A hush fell over the crowded room as the heavy doors swung open soundlessly and Sarah and her companions walked in. Like a ripple in a pond, the silence spread until even those at the corners of the vast space had paused mid-conversation and turned to regard the late-comers.

The room was even bigger than Sarah had envisioned. It was a far cry from the small, lavishly decorated ballroom of her peach dream; she was pretty sure it was a lot larger than it looked from the outside, as well, but then again Jareth and his castle had never been particularly bound by the laws of nature. Chandeliers dripped crystals, ballgowns and masks glittered in the candlelight, and the polished dance floor gleamed. She didn't think she'd ever seen so many people in one place. So many devastatingly beautiful women! So many eerily gorgeous men! And everywhere expressionless masks turned in her direction, blank eyes waiting for her to make a movement: Sarah had to suppress a sudden, fierce urge to turn and run.

"Lady Beth and Lord Kalum, and the Lady Sarah and His Majesty King of the Goblins and Ruler of the Labyrinth," announced a voice from somewhere to their right. As if it was a signal, Jareth lifted his chin just a little and every single guest bowed their heads. Sarah noticed that some bowed deeper than others, and inferred that they were of a lower station than Jareth and therefore owed him a greater sign of respect.

Whispers began to spread through the Fae, and Jareth clutched her hand a little firmer when he felt her trembling.

"My honoured guests," he began, his voice echoing eerily through the silent room, "how pleased I am to welcome you to my Castle on this most auspicious night of Midsummer, on the occasion of the most… lavish ball of the year." He permitted himself a sharp-toothed grin, and a thin ripple of amusement went round the crowd. "It is with the greatest of pleasure that I present to you my Champion, Sarah, tonight." Sarah went white beneath her mask, but she managed a creditable smile and a nervous bob of her head to her audience. Hundreds of pairs of eyes settled on her: some curious, some bored, some outwardly hostile, a few friendly.

I'm going to be sick. I am going to be sick all over Jareth and he will never, ever live it down, she thought frantically.

"I know that you will all accord her the courtesy that she deserves," went on Jareth, a hint of steel entering his voice. "Sarah is very important to me." There was a marked silence before he continued in a much lighter tone: "That is all I have to say, except… enjoy yourselves!"

There was a smattering of polite applause, and then the music started again and Sarah breathed once more. Jareth let go of her hand, but immediately slid a possessive arm round her waist and pulled her close to him. She relaxed enough to smile up at him.

"Well, uh, that went well?" she suggested tentatively. It was hard to judge his expression behind the owl mask, but his mouth still had a stern set to it as he stared out into the crowd.

"Hmm?" he said, glancing down as if he'd forgotten her presence. "Ah. Well, yes, but it's not over yet, darling of mine."

"W-what? I thought that was it. Now we dance and leave, right?" she quavered, glancing over at Beth for help. Her friend shrugged and grimaced sympathetically.

Jareth chuckled in a black-velvety sort of way. "Oh, if it only it were that simple, little Sarah. No… now we spend several hours being introduced to people we neither care about nor like, by people we dislike and are bored by, whilst pretending the entire time that everybody is intensely interesting and wonderful."

"B-but –" she stammered.

"You wanted this ball," he reminded her dryly. Sarah sighed.

"I guess I did. You'll dance with me later, though?"

Jareth looked down at her. "Oh, I'll dance with you," he promised meaningfully. "Now come and learn what it's really like to be a ruling monarch."

She sighed. "Bye, Beth."

"See you later, Sarah. Good luck! Ooh, I think I know this song – Kalum, let's go dance!"

Sarah permitted Jareth to pull her towards a tall Fae couple both wearing crowns as her last link to familiarity and the human world was swallowed up into the ball. And here I thought it was going to be dangerous, she thought sardonically.


Two hours later, Sarah was almost certain that she would have traded any amount of alcohol-fuelled, creepy dances round fires for this torture. She'd been introduced to what felt like a million people: royalty, relatives of royalty, descendants of royalty, friends of royalty, people who would have liked to be friends of royalty. She'd been scrutinised and questioned and snubbed and complimented so many times that she didn't know how to react to anything any more. Everyone was so gorgeous that it intimidated her; and nearly all of the women gave her scathing or disparaging looks that made her instantly feel cheap and shoddy and irreparably human. Jareth was convinced it was all her imagination, but what did he know about feminine politics anyway?

She was just wondering if she could drink another glass of champagne and still be sober enough to be polite and smarmy when he squeezed her shoulder and leaned in to whisper, "Not long before we can dance, sweetheart; I think you've been introduced to all the most important people." Sarah nodded absently, decided against the champagne, and continued to try and memorise the long list of names. Ania was the Faerie Queen, and the only one who smiled at me. Inygo was the tall dark guy who looked weirdly like my maths teacher at school – "Are you all right, dearest? You're frowning. I'm so sorry about this taking so long…"

Sarah looked up at him in surprise. "Don't be silly, Jareth. Hey, if I'm gonna be Goblin Queen I have to learn all this stuff, right?"

It was apparently the last thing Jareth had expected her to say; a look of utter shock and wonder came over his face. "Sarah," he whispered, the word half-caught in his throat. He opened his mouth again as if to say something, and then shook his head. "You – "

A huge smile began to tug at Sarah's lips, but before she could answer the question shining in his eyes a voice came from behind them. It was a drawling, low voice that oozed sophistication and glamour and just a hint of, well, smut.

"Jareth, darling, what a fabulous party."

Sarah's smile hardened. You have got to be kidding me. Slowly, she turned round to face someone who was – quite clearly – the cliché, over-attached ex. She looked the part, too, from the golden hair elaborately styled in impeccable twists to the enormous, baby-blue eyes visible through her dark red mask, and the gorgeous gown with a neckline just north of being scandalous. She was accompanied by a tall, brown-haired man who had that rapidly-becoming-familiar air of having just stepped out of a magazine, immaculately styled hair and all. He had a possessive hand on the woman's back, but she didn't seem to be taking much notice of him.

"Violetta," said Jareth in a tone that was probably supposed to express polite surprise but came out sounding more startled. "I… How lovely to see you again!"

"Isn't it?" She had an insincere grin that Sarah was itching to slap, and she hadn't even acknowledged the presence of the Goblin-Queen-to-be. "You look… well. You haven't changed." She gave Jareth a glance that to Sarah's eyes looked like I have seen you naked and I am remembering it with great clarity.

"Hello," Sarah said in her best icy voice, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Sarah, Jareth's…" Oh crap. What do I say? Girlfriend sounds so stupid when I'm talking to a Fae. But we're not engaged… yet… Great, now I'm going red.

"She's mine," interposed Jareth with a light chuckle, pulling Sarah closer. "And this is –?" He gestured to the model lookalike.

"Oh, this is Dren," said Violetta offhandedly without taking her eyes off Jareth. "Nice to meet you, Sally."

"It's Sarah."

"Of course. It's so good to see you again, your majesty," Violetta purred archly. "How have you been?"

Sarah gritted her teeth. It wasn't that she was worried about Jareth's reaction to Violetta's less-than-subtle flirting; it was more the disrespect to herself that infuriated her. By deliberately sidelining her, Violetta was proclaiming to anyone who was paying attention that Sarah was of no importance whatsoever. She was about speak up and protest when she realised Dren was talking to her.

"Would you grant me the honour of a dance?" he said in an exceptionally deep voice. Sarah flushed and opened her mouth to refuse, but Jareth raised an eyebrow and she remembered that it was a huge offence to refuse a dance. Oh no… He can't be serious.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed as Dren led her towards the rest of the dancers, leaving Violetta triumphantly alone with the object of her flirtation. Sarah scowled at him. This evening was not going to plan.


Hi there!

Apologies for the delay. It's coming up to the end of term, so everything is up in the air, and I turned 21 last week, so got taken to Switzerland which was lovely!

Also, at the risk of being called whiny, I got all of seven reviews on my last chapter. Most of them were deliciously long and detailed, which I highly appreciate, but I have to admit that the more reviews I get the more motivated I am to share my writing with you, so I wasn't quite galvanised into action... *pouts* Are my A/Ns super annoying? Do I say super too much? Am I doing something wrong in the story? I'd totally welcome negative criticism too, I'm quite prepared to defend myself or change things if need be!

Anyway, enough complaining, I do love all you readers and that is why I am still writing. Quick warning though, the next few chapters were written in a big block and stupidly, without chapter breaks. Currently working on making them into chunks but some may come out a little short. Sorry about that.

And so, let the ball saga begin!

L&G, of course.

(Oh, and P.S. to Coco: loved your review, though I can't reply to it. You're exactly right about the looking fine for the dance floor. Aw yiss. Also, I love glitter too, to the extent where my lovely friend gave me four boxes of edible glitter for my birthday. No regrets.)