Upon waking the next morning, Sarah panicked. What if it had all been a dream? What if he was gone? She hurriedly jumped out of bed and threw an outfit on before heading to ski lodge, full of nerves.

But he was there, teaching an early morning class up on the slopes. She watched him for a few minutes, the tension leaving her shoulders, before heading back to her room to get her ski gear so she could practice.

Lesson after lesson, she improved her skills immensely. Falls were few and far between after a while, and she began to feel quite comfortable on the slopes. She went out often, sometimes spending entire days skiing, but most days spending time with Jareth. The thrill of zooming down the mountains with the wind in her face could never compare to the thrill of having him next to her.

When he wasn't busy teaching classes and lessons, and when the two of them weren't hitting the slopes, they were exploring all the little town had to offer - which was surprisingly a lot. While it didn't take long to eventually eat at every restaurant open and shop in every corner store offered, there was an array of events hosted regularly that were always entertaining.

Wine tasting proved eventful, an afternoon in which Sarah found Jareth was quite the lightweight when it came to such things, and she herself (after the fourth glass of wine) came up with brilliant idea of pouring the Riesling in a glass with Merlot and mixing them together - which, to her surprise at the time, did not end well.

There was a Shakespeare production of A Midsummer's Night Dream by a traveling theater troupe, which was altogether wonderful. Sarah was struck quite harshly with a longing and nostalgia that she never would have expected - the costumes worn by the actors reminded her of the garb worn by denizens of the Underground, and she was immersed in a wistful reverie for the rest of the night.

There were bands that came to play on temporary stages, with colored lights and large speakers and instruments of all variety.

All of the events were pulled off exceedingly well for such a seemingly sleepy town. But the one event Sarah remained skeptical about was the carnival.

"A carnival? For real? Here?" she gestured around the park at the back of the lodge after handing the flyer the to Jareth.

He studied the small slip of paper, which promised a Ferris wheel along with a number of other games and rides.

"I wonder if they'll be able to pull it off safely." he sounded skeptical as well.

In the advancing week they both watched with disbelief as the preparations were made and the structures put together. Sometimes she'd look out from her window at night and marvel at how fast the fairgrounds seemed to grow.

And finally, the big day came. Everything promised was there - the Ferris wheel (which was rather on the small side), the food stands, the ring toss with the goldfish bag prizes, the petting zoo, the fortune teller's tent, and a child-sized train that ran in a loop to tote kiddies around the grounds.

Jareth wasn't able to see any of it until he got off of work late in the afternoon, so Sarah sat out on the patio in a lounge chair with a book, glancing up from the pages every so often to see what she could see of it while waiting for him to join her.

When he finally arrived she was nearly bursting with excitement despite her previous misgivings about the whole thing. It did look very nice from what she could tell, quaint and small, yes, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it, from the grandparents laughing over the games to the teenaged couples with stacks of food to the young children screaming their faces off on the little train.

"Look at these fish, Sarah. Aren't they a charming color?"

She had to admit she had soft spot for the shiny little orange beings in all those plastic baggies.

"Yes." she sighed. "But I'm not ready to be a fish parent. It's just too much responsibility, you know?"

He nodded sagely. "Well for what it's worth, I'm sure you'll be an excellent fish parent one day, should you decide to take that path in life."

They played a few games that paid the winnings in food tickets instead of pets. As they counted out their earnings, Sarah mused out loud about the eventual purchases.

"Lemonade, definitely. Fries, yes. Maybe a funnel cake, what do you think?"

"What's that?" he frowned.

She covered her mouth with one hand.

"You're kidding me, right?"

He shook his head.

"Then that's going to be our first stop!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the funnel cake stand, where after waiting in line she ordered one drizzled in chocolate and strawberries.

They found a bench to sit on and eat this new treat. Jareth liked it, but still seemed confused as to why it was so popular.

"It's not terrible. But it's just dough, Sarah." he lowered his voice on the last part, hoping none of the other fairgoers would hear him.

"But it's a tradition. It doesn't matter if it's good or not, it's expected at a fair."

"Why keep a tradition if it's not good?"

"Sure it's not the best, but you're still eating it, aren't you?" she smirked.

He paused mid-chew.

"You do have a point." he conceded.

They watched the sun go down and the carnival light up. The Ferris wheel was especially beautiful, with multi colored lights twinkling, and the tiny lights edging each of the booths and food stands creating a bright and cheerful rainbow of buildings. They walked up and down the rows slowly, taking it all in. At some point one of her hands must have found one of his, and they walked hand in hand, neither really certain when or how it happened, but both feeling it was the most natural occurrence.

"Do you want to go on that?" he nodded towards the wheel turning slowly and creaking.

She squirmed. "I don't think it's supposed to be making that noise."

"Nonsense, it hasn't rolled away all night. I'm sure it's fine. Besides, you could see the whole town from up there."

"Yeah but I can see the whole from my window in the lodge too."

"Are you afraid of heights, Sarah?" he grinned.

"Of course not, Goblin King. Now, let's go on it together, yes?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. Or... Are you afraid of heights too?" she asked playfully, hoping he wouldn't call her bluff.

He paused for a moment.

"Too?" he asked mischievously.

She laughed.

"I'm not afraid exactly, I just... prefer to... not be up there, you know?"

They stopped and watched it turn and change colors.

"Care to have your cards read?" a voice called out to them from nearby and they turned to look.

The fortune teller's tent was right behind them. The fortune teller herself was standing in front of the pulled back curtain, dressed in black and purple and holding a deck of long cards in one hand.

"The cards can tell you all manner of things, Miss. Any question answered. Even questions about love."

The woman winked at Sarah and nodded towards Jareth. Sarah blushed and looked down for a second to compose herself.

"Um, no thank you. I prefer it to be a surprise."

The woman smiled on the two lovers as they went on their way.

"You don't want your fortune read? Not even for fun?" Jareth asked as they neared the Ferris wheel.

"No, it feels so weird to me." she shrugged. "I mean, there's times when I feel like I want to know what's going to happen, but on the whole I really think that the future can change, you know? It's not set in stone yet, any choice we make can still change the eventual outcome."

"Hmm... You don't even want to know the outcome of your love life? Even just a possible outcome?" he teased.

"No." she smiled, still staring at the Ferris wheel.

"And why ever not, dear?"

"Because." she turned to him now and pulled him closer, eyes sparkling. "I think it's obvious how this one turns out."

"Is it?" he leaned in towards her.

"Oh, absolutely."

She would never forget what it was like to kiss him for the very first time, or the way he held her, or the way everything around them seemed to pause for those few moments before fading back into focus. The way her lips tingled when she pulled away and the carnival music played in the background and everywhere was lit up like a fairyland and the scent of cotton candy wafted on the gentle breeze. The way his hands slid across her back, and how for one moment they were the only two things that existed in the universe before suddenly being right back where they were a moment ago - only now everything was different. Everything was changed. And as she looked into his eyes that night, she wouldn't have it any other way.