Disclaimer - I don't own Jareth, The Labyrinth, or anything I havn't made up. However, I do own Deborah, Roxy, the storyline, and anything I have made up.

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"Is there no peace..." Deborah muttered as she heard her door open and the sound of high heels clicking on the wooden flooring before becoming muffled by the blue rug on the floor, an indication Sarah was getting closer. Deborah drummed her fingers on the side of the bed where she was sitting and stared out of the french windows.

"So this is where you're hiding. And where are you today, here or the planet of the clangers?" Sarah crawled over the bed and swung her legs over the edge, pulling herself into a sitting position next to Deborah.

"Well it would figure Sarah, this is my room and I love it very much." Deborah quipped, smiling knowingly.

"You do KNOW it's the day before christmas eve don't you?"

"Yeess...your point being?"

"You havn't wrapped any presents yet?"

"I'll alert the media..." Deborah snorted. Both girls had been to Brighton a couple of days before to buy some presents, and the Goblins of Goblin city had insited that they hold they're christmas market, where Deborah had had a feild day. She had even met a lovley little woman Goblin who, along with her husband, had agreed to make anything Deborah wanted as a present for anyone. The sixteen year old had promised to go back and visit them, and decided to buy something for them from Brighton. Goblins seemed to have some strange obsession with aboveground objects, which strongly resembled something out of Harry Potter.

Deborah had been forced by her own concience to pile everything in a small cupboard concealed behind her wardrobe. It was a good job it was rather large.

"It's all under control Sarah, stop worrying."

"Me, worrying? Not a chance. Hey, I have to go now, preperations and such. I'll see you later." Sarah before disapearing before her eyes.

"Bye..." Deborah trailed off, resuming her staring until Roxy prodded her with a florecent pink hoop, a hint that she wanted a game.

Deborah sighed and threw herself into a rather noisy tug of war with her dog. She collapsed into a heap of laughter as Roxy finally got her prize and was bounding prudly around the room with it after 10 minutes of barking, growling, and a little noise from Roxy.

It had been a funny few weeks. Deborah had stayed in her room or in the library, or walking with Roxy alone in the orchard, in the snow. They had spent an entire weekend up stepladders, draping fairylights around the apple tree's and compaining about Sarah refusing to use her magic to do it.

Now Deborah room had a small, twinkling christmas tree in one corner and tinsel draped over the wardrobe, doorframes and any other reachable ledges. Deborah's bed had an oversized faux fur blanket on her bed, for it was freezing at night and Deborah and Roxy could happily snuggle up to each other.

Deborah had hardly spoken to Autumn since their christmas decoration run in, and most people, maids and otherwise, were avoiding her, reporting her being frosty and spappy.

As for Kayden and Lorena, they had left for two weeks to their lands, promising to return on Christmas eve for the festivities. Sarah had been particularly quiet over that time although Jareth had been in higher spirits, even helping with more decorating, something Deborah found abnormally amusing. Mariete however, had become increasingly unhappy, and more often than not, she would ask Deborah, or any one of the girls, to look after Candy, claiming something had cropped up. She had also began to get bigger around her waist, although wasn't eating half as much as she used to, the maids had said. This still puzzled Deborah but she didn't really have a chance to speak to the stable maid, as she always seemed to be out when Deborah appeared.

The brunette girl hauled herself from the floor where she had fake collapsed for Roxy's benifit, who was now staring at her for another game. Deborah only had to utter the word 'walkies' and Roxy forgot all about her floresent pink hoop and seemed more interested in the collar Deborah was waving at her.

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Deborah screamed in frustration as she tried, and failed, to wrap a box of expensive perfume for Autumn in ruby red wrapping paper.

"Don't even know why I'm bothering. She probably hasn't bothered for me." She grumbled. Finally she managed to wrap the box and even tie a pretty bow in gold ribbon. She wrote the little label and attatched it to the parcel before sitting back and sighing, looking at the mounting pile of presents she had already wrapped and the amount she still had to go.

She coughed slightly as the track changed on her CD player. It was a dusty old CD of christmas songs, George Michael and otherwise, that Sarah had sifted out. She laughed lightly as the Bowie duet with Bing Crosby came on reminding her of those days spent watching out the window and listning to the crackly radio playing christmas songs.

Finally, Deborah finished her wrapping, and card writing and it had to come to the time to put all of it under the tree in the library. She smiled as she loaded all of the presents into carrier bags, as there were a lot because of all the maids too, and, begrudgingly, Kayden and Lorena to consider present wise. Deborah called Roxy and left for the library.

It was dark by now and the corridors were lit by the odd candle and flickers lights of the mini christmas tree's. She padded down the corridors in her furry boot slippers, having not bothered to change into shoes. She shivered, cursing for not putting a jumper on. All she was wearing was a red shirt with puffy short sleeves reading 'John, Paul, George & Ringo' in big black lettering across the front that was doing nothing to keep the draft in the corridor at bay.

Roxy trotted around, causing Deborah to smile at her curious nature, despite it was probably wiser to keep her on a lead.

She reached the library and slipped in, releived at how warm it was. She plonked the bags down next to her and smiled at the room, probably one of her favourites in the castle. A huge tree had been put up and it shone with different coloured lights that illuminated a small area around it in the darkness. The other light in the room came from a roaring fire in the huge fireplace, also giving the room it's warmth. The dark sofa's were arranged around the harth, forming a semi circle. This arrangement was the one set in place for christmas day, and Jareth had helped them move it.

Deborah noticed that neatly wrapped presents had begun to congregate under the tree. She swiftly added her pile to them and flumphed down onto the sofa facing the fire.

Roxy climed up too and sat on Deborah outstretched legs as the girl lay lengthways on the sofa. She closed her eyes with the intent of getting some sleep as she seemed to be having a lack of it at the moment, spending her nights awake, thoughts swirling round her head. Just as the crackling of the fire had nearly sent her to sleep, she heard the door creak and her eyes flew open, to find only that it was Jareth.

"Dinner." He uttered quietly, only to earn a look of disgust from Deborah, which he half expected. She just placed her head on the cusion again, pretending he wasn't there.

However, Jareth's mind became clouded with something else as he looked at the girl from this angle. He looked at her form, just lying on the sofa. Her stomach was completely flat, showing just how skinny she was. Her chesnut hair shone in the firelight, and he admired how pretty she looked, asleep. He just stood there for a moment, just watching her. By this time, Roxy had sprawled out on the rug by the fire and was exposing her belly for all to see.

It wasn't until Deborah sat up and said 'what?' that Jareth snapped his attention back to her face and realized he'd gone very red.

"I assume you'll be staying here then?"

"Yessereebob." Deborah said, cocking her head slightly. Jareth didn't seem right this evening.

"You have to eat." He said quietly.

"I do eat. Just not with you lot." She said truthfully. Jareth nodded. He looked tired and his hair was limper than usual. He looked even paler and he was slouched, which was very unlike Jareth who was normally held himself very well.

"Whats up?" She looked puzzled.

"Everything is fine Debs."

She paused. He never called her Debs.

"Just peachy?" She persisted. She could see in his eyes that everything wasn't peachy at all.

"Just..." Jareth paused and inspected his glove "..peachy"

"Not it's not..." Deborah sighed.

"Everything'll work out Deborah." Jareth sighed and shook his head.

"Course." Deborah looked around her before flopping back down in another attempt to sleep.

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Christmas chapters next!

Q. x