I'm back for more. This week has been craaaazy, so I'm just happy to have something else up. Enjoy!

"My lady? My lady?" Sir Didymus queried, his face concerned.

Sarah blinked twice and turned to look at him, "What is it Didymus?"

"My lady, I believe it is your turn," Didymus answered, pointing to the pile of glittering jewels in front of them.

Hours after Jareth left and Toby tired of slashing at the air with his sword, the boy had complained of boredom. Didymus offered to teach Toby how to ride Ambrosius, but the eight-year old was too large for the shaggy dog. Overhearing his complaint, Hoggle begrudgingly brought out his jewels and the four friends—Sarah, Toby, Didymus and Hoggle, with Ludo watching—commenced a slightly modified game of 'jacks' using an old rubber ball Toby dug out of the bottom of his backpack.

Didymus' concerned look made Sarah realize she must have let her mind wander. She shook herself mentally and returned to the game, though her heart wasn't in it. At first, the game had been a welcome distraction from the confusing and somewhat surprising attitude Jareth had displayed earlier. However, she could not long forget the tension between them; like a dog with a bone, she gnawed at the issue relentlessly, replaying the morning's events over and over in her mind. She hoped that by repeating the conversations and re-envisioning the body language she might decode some hidden message that would clarify everything. She knew she was overanalyzing the entire situation, but the lack of resolution perturbed her.

"My lady, are you quite all right? Perhaps you are distressed in some way? Can I be of service?"

"Oh, no Didymus, thank you. I think…I think I'm just tired."

"Did your nightmare keep you up Sarah? You could have come to get me if you were scared," Toby gallantly suggested, a gentle, child-like reprimand in his voice.

"No, Toby, but thank you. I slept fine after you left." I just didn't get much sleep this morning…Sarah tried to put on a brave face for her friends so that they wouldn't worry about her, but nothing could hide the dark circles under her eyes or keep her mind from wandering aimlessly in search of an answer to Jareth's confusing responses.

"Sarah. Okay?" Ludo rumbled, looking concerned.

"I'm really alright everyone. Really."

"Well, ya don't look fine ta me," Hoggle chimed in. "You look like you spent a month in an oubliette with a hundred giggling fairies to bug ya all day and night."

"Maybe I do need a nap or something. I guess after everything that's happened, I'm having trouble sleeping. Toby knows I have trouble sleeping in new places," she gave the boy a wink.

"Yeah. I 'member when we went to Disneyworld and you didn't sleep well at all, so you missed our whole first day on the rides!"

"Disney-what? What's a ride?" Hoggle asked.

"Oh, never mind Hoggle. It's an Aboveground thing," Sarah replied. "Now, let's get back to the game."

"Sarah. Sleep." Ludo admonished.

"Fine, fine. I'm going!" Sarah slowly got up and ventured in the general direction of her bedroom, hobbling a bit because her foot was asleep. She was pretty certain of where her room was located, but she had already lost her way to and from the throne room once today, so when she didn't reach her destination in the five minutes it usually took, she went in search of a goblin to give her directions.

Turning a blind corner, she recognized a familiar tuft of pale blond hair sticking out from what she guessed to be a seat in a window. Jareth, she heaved a mental sigh. It just figures I would accidentally run into him when I'm trying to not think about him.

Dancing motes of various colors played on the wall opposite where the king sat and Sarah wondered where they came from. A vague clink-clink of crystal on crystal told her that Jareth was spinning crystals in his hands. She recalled how enthralling it had been to watch his hands as he effortlessly spun, twisted, and flipped the crystalline orbs. It amazed her how something so apparently fragile could also possess such strength, grace and power—like Jareth himself, only the reverse. He possessed—and enjoyed exhibiting—immense magical prowess and ability; yet, she had begun to see that he was more vulnerable than he appeared.

Despite her new understanding of his character, Jareth's moodiness worried Sarah and made her hesitant to interact with him again without knowing what he was thinking more concretely. It was possible she was still misunderstanding him somehow. Unsure of his thoughts regarding her and not desirous to have a repeat performance of his aloofness in the throne room, Sarah turned to head back the other direction in search of her room, hoping he hadn't heard her. Though she had asked for time to think and been able to work out the rudimentary levels her feelings, his withdrawal had made her skittish. Perhaps he changed his mind already. Maybe he regrets even kissing me this morning and his actions were a way of putting me off. He said he wanted me in his arms forever, but maybe my indecision pushed him to change his mind about me. I did reject him all those years ago. Or, maybe he was just toying with me the whole time, setting me up to reject me as part of an elaborate scheme of revenge. Or if he doesn't hate me, so much has occurred in the past few days that he is probably not ready to talk, even if I am. I would be better off keeping everything to myself. I don't want to hurt him or be hurt by him. We're both better off if I just keep quiet. Her mind made up, she retreated in the direction of her room but she barely took two steps when she heard Jareth call out to her.

"Sarah, wait. Are you going so soon? Would you not even bid good afternoon on such a glorious day? Are you too busy to greet the Goblin King?" Jareth smiled at the clear anxiety etched on her face.

"I apologize Jareth. I…I didn't see you there," his jocular attitude grated. Sarah was not in the mood for his snide comments, not when they had shared such intimacy only hours ago. Is it always going to be this way? He opens up, and then withdraws behind his sarcasm and mockery? Frustrated, Sarah responded curtly, "I was just going in search of my room and I got lost in the passages. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Of course not, unless you are avoiding me. That won't do, Sarah. I'm the king and you simply can't escape me that easily." He smiled broadly and Sarah realized he was grinning at her not in mockery, but straightforward jest. He was teasing her rather than ridiculing her and she immediately reddened in shame for responding to him so harshly.

"I'm sorry, Jareth. I thought—"

"That I was making fun of you," Jareth finished. He moved to where he was only inches away from her and she had to crane her neck to look into his handsome face. "I was. A bit. But only in fun, Sarah. I didn't mean to upset you. Though I did mean it that you can't avoid me that easily. This is my castle and I go where I please." He arched one eyebrow devilishly and Sarah's heart raced at the unspoken implication.

For what seemed like a long time, they stared at each other. A silent battle waged in the stone corridor as each side staked their ground and surveyed the opponent's weaknesses. Though each had determined to speak to the other, Jareth and Sarah rendered each other mute in face to face confrontation.

"Jareth—"; "Sarah—" They spoke at the same time. Jareth smirked and Sarah flushed. He gestured for her to continue.

"This morning I asked you for time to think." Sarah paused.

"Indeed," Jareth replied patiently.

"I wanted to thank you for…being so understanding. I…this is hard for me. So much has happened since Toby unknowingly wished me here…I haven't really had time to think it all over, especially after Junia." Jareth's face darkened at the woman's name, but he did not interrupt. "Thank you for being so generous as to let me have time, and for your wonderful hospitality while I was recovering. I admit that I…I didn't expect it."

Jareth bowed his head slightly, "You're welcome. Though it has not all been generosity I assure you; I am capable of being moved by guilt as much as generosity. It was cruel of me to treat you so inhumanly when you arrived here and you were right to chastise me for it. Much of my 'generosity' as you call it was a desire to prove you wrong about me. Also," Jareth grinned mischievously, "I hate it when Kyran upstages me. He's a charming bastard, I admit, but he's an incorrigible show-off and likes to flaunt himself, especially to women." Jareth paused slightly, suddenly becoming serious, "And…I truly wanted you to think well of me. I can be cruel, Sarah, I warned you before, but I never wanted to be cruel to you. It disturbed me greatly that I had wounded you so deeply with my callous behavior."

Jareth gently reached out and tucked a stray piece of her short hair behind her ear tenderly, causing her heart to pound ever more resolutely in her chest. Though not with the bolt of lightning triggered by his kiss, her skin still tingled pleasantly when his fingers caressed her face. She felt like purring.

Looking deep into his odd eyes, Sarah could see that her accusatory tirade of two days ago had pained him. She hadn't meant to; she didn't think he cared that much about what she thought of him; he had never shown any concern before. He started to move his hand away, but she placed her own on top of his, keeping it close to her cheek.

"I'm sorry I spoke so harshly to you, Jareth. I never knew you cared so much about the way I perceived you."

"Would it have changed what you said if I had told you?" He asked in a low voice.

Sarah paused, "No. I don't think that it would have. There's no way I could have stopped myself from being so angry with you, but I could have tried to say it in a kinder way, or at least softened it somewhat."

Jareth gave a light shrug and dropped his hand from her face, "I prefer honesty to subterfuge. When it comes to confrontation, that is. A little trickery can be fun sometimes, if it is done in good faith and with no harm intended." He gave a playfully wicked grin.

Something in Sarah's mind fell into place with a resounding click. He's talking about the Labyrinth. He's trying to tell me that the games he played and the tricks he pulled on me when I was trying to rescue Toby were not meant to anger me or to hurt me. Interesting. He is also the using humor to alleviate the tension. Is he running away or just trying to prevent bickering? Intrigued and emboldened, Sarah broached a question that had been bothering her ever since she spoke with Fran and Jack about the Underground.

"Jareth, tell me about the Labyrinth."

The King became decidedly wary, his defenses up. Damn, Sarah thought. That came out more abrupt than I planned. I hope I didn't just ruin everything.

"What do you want to know?" Jareth hedged.

"Well, who made it?"

"I did." For some reason, that didn't surprise Sarah at all.

Jareth had been anticipating Sarah's arrival. His hearing was remarkably keen and he had heard her muttering to herself about wrong turns long before her footsteps rang out only feet behind him. He pretended to remain blissfully unaware, interested in how she would respond to seeing him in the windowsill. He recognized that he had been aloof with her when she interrupted him with Toby, but he naively hoped she had not taken it personally because he hadn't mean it that way. (Though he was hundreds of years old, Jareth was inexperienced with the finer points of female emotional responses. He was, after all, a man.)

He heard her step falter and turn the other direction, prompting him to initiate contact rather than lose her to the oblivion of an empty hallway. He took a deep breath and disguised his anxiety with a smirk and a jest.

He knew right away that it had been the wrong choice to tease her. It was profoundly evident that she misunderstood his playfulness for mockery. How can she so quickly assume that I am ridiculing her? After this morning, I thought her capable of distinguishing between jest and scorn. How silly of her to think that I would be mocking her after being so close to her. Does she still not understand how I feel about her? How could I have been more obvious without straddling her?! He laughed. She probably would have misunderstood that, too and told me I was being too aggressive. He gave a mental shrug. I suppose I just don't know how to get through to her. By Hades' beard, this is going to be more difficult than I thought!

He softened his tone and she immediately responded. Gently, now Jareth. Gently. Don't scare her away. Jareth was surprised at how humbly she thanked him for his generosity. She must not have believed he would accept delay willingly or appropriately. Did she expect me to lash out at her? A new and more concerning thought struck him. What if she thought that my aloofness in the throne room was because I was angry with her? No, she couldn't think that. I was polite but respectful; I wanted to give her time to think. True, I was confused and torn by her overt admiration, but she must have been able to see that I wasn't upset with her in any way.

Encouraged by her vulnerability, Jareth spoke freely regarding his own motivations in his hospitable actions. She deserved the truth from him, not a whitewashed veneer. He didn't want to hide anything from her. Moved by how she could appear both so frangible and so inviolable, he reached to touch her face, using a wayward hair as an excuse to caress the soft skin of her pale cheek. He loved the feel of her silken skin beneath his hand, like the feel of clouds beneath my wings on a moonlit night.

She did not shy way from his touch. His arms ached to draw her close to him. After this morning, he knew his arms would ever feel empty when she was not enfolded within their encircling grasp. He was about to move when her apology broke the hold on his mind. Speaking reluctantly took precedence over physical proximity. Seeing a way to broach the subject of the Labyrinth, Jareth joked with her about mischief and trickery. He hoped she would understand what he was implying: that his actions when she came to rescue Toby had not been meant maliciously.

She caught on quickly; too quickly for Jareth's plan. He had not intended to divulge the secret of the Labyrinth until much later. Her interest in the origins of the Labyrinth unsettled him because he feared a premature revelation of the truth about their relationship to each other would jeopardize their intimacy. If she finds out what her victory means to me and the whole Underground, she might balk and flee. I don't want to lose her, not when we're so close to finding resolution. But I can't lie to her; I have to hedge and earn her distrust or tell the truth and risk losing everything.

"Who made the labyrinth?" Sarah queried.

"I did." He answered briefly, trying to avoid prolonged discussion on the subject.

"Why?"

Jareth's heart plummeted. He had feared this question above all the others. I'm not ready to talk about that yet. I'm not ready for her to know. How am I supposed to retain her trust in me while at the same time protecting myself from divulging too much information too quickly? Why does she have to make this so difficult!

"Sarah, are you sure you're ready to know about this right now?" He looked searchingly into her eyes, willing her to see that his reluctance was necessary, though painful. Taking a risk, he twined one arm around her waist and drew her into the circle of his arms. With his free hand, he tilted her chin up so that they were eye to eye. Her hands rested gently on his chest, neither grasping nor wrestling free. He silently implored her to understand him, fearful lest she mistake his hesitance for lack of care.

"Why don't you want to talk to me, Jareth?" Her piercing eyes unsettled him—they saw far too much. "Is it because this is all just a game to you? Another ploy to force me into submission?" With his refusal to speak with her openly, all Sarah's old fears came rushing back. He was avoiding her. He wouldn't speak the truth and perhaps she didn't really want to hear it. "I warn you Jareth; I will not be manipulated into becoming your slave. If you are toying with my heart for your own amusement, I swear you will regret it the rest of your eternal life." The hands that had clutched at his chest this morning pressed flat against him in an effort to escape. Sarah glared up at him in defiance, dimly glowing embers of pain flaring to life in her fiery green eyes.

"Sarah, stop. You must listen to me. I swear I am not mocking you or tormenting you for my own amusement." Hurt now welled up in his own eyes to match the pain in hers. "No matter how I may have appeared to you at first, I am not that kind of man. Truly, I am shocked that you would so eagerly think the worst of me after all I've done for you." Wounded by her lack of trust in his motivations, Jareth lashed out, "Why do you persist in hating me?"

"I don't hate you Jareth. It is you who truly hate me for what I've done to you; everything else is just a lie," Sarah threw back with equal fervor.

"Haven't I forgiven you and apologized for my bitterness?" His masterful hands gripped her wrists tightly as she tried to move away and Jareth forced her to look at him. "Why can't you understand how much I love you?"

Infuriated that he had been goaded into speaking his feelings for her out of anger, Jareth dropped his grip on her and swiftly turned away to gain control of himself. Sarah couldn't move. Her body refused to respond to the commands her stupefied brain haphazardly concocted. Go to him. No, he doesn't want to touch me. Apologize. But he doesn't want to talk. Wait. Did he just say he loves me? Did he just say he loves me? ———! Her brain short-circuited; she couldn't process his confession of love for her. The phrase, "Does not compute," echoed within her befuddled brain. The only thought that cut through the thick fog was, I can't let him leave me like this! To fulfill her unspoken desire, her hand instinctively reached out to touch his arm and he turned to face her again, stricken with self-reproach.

"Jareth—" Sarah watched in slow motion as her left hand reached out to touch his face. His eyes closed as she let her thumb glide over his cheekbone. He made a low sound in the back of his throat and Sarah drew closer to him, taking his face in both of her soft hands. "Jareth…I l—"

But Sarah never finished her sentence because at that moment, a flustered and bedraggled goblin rounded the corner with a grunt, running into Jareth's legs.

"Sorry," the goblin mumbled but when it realized to whom the legs belonged, he snorted anxiously and snapped to attention. "I'm sorry sire, I didn't see you there. I mean I did see you but I didn't know it was you, see? I have an urgent message for you and I've got to give it to you right away."

"Well?" Jareth impatiently replied, vexed with the goblin for so infortuitously interrupting him.

"Oh, um. It's private. Meant for your ears only, see? At least, that's what they told me to tell you. I'm not to di-vulge"—the goblin struggled with the word—"the message if there's other's hanging about." The goblin looked askance at Sarah, who quickly retreated.

Jareth moved to detain her, but she withdrew quickly beyond his reach, saying, "I understand. Please, don't let me intrude. I know you have responsibilities other than me." She sighed bitterly and Jareth took her face in his hands.

"Sarah, we shall finish this. I promise. Wait here, I will be back momentarily," he whispered. With renewed hope, Sarah watched Jareth and the goblin turn the corner; she did not miss the wistful glance Jareth gave her before he turned, sour-faced, to the goblin with the urgent message for his ears only.

About half an hour later, Jareth returned, looking grim and fierce. "Sarah, I must speak with you."

Concerned, Sarah rushed to his side, "What is it Jareth? Has something happened? Did Junia escape?"

"No. Junia is safely under the guardianship of the Court guards. What I have to tell you is more urgent, though hopefully less unpleasant. Sarah," he stated flatly. "I'm sending you and Toby home."

The handsome king brushed past her quickly, refusing to look her full in the face. His body exuded calm acceptance, yet from what little she glimpsed of his powerful features, Sarah did not miss the mournful turn of his mouth or the single glittering tear that slid out from the corner of his odd blue eye.

Wheee! What suspense! How thrilling! What's going to happen next??? Please review; I do value your input very much.