bed, and looked at his breeches. I sighed again.

I rolled him onto the other side of the bed (this was not easy to do, because he was dead weight and limp) and managed to yank the top covers off the bed entirely. Getting Jareth on his back once more, I undid the belt he was wearing on the top of his breeches, and threw the bedcovers over him once more.

Then came the hardest part.

I uncovered Jareth's feet at the foot of the bed and took hold of his breeches from the bottoms of the legs, where they came to his ankles. I tugged on each one, trying to loosen them a little… it had to have been ten minutes of gentle tugging on those stupid leggings to get them off. I finally, after having gotten them most of the way off him, put all my weight into it and just pulled. I fell over on my rump and let out an 'oof', but smiled, triumphantly, holding his leggings. I piled them on his boots.

Then I took a moment to cover his feet back up and put his arms under the covers, tucking him in (and giggling furiously as I did so), before I left him, to go find something to eat. I'd never seen the kitchens in the castle before, but I was dying to have a turn of bringing Jareth a meal in bed.

I had to ask three goblins how to get to the kitchen. It wasn't easy. They didn't quite know what I meant. Oh, they understood food, but not where it was made. I finally asked a goblin that looked like it was slightly smarter, and he was able to point me in the right direction.

The kitchen was interesting place. From the looks of things, most all the cooking was done by magic, and it was used carefully, only by the smartest of goblins. They could speak better than most, understood me completely, and were as friendly as my little one that enjoyed following me and playing with sticks.

They knew right away who I was, and were more than happy to help me with my request for breakfast… dinner… whatever it was.

A good while later – was it an entire hour? Could have been, I'm not sure – I carefully made my way back to Jareth's chambers. The little goblin was still there, playing with sticks. On my way through the castle, I'd found a few more sticks, a couple that were relatively straight, and pocketed them. It was a balancing act to get them back out of my robe pocket as I returned with the tray of food, but I managed to do so without spilling or dropping anything.

"Here you go," I said, dropping them down to him as I passed. He squealed with delight and bounced up and down.

"Thank yous, Lady!" he said. Just before the door shut, I heard him say, quietly, "Lady nice." That made me smile.

I surveyed things carefully as I entered the room. It hadn't occurred to me until then that he might have kicked his covers off while sleeping, especially since I'd rolled him over a couple of times. I closed my eyes and squinted until I was certain that he was still covered. Jareth was now on his side, but otherwise where I left him. With a sigh of relief, I moved and sat the tray down on the bedside table that was between Jareth's bed and the windows.

I sat on the bed beside him, looking at him as he slept. It was evening now, and the sun had already set, but there were a few remaining dregs of light in the sky, enough for me to see his face. I think, more than anything else, it was his face that amazed me. I mean, he was amazing, period, but… when I looked at his face, with those eyebrows and that bone structure, it just… floored me. He was gorgeous. And he liked me. He was really the first man to ever show me affection and… it often threatened to blow me away. I reached out, touching his cheek with the back of my hand. He made a kind of snuffling noise and his face moved deeper into the pillow he was resting on. It smushed his face a little, and I grinned at the sight. I moved my hand and brushed his pale hair away from his face.

I shifted and leaned my head down on the pillow, too, so I could look at him straight on. Did I dare wake him? He did need to eat, I knew that… maybe he could go back to sleep after he ate, if he was still tired.

Hmm.

I reached up and shook his shoulder a little. He didn't move. I frowned, but shook him a little harder. He snorted and shifted, but didn't wake. I giggled and whispered, "Jareth? Jareth? GK?"

Still nothing.

"Alright, sleeping beauty," I whispered, "Time to wake up…" I drew close to him, close to his face and gave him a small kiss. That stirred him. He opened his eyes, blearily and smiled at me.

"Ah…" he said, "Wren…" his smile faded and his eyes got wide. "Wren!" He shot straight up in bed and looked at me. Then he shifted a little, his eyes got wider, and he grabbed the covers quickly and pulled them up to his neck. "Wren!" he hissed again. "What is going on? Where are my pants?!"

"Whoa! GK, calm down!" I held up my hands, quickly, "You fell asleep dressed, Jareth!"

"No, I did not!" he protested, but I could tell that he was thinking about it and trying to remember.

"Jareth," I said, calmly, "I came in to wake you, and you were face down on the bed, still basically dressed! All you got off you was your shirt and one boot! You did not look comfortable!"

I hadn't thought it was possible for his eyes to get any larger. I was wrong. They went one step larger and he pulled the covers up to his nose, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

I snorted and covered my mouth with my hands, "I covered you up, then pulled them off from the foot of the bed. What do you think I did, Jareth? Strip you completely? What to you take me for?"

"But…" he looked around, still a little confused, "I do not understand… why are you here?" he asked, blinking his eyes. I could tell he was still tired.

I shrugged, "I only woke up because I was hungry. I thought you might be the same."

He didn't say anything, but I got up and looked around the room. "Where do you keep your pajamas?" I asked.

Still trying to wake up, I supposed, he nodded towards a large wardrobe in the corner. I found in there his customary shiny blue bottoms and white top and brought them to him. "Would you like to put something on?"

He nodded and took them from me. I started to say that I would turn my back, or step out or something, but Jareth quickly wrapped himself up, from head to foot, in his blanket and went into the bathroom, his pajamas tucked under his arm. I snickered briefly and decided to go sit in the alcove near his fireplace. I took the breakfast tray with me and sat to wait.

I didn't hear anything from the bathroom, but after about fifteen minutes he came out dressed and looking clean (his hair was damp, so I assumed he'd bathed, as I had) carrying his blanket. He went and replaced it on his bed before coming and joining me by the fire.

He gave me an impressed look that held a bit of mischief, "I see you were able to make it past my guard I had stationed at the door,"

"You mean Pip?" I giggled, "Oh, he's very loyal to you, Jareth, but you see, he's also very fond of me, too. When I'm around, you don't kick them as much, apparently. I don't know his real name, but Pip seems fitting. He'd make a very good traveling companion, I think."

Jareth smiled, "His name is Squyshee, if you must know."

I pulled a face, "Squyshee? Seriously?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," I said quickly, "Just… yeah, not what I was expecting."

Jareth eyed the tray, "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, probably something I couldn't pronounce. Something very goblin-esque."

Jareth shrugged, "Oh, he has one of those names, I am certain. They all do. But I am afraid that I cannot pronounce them anymore than you could. So, this one, because of his devout loyalty, I unofficially dubbed him Squyshee. All the unpronounceable names sound too much alike. Now," he looked meaningfully at the tray, "You seem to have also found my kitchens. What have we here?"

"Breakfast!" I said proudly, "And yes, I did find the kitchens. Very nice. Just… food. I guess it's much what you've been bringing me, every morning."

He popped an egg in his mouth, "It is perfect. Thank you, Wren."

You can deduct three things when a meal is being eaten in silence. Either the people are hungry, the food is really good, or they are really tired. In this case, it was all three. We ate in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable silence.

Not until Jareth brought up the party.

"Wren, have you tried on any of the other ball gowns or dresses in your closet?" he asked, suddenly.

I started to choke on some toast, "GAH! – AH, um…" I sipped some water, "Um… what?"

He smiled, mischievously, "Your dresses. I believe there are several in there. I thought perhaps you would have tried them on. Have you?"

"Uh, as a matter of fact, no I have not. Why the sudden interest in fancy dresses?"

Jareth shrugged, "For your assistance with Kevin, I would like to make it up to you."

I raised an eyebrow at him, curiously, "It was no trouble, Jareth. It was actually fun for me, you don't have to do that… and what does that have to do with fancy dresses?"

He met my eyes. I could see his sincerity, but also a slight twinge of fear… yet I couldn't tell what he was fearful of.

"Myanya is hosting a celebration tomorrow evening, in honor of her brother, Tillan. I cannot refuse to attend, as I am close to both of them, and I would very much like you to accompany me."

My eyes lit up, "Whoa, an elven party? Sweet! Wait… Tillan won't mind me being there, will he?"

Jareth rolled his eyes, " No, of course not. Tillan is obsessed with anything regarding the Aboveground, if you recall. He would be thrilled to have you there."

Odd visions that spurred from the fan fictions I'd read ran through my head. I think Jareth was definitely right, I read too much fan fiction. "What kind of party? I mean, why is Myanya throwing it? What is the occasion?"

Jareth chewed lightly on some toast while thinking on how to explain it to me (I could see it in the look in his eyes), "Fae have extreme longevity. As such, it tends to be rather impractical to celebrate a 'birthday', as you call them, every year, once the individual has aged over one hundred years. As you know, Myanya and Tillan are half Elven. Elves, though, are more… prone to celebrate? I suppose that is what you would call it. While they do not celebrate every year, they still choose to celebrate every few years or so, because they enjoy it."

"So… it's Tillan's birthday?"

Jareth nodded, "Yes."

I cocked my head, "I don't have a gift…" Jareth laughed suddenly and nabbed up his water glass, drinking a lot of it to hide his laughter. I frowned at him, "What the heck is so funny?"

He coughed, "Well… we live so long, Wren, it is not necessary to bring gifts…"

I frowned deeper, "So you mock me?"

"No," he sobered and looked at me, "Let me finish. Tillan and Myanya are very dear to me, you know this. An invitation to the celebration does not require a gift, you see, but I do like to express my gratitude to him in some way. That is why I was hoping you would come with me."

I dropped the toast I was about to eat, and looked at Jareth incredulously, "You want me to be your GIFT to TILLAN???"

"Wren," he said slowly, "No. It would mean the world for you to come and meet him – any physical gift I could give him would be pointless. What need does he have for material items? None, I tell you. But, having you there, being so…" he trailed off momentarily, "Being so distinctly Aboveground-like… he would adore it."

I folded my arms. "If you think, mister, that I'll go in there and wave to everyone and say 'howdy' nice and loud, you've got another thing coming."

"But, you will come?"

My stern features softened, "I don't know why you worry so much – of course I'll go!"

Wren's Vacation, Day Seven:

After eating with Jareth, we both fell asleep in the alcove, thanks to the warm fire. It wasn't until rays of sunlight were poking me in the eye that I realized it was morning. Jareth was still sleeping. I decided to let him sleep, and went back to my room.

I had already gotten a bath and was dressed for the day, as was Jareth, when he came in with breakfast – though it was getting a bit later in the day.

Breakfast was different this time – some kind of pastry thing that he assured me was much healthier than the 'pastries' we have aboveground.

As we ate, Jareth went over the different things I'd need to know about the party that evening. It didn't seem all that complicated. Because it was Tillan's party, and due to the fact that he had such a great obsession with the Aboveground, Jareth explained that I could pretty much be myself and be fine. All I needed to know, in this instance, was to just be polite and curtsey if anyone was introduced to me, or if they addressed me by name. I could do that, right?

The morning around the castle was pretty much quiet, with little goings on. Jareth had to go help resolve a dispute that had occurred in one of the corridors, when a couple of goblins had caused a bit of an argument with some other creatures of the Labyrinth that had come to see Jareth, and he left me to my own devices. I spent my time just wandering around the castle, enjoying myself. Then, at around three – was it three? Yeah, I think so – Jareth came to me and informed me that it was time to get ready. He handed me a crystal and instructed me to wash my hair and dry it with the crystal. I nodded and headed back to my rooms.

I did as he asked, washing my hair again and dried it by rubbing the crystal over my hair (it took me a bit to figure out what to do with the crystal in the first place, but I eventually got the hang of it and was pleased to see that it worked better than a hair dryer).

Once my hair was dry, there was a knock at the door. Jareth had said something along the lines that someone would come to help me with my hair, but I'd not heard him well because I was, at the time, still staring at the crystal and wondering how to use it. So you can imagine my surprise when I called out for whoever it was to come on in, only to see…

Jareth.

I snorted and looked at him. "Did I use the crystal wrong, or something?" I asked. "Did I cause something, somewhere, to explode?"

He frowned, "I did tell you I would come to help you, did I not?"

He… what? What was he going to do? Uh… there was something highly amusing and also highly disturbing to me as I thought about it… "You are going to help me… do my hair?"

"No, of course not!" he laughed, heading into my closet to retrieve a few dresses, "I'll be doing it for you."

What is a girl supposed to say to that? Your boyfriend tells you that he is going to do your hair. "Um… okay."

"Now," he said holding up two dresses, one in a sapphire blue and the other in bright ruby red, "Before we bother with your hair, which dress do you prefer?"

Before I knew it, I was sitting in a beautiful red dress with red lips painted on to match, at the dressing table, with Jareth behind me, crystal in hand, curling my hair and pinning it to my head.

"Do you realize how crazy this makes me feel?" I asked him.

He looked up at my reflection in the mirror, "Nonsense. I see nothing crazy about it."

"Oh, sure, you wouldn't. My boyfriend is doing my hair!"

He grinned as he magically pinned the final curl to my head, "Yes, and it looks fabulous. You have no reason to complain."

I examined my reflection. "Okay, so you do have a point there." It was part way up and part way down, curls pinned up to my hair and a few hanging down the back. Very pretty, and better than I could have ever done it, that was for sure. I turned to face him, "Now, what about you? What are you going to wear?"

He smiled, reaching up a hand and snapping his fingers. In a second, he was dressed in a very dashing, very formal, garnet colored suit with silver trim and a white silk shirt with a very ruffly collar. It was highly obvious that, while our colors didn't match exactly, they were similar.

"We're dressing as a couple now?" I asked, sarcastically, smiling.

"Well," he smirked down at me, "I don't want anyone to question who's date you are for the evening… I'm highly possessive, you know."

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

He reached out a hand to me, "Are you ready?"

No, I really wasn't, but I wouldn't be until I was back from the party. Nerves, you see. All the same, I gave him a brave smile and nodded.

I took his hand, and we were gone.

Entering the party was, by far, the most frightening. It was a HUGE party! Gosh! Who knew Myanya would invite so many people? It made the dinner we'd had earlier that week look like nothing at all! I wasn't sure where we were – Jareth had said something about Myanya and Dyer's estate, I think – but the room was enormous. We'd merely appeared outside two large doors, and then entered. Once inside, the music (which had been bright and earthy sounding) stopped and everyone looked our way. An Elf to the left of us called out in a loud voice, announcing us.

"PRESENTING HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, KING JARETH OF THE GOBLIN KINGDOM, AND LADY WREN NEILSON OF THE ABOVEGROUND!"

A murmur of interest went through the crowd. I blanched. Jareth nodded to everyone and I, feeling highly insecure, did a small curtsey – or as best of one as I could manage. Jareth led me down into the crowd of people, and I turned to him quietly, whispering, "Hey, how did that guy know my name, to introduce me?"

Jareth leaned in near my ear and whispered, "Magic, my dearling. That is what he does, a special spell devised long ago for parties as such – it keeps people honest, and Myanya will not have a celebration without such a person, lest someone sneak in and pretend to be someone else."

I looked at him, "Does that happen often?"

He laughed, "Centuries ago, it did. Now, only occasionally, but Myanya will have none of that nonsense…"

Jareth trailed off and looked up. I followed his gaze. Over on one side of the room was Myanya (I spotted her dark hair instantly), and beside her was a tall blonde with long golden hair. He was waving enthusiastically at Jareth, who nodded in return before turning to me.

"It appears," he said, "That our presence is requested by the guest of honor. Come," I held onto his arm as he led us across the room.

Myanya greeted us first, smiling and pausing to take each of us by the hands in greeting, "Jareth, my old friend," she said, pleasantly, "And you brought Wren! Oh, how lovely. Wren you look divine this evening, thank you for coming."

"Ah, I'm glad to come," I said kindly.

"Jareth!" The tall blonde, who was wearing a green suit with gold trim, approached with his arms open wide. He looked younger than Jareth (not that I thought Jareth looked old or anything) but had faint characteristics that reminded me of Myanya, despite the fact that he was so different in his physical colorations. Most distinctly, I could see his slightly pointed ears – this, I thought, had to be Tillan.

Dang, he reminded me of something… I thought hard for a split second… what did he remind me of… something… something… dear me. He looked like the physical manifestation of Link, from the Legend of Zelda. Only slightly beefier.

"Tillan!" Jareth said, embracing him warmly and slapping him on the back. "It has been far too long, has it not?"

Tillan released Jareth and grinned, "Yes, far, my friend. And," he turned to me, his eyes lighting like a kid on Christmas morning, "Is this your Wren that I have heard of? The mortal from the Aboveground?"

"Why, yes," Jareth said, giving me a small nudge.

I swallowed, but gave him a bright smile, anyway. I reached out my hand to Tillan, "I'm Wren," I said, brightly, "Sure is nice to meetcha, Tillan."

Dang, it was better than telling a joke. Tillan threw his head back and laughed, heartily, before taking my hand and shaking it, "Wren! It is very nice to meet you, as well. My dear sister," he motioned to Myanya, "Has spoke of you quite often of late, and I confess, I was hoping Jareth would ask you to come."

"A team of wild horses couldn't have kept me away," I said, grinning.

Tillan looked at Myanya and laughed again, "Mya, your words were true, she is a delight!" he came forward then and took my hands in his (sheesh, elves had no regard to personal space, did they?) "Wren, would you please honor me with your first dance of the evening?"

I blushed, probably as red as my dress, but looked up at Jareth, "Well, I'm not much of a dancer, just to warn you, but I believe you'd have to ask my date if that's okay, first."

"Ah," Tillan bowed his head, solemnly, "Of course. So," he looked at Jareth, "What say ye, Goblin King? Might I steal your Wren?"

Jareth frowned and raised an eyebrow at Tillan (the look in his eyes was playful, but also somewhat serious), "Never, my friend, I value her company far too much – but," his expression softened, "Should you wish to steal a dance from her, that I can allow. I am willing to relinquish rights to her first dance for the guest of honor, but still hold solid claim to her second – so treat her kindly and return her in one piece."

Tillan grinned merrily, as though this was one great joke, and nodded to Jareth, "She is in good hands. Wren, may I have this dance?"

I nodded, "Sure!"

Tillan, for all his niceness, was not quite the dancer that Jareth was. And, I'm afraid, he talked my ear off while we danced, wanting to know everything I could tell him about where I'm from and how I met Jareth (the story he'd already heard from Myanya, but was dying to hear it straight from me), and anything else he could think to ask me.

When the dance was over, he led me back, and I could see Jareth in close conversation with Myanya. She, for one, looked like she was ready to explode with happiness. I made a mental note to ask him what she was so happy about, later.

Once Tillan returned me to Jareth, Jareth swept me into his arms and back out onto the floor. Oh, yes, once again, I have to stress what an excellent dancer Jareth is. He swirled me around and made me feel like a princess – I love dancing with him. I'm not great… kinda stinky at it, but regardless of how bad I am, he knows how to make me feel like I'm good at it. No wonder he was King.

Several people stopped us, mid twirl (much to my irritation), to ask something about me. Apparently, an Abovegrounder who is being courted by the Goblin King is big. Not that they knew we were 'courting' per se, but… I was his date for the evening, and we were both wearing red. It was kind of implied.

One woman kind of worried me… she was dancing with a young elf but had to tap Jareth on the shoulder, anyway. Jareth, ever the polite one, turned to her.

"Oh, Jareth, darling, tell me," she said, her eyes wide as she looked at him, "Are the ducks in bloom in you Labyrinth this time of year?"

I looked at him, "You have blooming ducks?"

Without moving his lips much, he muttered, "That is ridiculous Maxine, pay her no mind," then he smiled at her, "Oh, Maxine, the ducks are flourishing! The quacking can be heard for miles!"

"Lovely," she smiled wistfully and danced off with the young elf.

I looked quizically at Jareth, "Okay, do I want to know what the heck that was about?"

He sighed and shook his head, "You would not believe me if I told you."

"You run with an odd crowd, GK."

He grinned, "You have no idea."

Jareth and I danced for a while longer, then went and visited more with Tillan and Myanya. Dyer was away, Myanya explained, on business, but expressed his greetings to the both of us, none the less. Jareth looked slightly uncomfortable at that news, but Myanya didn't press as to why. Part of me thinks she didn't press it because she knew what he was thinking.

Well, frankly, for that matter, I had that feeling about Myanya all the time. She had the most piercing gaze you could imagine. While speaking with her, lying or avoiding the whole truth was pointless. She just seemed to know.

Tillan, on the other hand, was quite polite and friendly, but he seemed to lack Myanya's knowledge and wisdom. Of course, perhaps that's what he wanted people to think. Any chance he got, he asked me questions about my home. When I told him I was one of six children, I think he almost fainted. Myanya, too, for that matter.

The party was nice, and several Fae and Elves came to pay their respects to Jareth, and to Tillan, and me (though I had the feeling that many of them came to gawk at me openly). One elf stared at me for a long time before giving Jareth a slight glare and leaving quietly. I couldn't see why, but Jareth explained that not all Fae or Elves could go Above. Jareth was one of the few who could, and so, there were bound to be some who were jealous of his "Aboveground girl" as he put it.

I was flattered, but told him he'd better watch it, or else he'd get a big head.

We were ones of the last to leave the party. We said our goodbyes – I gave Myanya one of her Elven farewells with the hands, like she'd given me at the dinner, and then also shook her hand, for fun. She was thrilled at both. Tillan seemed sad to see me leave, and pulled me aside.

"Hey," he said. "How's it goin'?"

I blinked. What did he say?

"Um… hey?"

He grinned, "Oh, wonderful! I've been working on that!"

I frowned, "On what?"

"Slang speak," he said, "It isn't easy, as you might guess. But, you understood me! Wonderful!"

I smiled, "Actually, Tillan, that was really good. But, that's a greeting. You should work on a farewell."

He frowned. "I… hmm. What would you suggest?"

I thought on it for a bit. "How about… 'check ya later'?"

His eyes lit up, "Check… ya….later… is that right?"

I nodded, "Dead on."

"Wonderful!" he bounced on the balls of his feet, delightedly, "Check ya later!"

I snickered. Link-a-like or no, at least he was friendly, right? I had a huge feeling that the party was not the last time I'd see Tillan, especially after speaking with him so much.

That night, after Jareth had freed my hair from its magical confines, and after I had gotten out of that dress and into my pajamas, I fell asleep and had wonderful dreams… of waltzing elves and one very attractive waltzing Goblin King… Who, for whatever reason, was periodically wrapped up from nose to foot in a blanket.

Wren's Vacation, Day Eight:

My final, official day, a Saturday, was quiet. Very nice.

I'd had an excellent night's sleep, and was, once again, woken by a soft kiss. When I opened my eyes, Jareth was an inch away from my face, and grinning.

"Good morning," I muttered, sleepily.

"Good morning, my Wren," he said in return, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," I said as he backed up so I could sit. "Yes I did. This is the comfiest bed, you know."

"I'm glad you've liked it. Hungry?" he held out a tray of fruit and pastry. I smiled and helped myself to the fruit. Those orange grapes were too good to resist.

Jareth ate a little, but watched me a lot as I ate. "What?" I asked, feeling self conscious.

He grinned, "You look beautiful in the mornings."

"I – ah…" I went bright red. Unable to think of anything much to say, I threw a grape at him. "Shameless flirt!" I said.

"Always," he said, popping the grape in his mouth, "Wren?"

"Hmm?" I mumbled, while drinking some water.

"What would you like to do to day?"

I shrugged, "I… um…"

"What is it?" he prompted, sitting up and helping himself to a rounded pastry.

"Um," I wasn't sure how to ask this of him, "Would you… show me around?"

He looked at me, somewhat confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, just… walk with me. I'd love to go back to the Goblin City and just look around, but… I'd love it if you came with me."

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Anything, for you, Wren."

That day, of all the day's Underground, was the best, ever. Jareth and I spent the entire day together, just walking around and looking at things, and talking and laughing. We talked about everything we could think of to talk about: Jareth's favorite colors, what would make the best Underground ice cream flavors, the best sounds for Aboveground car horns, and my early school days, among other things

It was nice. We stopped and ate lunch when noon came, then went back to talking and having fun.

We only stopped once more after that, before we headed back to the castle all together. We had passed by an afternoon goblin market. It was fun to walk by and see the different things that goblins liked to sell. Strange to me, but fun to see, all the same.

At long last Jareth turned us and we began to head back to the castle, as it was starting to get dark. I sighed. It was a nice, quiet day, with just he and I, and a very large part of me was sad that it was basically over.

As was my vacation.

How long? One week? Was that it? It had felt like so much more. I'd done so much, seen so much, and had such a wonderful time… was that really it? As we walked, I couldn't help but feel my eyes water. It was so nice here… did I really have to go back?? (as if I didn't know THAT answer.)

I sniffed.

Jareth stopped instantly and looked at me. I tried to shrug it away, like it was nothing, but the more I tried, the more I wanted to cry. He pulled me to his chest without saying a word, and I buried my face in his shirt.

"My little Wren," he whispered, rocking me back and forth, "I know you do not wish to return so soon,"

"How'd you know?" I mumbled against his chest, not looking up.

He gave me a squeeze, "As you said to me, a few days ago, I know you."

"It's… it's…" I sniffed again, "I really like it here." Okay, so a lame way to end what I was trying to say, but whatever.

One hand came up to stroke the back of my head, gently, "I am glad you do. And you shall enjoy it that much more when you return again."

"It still stinks to leave."

"That it does…" he trailed off and pulled back to look at me. With a kind smile, he brushed at the little dribbly tears that had gathered at the corners of my eyes. "Perhaps I can offer a small consolation to you, before you go?"

"What would that be?"

"Dinner."

I sat around a small table (well, it was the dining hall, but the table was smaller, more size-appropriate for two) with my eyes closed and my hands over my eyes. This was a surprise, he'd said. He'd given me one hour after we'd returned to the castle for me to 'freshen up' in my room, and then he'd returned and brought me here, looking very excited and forced me to promise I wouldn't look while he brought in our meal.

When at last I heard him re-enter the room, I called out, "Can I look yet?"

"No," he said, hurriedly, "Not yet!"

I giggled. But was obedient in keeping my eyes closed. The table rocked a little, and a couple of things made soft noises against the wood. Finally, Jareth cleared his throat.

"Alright," he said slowly.

I opened my eyes and saw before me… something odd. Jareth was seated across from me, his face shinning as he watched my reaction to what was before me. I had the feeling that there was some important piece of information I should notice… I allowed myself an impressed face while I inwardly tried to take in what I could and figure out the mystery that was in the air between us.

Between the two of us, there were five plates. Two in front of me, two in front of Jareth, and one in the middle of the table, I assumed that was for us to share. Of the two in front of me, one had a gorgeous piece of meat with some brown sauce over it and a green side garnish – it reminded me of salmon, though it wasn't that pinkish color. The second plate had a funny concoction on it that seemed highly out of place next to the fancy first plate. At best, it could be described as a lumpy burrito. And then, the third plate, which sat between us, had cookies on it. Lumpy cookies, but there was no arguing what they were.

I smiled at Jareth, using my smile to let me analyze him. He was smiling brightly, showing his pointed teeth. He had something, a swipe of white, across his nose.

It clicked. He'd made this. That's what I was supposed to know.

"Aw," I said, "You cooked, for me?"

He beamed, "You noticed!"

I snickered, "Well, these," I motioned to the food before me, "Aren't the traditional fare of your kitchen, I could see. So, you'll have to explain what we have here…"

He motioned to the fancy plate, "This is my favorite dish, steamed Vocklari with eel sauce. It is very difficult to prepare, so I confess that the kitchen staff assisted me with it."

"Oooh. Sounds good. What is Vocklari, by the way?"

"And this is," he said, smoothly avoiding my question, and motioning to the second plate, "An Underground burrito."

"I assume this is your own, um, creation, then?"

He shrugged, regally, "I do not cook, and was not certain of what all burritos Aboveground contain, but I managed this one and I believe it should be edible." At the last, his voice dropped to an almost embarrassed utterance, and so I ignored the Vocklari and focused on the burrito.

I lifted a knife and fork to it cutting out a bit (hiding my surprise at the odd looking insides of it) and brought it to my mouth. "This is wonderful, Jareth, thank you so much."

Um… okay, how sweet was that? He cooked for me, like I had cooked for him! I ate the dinner, smiling and talking to him lightly… the Vocklari was, in all appearance, a kind of fish, and eel sauce is really good (I've had an Aboveground version of that on sushi that's just fabulous). The dish was extremely tasty… but I saved it for last. Jareth's culinary creation that he was so proud of (and he seemed to like, very much) was… not so good.

And that's putting it politely.

But, I played the role of the doting girlfriend, and just didn't have the heart to tell him it was terrible. So, I polished my meal off with lots and lots of water, the Vocklari, and the lumpy cookies (which were really good too… I assumed because I'd shown him how to make them).

When dinner was over, Jareth walked me back to my room. Once there, I found my bag ready and packed in the middle of my room. I regarded it sadly.

"Jareth, this has been about the best vacation I've ever had," I said, softly, turning to him.

"Really?" he looked shocked, "Truly, Wren?"

I nodded, "Yes. And… you know I can't quite say in words how sad I am to leave."

"All good things must come to an end," he muttered, absently.

There was a silence between us, which I broke when I remembered his ring, "Oh," I pulled my hand up and removed the ring, replacing the space with my crystal ring. "Here, I don't want to forget to give this back to you,"

He took it from me, in his gloved fingers (it seemed he was only gloveless in the mornings… I think this is one of the reasons I was so sad…), and pocketed it. "Thank you…"

There was silence again.

"I guess I should get going. My parents will be expecting me to return, soon."

He nodded, that odd look in his eyes again, but didn't say anything. This time, I decided to ask about it.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, "What are you thinking about, Jareth? I've seen that look in your eyes a couple of times now, and… what are you thinking about?"

"You," he said, honestly.

"Me?"

He nodded, "Yes. I have been very happy this week, Wren, having you here with me. I was merely thinking…" he removed my arms from his waist and put them up on his shoulders and placing his own around my waist, "How glad I am that you wished yourself away that night…" he lowered his head and rested his forehead against mine, "And into my life."

My heart did a sudden wiggly dance, and it was a good thing he was holding me around the waist, because my legs went all wobbly at his words.

"Me… me too…" I muttered weakly.

He turned his head then, and kissed me solidly – and had to support me completely because I nearly went limp.

He pulled away and nuzzled my nose briefly, "I will see you in a few days, then?"

I nodded, unable to speak. He carefully sat me down on my legs and released me. I dreamily made my way over to my bag and took the handle. I pulled my hand up and was about to count my crystals, when his hand took mine and stopped me.

"Allow me," he said, softly. He conjured a crystal and held it out before me. Giving it a quick squeeze, it popped and sent a delicate spray of glitter in the air around me.

"Bye," I said as Jareth and the room around me vanished, and I found myself in the bus station.

I sighed as I retrieved my cell phone from my bag and turned it on for the first time in over a week. Amid all the people that looked tired and grumpy from long bus trips, I think I was the only one with a goofy grin on my face, and was surely the only one humming.

What a week.

A/N: aaahhhhh!!! I finished it!!! Aaahhhh!!! –slumps to floor- at last!

Okay, now I'm off to work on my NaNoWriMo project! I doubt I will be able to update between now and the end of November (I really should have halted this to start NaNoWriMo properly, but I couldn't leave you all hanging!), but you never know.

Until then, my loyal readers (and reviewers, hint-hint), wish me luck, and I hope these insanely long chapters hold you over for a month… -sniff- I'll miss you all! –sniff-

Much love,

Marti

p.s. Um, I know the grammar and whatnot in these biggies are just awful, but I'm too busy to edit them fully, now, because of their size. I will go back, eventually, and fix them up, I swear, but until then I do apologize.