A/N: A year and a half. That's how long it's been since I last updated this story. I'm so sorry, my dear readers, for leaving you hanging. The only excuse I have is that life has gotten in the way. This is the second to last chapter in this story. One more and it will finally be complete. Thank you so much to those who have favorited and followed this tale. It really fuels me to get those email notifications. Special thanks go out to PixiedustWishes, tay5810, SummerMistedDragon, Tange Lou, ladykate83, Stormbutterfly, morgankeef, Enchanted Peach Dreams, hotforteacher3, LiteraryRhapsody, scbeauty2525, JazminaPashmina, SarahlouiseDodge, kellyn1604, Wynni, and guests for reviewing since I last updated. Your words inspire and motivate me to continue writing. Without further ado, here is Chapter 35 of Summer Solstice.

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own anything you recognize and most that you don't.

While Sarah was busy with her planning, Jareth's frustration with their current living situation was growing. The evenings were glorious and, he had to admit, he loved waking up with his beloved Sarah beside him. However, he hated letting her go back to his brother's kingdom come the dawn. It didn't help things that he felt, for the first time in his life, inadequate. What would happen should she decide to leave? Would she even tell him?

Of course, whenever Jareth felt a crisis of confidence – a rare thing, to be sure – his mood would grow more and more foul. May the Gods help the poor fool who crossed him. Today was no exception. With a kick, Jareth sent one of his goblins hurling out the window.

"Little cretin!" he bellowed. "If you dare piss on my throne again, you shall find I will be much less generous."

Clapping from behind him alerted him to the presence of another. He turned to see Fagan standing there, his eyes mirthful as they looked on at the humorous scene. "Good show, my brother."

"Piss off!" Jareth snapped. He waved a hand and used magic to cleanse the seat of his power.

Flopping into it, he threw a leg over one arm and glowered at his brother.

"Rough morning?" Fagan ventured. At Jareth's silent brooding, he put a finger to the side of his mouth. "Or is it more?"

Jareth shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Don't you have something else you could be doing? Go bother your wretched fairies and leave me be."

"What has you in such a mood? Is it Sarah? Is there trouble in paradise already?" Jareth looked away. "Wait! You're worried, aren't you? You think Sarah is going to wake up one day and decide she would rather have her old mortal life. Do you really have such little faith in her?"

"No…yes…I don't know."

"Why don't we grab a pint and you can tell me all about it?"

Jareth stared at his brother. "It's nine o'clock in the morning."

"You can reorder time, my brother. Surely it must be five o'clock somewhere."

*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*

"I don't know," sighed Sarah, looking rather unimpressed with the plans before her.

"Come on, Sar!" implored Allie. "It's going to be great."

"I really don't know if I can be that enthused about a masked ball. I've been to one and it wasn't all that fun."

"That one totally doesn't count. Seriously! It's time to live a little. We're Fae now and it's a ball. We're entitled to a little fun. Especially now that you've got Jareth all to yourself and it's finally solstice."

Sarah looked away from the plans and sighed again. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

"You're not still thinking about leaving are you?"

"Not really, but –"

"But what?"

"What if he doesn't want me to stay?"

"Are you serious?" Allie asked, staring at her friend incredulously.

Sarah bit a fingernail and shrugged. She knew it sounded completely ludicrous, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't good enough for Jareth. He was a king and the High Prince, no less. What could she possibly continue to bring to their relationship. Maybe he would grow bored of her. Then she would be alone in this world. Allie would have Fagan and she wouldn't have anybody. The worst part? She would be away from her family. She could give up everything and end up with nothing.

"Oh my gods, you are! Have you not seen the way he looks at you? You're his world Sarah. Come on. This discussion calls for ice cream."

"At nine in the morning?"

"Hey, is there ever a wrong time for ice cream? Besides, it's five o'clock somewhere."

*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*

Fagan watched Jareth take a deep swig of his ale, silently brooding as he drank. "Are we just going to sit in silence all morning?"

Jareth glared in reply before turning his attention back to his mug.

"Fine. You don't want to talk. I get it. I really do. Just listen. Sarah is a lot like you, you know. Stubborn as hell, but loyal to a fault. You cannot force her to do something that she doesn't want to do. You just have to trust her. She loves you, my brother. Gods know why, but she does. It surely can't be your stimulating conversation."

"Ha, so witty," Jareth growled.

Fagan grinned and waved over the pub matron. "Another round. Put it on the king's tab."

"Thirsty?" Jareth asked as the woman ran to fulfill their order.

"Not really, but it beats sitting here in silence watching you pout."

"I am not pouting!" Jareth growled, pounding his fist on the table hard enough to shake the glassware. The unfortunate pub matron chose that moment to bring their fresh glasses. He gave her a withering stare and the poor woman nearly ran to get away from them.

Fagan watched the exchange before giving a wry smile. "Are you sure about that?"

"Just what are you trying to get at, Fagan, besides on my last nerve?"

"You're sitting here moping into your ale when you've got everything you could ever want. You have your health, a prosperous kingdom, a great future, and a wonderful woman who would do anything for you. Are you really going to piss it all away with a crisis of confidence? If you can't trust her, then you don't deserve her."

Jareth growled before breaking out in his first genuine smile of the day. His brother was right. He just had to trust that Sarah loved him enough to stay. Hell, she had changed into Fae to stay in his world. It was just that trusting someone else wasn't in his nature. He took another sip of his ale and decided that he would simply have to talk to her. Honesty was the only way he would be able to put his tortured mind at ease. After that, he would have to allow her to make her own decision.

Downing the last of his second drink, he called the pub matron over to the table. "Another round of drinks for myself and the sage."

*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*

"Ow ack oo da oblem at and."

"Ew, Allie."

Allie swallowed hard and tried again without a mouthful of rocky road. "Sorry. Now back to the problem at hand. The way I see it, your problem boils down to two things."

Sarah licked the back of her spoon before plunging it back into the tub of death by chocolate, ignoring the look of disgust on her friend's face. "Well?"

"First, do you trust him?" Allie asked, ticking off her index finger.

Sarah took a mouthful of ice cream and contemplated her friend's question. Did she trust Jareth? In her heart she knew the answer. Swallowing the cold bite, she simply said, "yes. Of course I do. I love him."

Allie smiled and ticked off another finger. "That just leads us to the second thing: do you trust yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you trust your own self-worth?"

Sarah thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"Then there's your problem. You don't think you're worthy of Jareth. The truth is, you won't be worthy of him if you don't believe yourself to be worthy. You have to trust that you're good enough for him before you really will be."

Sarah took another bite of her ice cream and contemplated her friend's advice. "You really put on your wiseman hat this morning, didn't you? Maybe I should talk to him about how I feel."

Before Allie could say a word, the object of their conversation stumbled through the door. Allie quickly got up and winked at Sarah. "Um, I think I'll leave you two alone. I've, um, got to go look over those, uh, plans. Bye."

Sarah shook her head at Allie's haste. She stood up and made her way to her handsome king. Said king seemed to be lacking his normal grace as he knocked over a pan, sending it crashing to the floor. She raised her eyebrows as she noticed the redness in his eyes.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Nope," he answered, swaying a little on his feet. "Well, maybe a little."

"It's not even noon, yet," Sarah pointed out, a smile belying her stern tone.

"I could reorder time. It's five o'clock somewhere."

"I think you've done enough already." He swayed again. "Why don't we get you someplace where you can sit down?"

His grin was positively wicked. "My chambers?"

"I don't think you should be transporting and I'm still working on getting the spell right. Let's just walk on down to the library and you can sober up..err rest…while I get some work done."

"Lead away, my Lady. I would follow you anywhere."

Sarah giggled. "You old romantic, you."

The pair made their way to the library. Sarah held onto his arm and tried to steer him in the right direction. Her task was made all the more difficult by his unsteadiness on his feet and his constant wandering hands. By the time they finally made it to their destination, Sarah was almost red from her exertion. She led him to one of the settees in the library and sat him down and turned towards the shelves.

When she returned with a book in hand, she found him sound asleep. With a smile, she sat down next to him and began to read. Another moment later, his head found her lap and she carded her hand through his hair as he slept. It was quiet except for the occasional snore from the Goblin King or a chuckle from Sarah as she came across a humorous passage in her book.

Sarah was startled out of her research as she heard a sleepy voice ask, "How long have I been out?"

"A couple of hours," she replied, smiling down at Jareth as he closed his eyes and yawned widely.

"What have you been up to?" He slowly moved until he was seated next to her.

Sarah smiled and placed a piece of parchment in the pages, marking her spot. "Research."

Jareth took the book from her hand and read the words on the binding. "A Woman's Place? What in the Underworld would make you want to read a book on Underground etiquette?"

"Your father seems to think that women here should be a little more equal to men."

Jareth chortled until he noticed the frown on Sarah's face. "What?"

Sarah stood to create some distance. A low rumble of thunder could be heard throughout the realm. "What's so funny? Is it the fact that your father believes that or that he chose me to help?"

"Both, actually."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course."

"And why is that?"

"Well, women are...er...that is to say," he stumbled. Another clap of thunder sounded, this time louder than the first. Jareth flinched at the sound.

"Just say it," Sarah demanded. "You think women aren't equal to men. Is that how you view me?"

"I – "

"You don't even have to say it. I can see it on your face. Well, let me tell you something, Your Majesty. I'm just as good as you are, if not better, at most things."

"Like what?" He scoffed, his anger beginning to rise at her tone.

"Like this," she spat, conjuring up a crystal ball and tossing it at him. As it flew towards its objective, it melted into the form of a snake. It wrapped around Jareth's torso and held him in place. The menacing head of the snake was mere inches from his face. He looked up as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky followed by a loud crash of thunder. Rain and hail poured from the sky. All creatures out and about scurried to take cover as the storm raged.

"Stop this immediately!" He commanded.

Sarah's eyes flashed a brilliant green and she sneered at him. "Or what? Are you going to send the cleaner's after me? I don't think so."

With a turn of her hand, another crystal appeared. She dropped it on the ground and a mist enveloped her. When it evaporated, she was gone. The only thing that remained was the smell of magic, some green dust, and a sense that things had gone terribly wrong. As suddenly as the snake had appeared, it popped out of existence, freeing its captive. A scroll fell into Jareth's lap and he opened it carefully, to read:

My will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great. You have no power over me.

Liam studied the board with such focus, one would assume he was plotting his next move. Well, he was, but it was his next move with his lovely companion and not the game that captured his attention. They'd kept to his word ever since the trial of his sister. The two of them had continued to learn each other as friends. As a consequence, their relationship had deepened into something so much more than mere friendship. Liam felt that forever would not be enough time with his Stephanie. Which brings us back to his current conundrum. How should he tell her that he was ready for more? Would she want that, too?

"Are you going to make a move or are you going to sit and stare at the board all day?" Stephanie asked, amusement coloring her expression.

"Huh?"

"Where'd you go? I asked if you were going to make a move or not."

"A move?"

Stephanie giggled and shook her head, pointing at the unfinished game of chess before them. "It's your move."

"Oh, um," he stammered, feeling foolish. He quickly moved his piece and settled back in his seat.

"Finally, slow poke," she sighed with a grin.

Liam watched as she focused on the board and began to strategize. Her face scrunched up and her tongue stuck out in concentration. He loved every expression that flitted across her visage. She wore every feeling out in the open and he adored that about her. She was real and she was so close to being his that he could taste it. Now, how to go about asking her. Maybe he just needed to come out and say it; to be as real as she.

Liam licked his lips and decided to just seize the day. "Stephanie."

Looking up from the board, she smiled. "Yeah?"

"Could I talk to you about something?"

"Bored already?"

"I'm serious."

Stephanie sat back in her chair, frowning. "Ok. What's up?"

"These past few weeks have been really wonderful. It's been great to have you as my friend. I don't think anyone has given me as much joy as you have." He paused, not knowing where to go from here.

"But," Stephanie prompted.

"But, I think I want more from you than mere friendship."

Stephanie blinked and her face broke into a smile. "Well, that's a relief."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought maybe you didn't like me in the same way I like you."

Liam's jaw dropped. "I just wanted to take it slow. I rushed into my last relationship and I didn't want to make the same mistake." He took Stephanie's face in his hands. "I adore you."

"I-" Before she could say another word, he pressed his lips to hers.

Whatever she had been in the process of saying was swallowed by their kiss. Her arms slipped around his neck, pulling him closer. His own arms snaked around her, refusing to let her get away again. All of their pent-up feelings were released in one beautiful moment of passion. It was as if everything had finally clicked into place. This was right; this was meant to be.

After a moment, he finally pulled away. Her dazed eyes looked into his as he asked, "will you allow me to court you?"

"What does that mean, exactly?"

Liam smiled at his foolishness. Of course she wouldn't know about courting. Taking a deep breath, he began the long introduction to Fae courting customs. As he explained, he could see the look of rapid concentration on Stephanie's face. It gave him hope to see her paying so much attention. He tried to answer her questions about the process to become Fae. Sensing her fear, he decided honesty would be the best route to take.

Once he was done, Stephanie sat silent for a moment before smiling and taking his hand in hers. "I'd be honored for you to court me, Liam."

After a second kiss, more passionate than the first, Liam finally asked, "When would you like me to petition the court?"

"Would today be too soon?"

Liam laughed and took her in his arms once again. "I'll see what I can do."

"Damn you, Jareth," she groaned in the empty room. It felt like hours before she finally fell into a broken slumber. As she finally drifted off to sleep, she whispered, "I miss you."

Sarah would have been amused, and a little vindicated, if she knew that Jareth was having similar problems. Try as he might, he couldn't fall asleep. His bed felt too big, too uncomfortable, without Sarah's soft body next to his own. As he tossed and turned, he cursed his temper and stubborn nature – almost as much as he cursed Sarah herself. She'd made a fool out of him. No one had a right to do that, no matter how much he was in love with that person.

"Ah, Sarah-mine. Come back to me," he whispered, as sleep finally took him.

Jareth awoke in a field of tall grass that swayed in the light summer breeze. Sitting up, he looked around in confusion. This was definitely not his chambers within the Goblin Castle. He rubbed his eyes and tried to figure out how he could have gotten to this place. In the distance, he could see a structure and a person waiting. From the field, it appeared as if this unknown person was beckoning to him. How bizarre!

"I must be dreaming," he concluded. "That has to be it."

Reaching down, he placed two fingers on his arm and pinched hard. He yelped in pain. No, he was definitely not dreaming. Jareth stood and began to walk towards the structure and, hopefully, towards some answers. As he got closer, he could see that the structure was a temple. Standing within the temple was a familiar figure. So familiar that he could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was his own face staring back at him.

"What the devil?"

"What the devil?" the other Jareth echoed.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?" came another echo.

"I demand answers!"

"Oh, you do, do you?" asked another voice behind him.

Jareth whipped around before falling to his knees before the intruder. "My Gods!"

*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*

Sarah had just fallen asleep when she heard a loud noise outside of her window. Sitting up quickly in bed, she threw her bed covers off to free her legs. Every horror movie she'd ever watched was telling her to run out of the room, but Sarah was determined to find out what woke her. She slipped out of bed and made her way to her balcony. As soon as she opened the door, she knew she must still be dreaming. Instead of stepping onto her balcony in the quiet of night, she found herself in a field with the sun beaming down onto her.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

A giggle behind her had her spinning to find the source. No one was there.

Sarah stomped her foot upon the grass. "This is not funny."

"On the contrary, little Mortal-turned-Fae, we find this most amusing."

"It's you!"

*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*

"Rise, young king."

Jareth rose to his feet, but continued to lower his eyes in deference to the beings before him. "Why am I here?"

"The road before you has bumps. You must learn to navigate wisely."

"Road? Navigate"

As he watched, a path appeared in the field. At the end of the path stood a familiar young woman. Jareth watched as the woman slowly began to walk towards him. Almost without thought, he started to make his way to her. When he finally got close enough, he breathed the one name that seemed to caress his lips. "Sarah."

*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*~*J/S*

"Yes, Sarah Williams, you have found us once again."

"Why am I here?'

"You will find the answers you seek on the pathway of your dreams."

Sarah looked in wonder as a path appeared out of nowhere. In the distance, she could see a lone figure. She took a deep breath and summoned the courage to take the first step. Before long, she could hear her name whispered on the wind. She began to run, longing to be in the arms of her beloved king.

Just as the couple was about to embrace, the world fell apart. Sarah sat up in bed, breathing hard. Her arms felt empty and a deep sense of loneliness set into her heart. In another Kingdom, a similar feeling of emptiness surrounded the Goblin King. Both cursed their own stubbornness that kept them apart, but neither was ready to concede.

Sleep threatened to take hold once again as a voice floated on the breeze. "Be fruitful and fulfill your destiny."

"I told you, don't move," admonished the seamstress.

Sarah rubbed her sore bottom. What the hell did she need a bustle for anyway? It felt like she'd been standing in front of these blasted three-way mirrors for hours. This was supposed to be the final fitting, but the designer had decided that the gown needed a bustle to complete the look. She looked over to Allie and silently cursed her friend. She'd been done an hour ago and was currently lounging in her chemise and dressing gown.

"Queenie"

"Hiya"

"Oooo pretty"

"Pretty pretty"

"Pretty Queenie"

Sarah turned to see her five goblin friends just as she felt another needle poke her in a very sensitive place. "Ouch!"

"You move, you get poked," mumbled the seamstress through a mouthful of pins.

Sarah glared at Allie's laughter, which only caused her friend to laugh harder. With a sigh, she tried to remain completely still. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to sit down until after the ball. Not that she'd be able to sit comfortably with that damn bustle. She heaved another sigh at the thought and waited impatiently for this torture session to come to an end.

"There now, Lady Sarah, all finished," said the seamstress, at last. "That wasn't too bad was it?"

Sarah smiled sweetly. "Not at all. Do you happen to be related to the Marquis De Sade?"

The seamstress gave a sour look before sending Sarah back behind the screen to change. She returned a moment later in her dressing gown, dress in hand. Snatching it from her fingertips, the dressmaker vanished with one last glare at the young woman. Sarah could swear she heard her mutter something about her and the Goblin King and how they deserved each other. She turned to see Allie bent in a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"N-nothing."

Rolling her eyes, Sarah turned to her friends. "What's up, guys?"

"We see Queenie."

"Queenie talk to Kingy."

"Kingy mad."

"Kingy sad."

"Queenie make happy."

With a huff, Sarah replied, "I have no intention on seeing Kingy until the ball. I'm mad at him right now."

"Queenie mad."

"Queenie sad."

Allie nodded. "That's right. Both Kingy and Queenie are miserable because they're both too stubborn to admit that they were wrong."

"Allie!"

"What? You know it's the truth."

"I know no such thing."

Allie produced a crystal and, with a flick of the wrist, it changed into a giant chocolate bar. She waved it in front of the goblins. "Do you want this yummy treat?"

"Uh huh."

"Yep yep."

"Chocolate yummy."

"Yum yum."

"Ooooooo."

"Well then, you have to do me a big favor. I need you to go back to the Kingy and tell him what a sad Queenie he has. Tell him that Queenie misses Kingy and can't wait to see him at the ball. Can you do that for me?"

"Yep yep."

"Yeah."

"Uh huh."

"Okay. I'll give you this whole chocolate bar when you get back."

With that, the five goblins disappeared in a flash. Sarah turned to Allie and groaned. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you two need a push."

"I'd like to give you a push."

Allie laughed. "Well, at least I don't hear any storms brewing so you can't be too mad at me."

Sarah sat in the chair next to Allie and huffed. "I said I was sorry about that. I didn't realize that I was projecting my emotions until it was too late. I'm working on it."

"I'm just teasing you, Sarah. I know you didn't mean it."

Sarah signed and leaned back in the chair. "I wasn't wrong, you know."

Allie lifted her brow and looked to her friend.

"Well, I wasn't." Sarah insisted.

"You let your emotions get the better of you and then you tied him up with a snake."

"He was asking for it."

"If you say so."

Sarah pounded her fist on the arm of her chair. "He was being a misogynistic asshole!"

"That is true," Allie conceded. "But you didn't even get a chance to try and explain your point of view. People can change their opinions."

"He's never going to change."

"How do you know that? Have you asked him?"

Sarah sat for a moment in silence. "I haven't talked to him since the incident in the library."

"And you're miserable."

"No I'm not," she denied. At Allie's withering look, she sighed and put a hand to her head. "Ok, yes. I'm miserable. Happy now?"

"Deliriously."

"I'd feel better about this whole thing if I knew that he was as miserable as I was."

"Sarah, I'd be willing to bet that he's more miserable than you."

Sarah waved her friend away. "He probably doesn't even realize I've been gone."

Before Allie could reply, a loud pop filled the air as the five little Goblins made their appearance.

"We back."

"Chocolate now?"

"Did you do what I asked?" Allie asked.

"Yup."

"We give Kingy message."

"And what did he say?"

"He say he miss Queenie, too."

Allie held out the chocolate bar and laughed at their haste in retrieving it. With chocolate in hand, they disappeared to savor their treat. She turned to see a strange expression on Sarah's face. "Sarah?"

"He misses me."