"To women who please me only by their faces, I am the very devil when I find out they have neither souls nor hearts — when they open to me a perspective of flatness, triviality, and perhaps imbecility, coarseness, and ill-temper: but to the clear eye and eloquent tongue, to the soul made of fire, and the character that bends but does not break — at once supple and stable, tractable and consistent — I am ever tender and true."

Three months since Sarah's departure from Aster Hall

Nine weeks since Sarah's arrival to basic training

"What did you find?" The King banished every goblin from the throne room except for the few that went to spy for him. "And what took you so long?"

Cyzz bowed to him. She was a small, adorable little goblin who could charm most people, allowing her to come up with easy excuses if she got caught. "Kingy, Princes Miread is in Aurora."

Jareth's eyes widened. "Miread? What the hell is she doing there?"

Now that Cyzz said it, Theoden did mention that her parents, the monarchs of Efrela, asked Jareth for her whereabouts. He had been surprised at the question, thinking that she was already back in her home country.

"Sleeping with King Dominic." Cyzz said. "I couldn't leave fast because a lot of guards protected her. Hard to go in or out of castle."

Jareth stopped the tapping of his riding crop. Of all the possibilities that crossed his mind, this was the most surprising to him. Estella wasn't a poor kingdom or anything of the sort, but why would Miread, a power-hungry fae princess, choose to align herself with a human king instead of finding another fae or other magical person to seduce for power?

Cyzz gave him more information about the war, but not by much. She said that they were mostly waiting for Thalassa to make the first move.

"I overheard that she wants revenge on you." She concluded. "But she didn't say why. They were really, really careful." She informed Jareth that Miread seemed to take a large part of the war, that the Estellans weren't fond of her in the least bit, leading him to wonder how she was using Dominic to do her bidding. "She is formally his mistress."

Jareth thanked her and questioned Blirt next. "What did you find?"

"I found some on Prince Nolan and Queen Larissa." Blirt said.

Ah, the reason that they were even in this predicament. He was Prince Paris to Queen Larissa's Helen of Troy. Jareth wondered if Nolan really did commit crimes, or if there was another serial kidnapper in Thalassa that King Fernando was blaming him on. He was willing to bet that King Fernando was just embarrassed and started a war out of his own ego even if Nolan was guilty.

"Go on." He told Blirt.

Blirt informed him of Prince Nolan and Queen Larissa's escape to her home country, Arcelia, but the two were then forever banished for their connection to this war and their current whereabouts are not known. To Jareth's surprise, King Fernando was pilling up actual proof against Nolan that linked him to these kidnappings.

"If that is true, then Prince Nolan absolutely needs to stand trial." Jareth tapped his crop on his boot in thought. "Wonderful job, both of you. Any more information?"

"Thalassa is planning on an offense attack. They want this over sooner than later, to prove that they are better."

"Where are they planning on attacking?"

"The villages at the border."

Jareth swore. "Fuck. The villages? To take innocent civilians?"

He supposed that this was to nip it in the bud, so things would not drag on. Still, this did not excuse anything. He never understood how the hell attacking innocent people was one of the most heinous crimes in any kingdom, yet was completely fine in war.

As the saying goes, all is fair in love and war.

Not to mention the irony. Thalassa wanted to punish Prince Nolan for supposed crimes against women but their strategy was to do the exact same thing.

"Reynolds." Sarah shook Hope awake. Her bunkmate was seriously one of the worst people to wake up in the mornings, let alone in the middle of the night. "We have to go."

Hope rubbed her eyes. "Damn, Williams." She looked to see the dark sky. "It's too early."

"There's been an attack on the villages at the border with Thalassa." Sarah threw Hope's uniform into her hands. What Sarah lacked in military fighting skills, she made up in her resourcefulness and her quick thinking. "Women and children have been held hostage. I think it's some sort of message since they're accusing Prince Nolan of the doing the same thing."

"My god." Hope hopped out of bed almost instantly, dressing into her uniform. "My mother and sister live near the borders."

Sarah took hold of her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. Now was not the time to have an anxiety attack. "We will get out of this, together. They will be fine."

"You don't know that." Hope held Sarah's arms back for comfort.

"You have to believe, otherwise you won't be able to do anything." She said to her, trying to keep her from being too frantic. "Hope, I am here with you. That I know."

"Williams! Reynolds! Get into position, now!" The Sergeant called.

Sarah held her hand. "Together, Hope. You and me."

Jareth hadn't seen this many Wished Aways in a long, long time. And never this many from the Underground all at once before.

After retrieving each child, he decided to stay in the villages for the time being, as it was likely that he would need to gather more of them soon, hiding in his barn owl form. He had not been expecting the attack to be so soon or for them to rain fire upon the village. Those poor children, alone and abandoned or saved by parents who were dying.

"Those bastards will pay." He seethed, thinking of the two kings who caused this chaos and the princess who lead them one of them to do this.

Their assignment was to keep watch for the flames so that the more experienced soldiers could rain fire on the enemy.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Hope took her turn at the telescope. "What if we end up hurting the villagers even more?"

Sarah had been wondering the same thing. "That's what I was thinking too. What are we supposed to do? This whole training where we learned that our emotions make us weak is a bunch of insanity. Why are we even here if no one else is saving the villagers?"

She couldn't imagine how terrifying it must be for them, waking up in the middle of the night to see fire rain on them as they tried to flee. Or even worse, waking as they were dying and suffocating. She felt jittery, doing nothing but waiting for the worst to happen.

"You think I'm not worried about that, Williams?" Hope snapped at her. "This whole time, we were told to be brainwashed, to be patriotic for our kingdom while we do what, cause more damage to our own?"

Hope was right. Absolutely right. What the hell was she doing here, risking her neck and staying away from Toby for if it wasn't for justice?

One of the most important lessons that her father, mother, and stepmother taught her was to have integrity. It wasn't just about not lying, but to do the right thing even in the most difficult of situations. It was her integrity that gave her a clear conscious and fuel her to do what's right by everyone as often as she could.

Sarah put on some gloves and tied a head covering to protect her hair. Maybe it was the fire. Maybe it was the thought of Toby. Maybe it was the anger towards her lot in life. She didn't know how or why, but she was damned if she was going to comply with these orders.

She was done waiting to see if her stupid task would be of any help. Casualties did not matter to the kings, they were just a means to an end. And she would not let them all be pawns in this messy game of chess.

"Williams, where are you going?" Hope watched as Sarah took her pack with her.

"I don't care what my orders are." She said to her friend. "I don't care if I am possibly betraying my unit, my king. I'm going to find those innocent people and take care of them."

"You are out of your mind." Hope's face was unreadable.

Sarah did not care what she thought. "Are you with me or not, Reynolds?"

Hope chewed the inside of her cheek, her eyes hard and conflicted. Eventually, she made up her mind. "All the way, Sarah."

"What the hell is this?" Sarah's face burned from the fire and her lungs hurt from the smoke filling the air. "I still can't believe that we've been called here when our basic training isn't even done yet!"

"Here." Hope doused a bandana in some water and tied it around Sarah's face. "This will help from the smoke."

Sarah thanked her. Here, in this place, she couldn't trust anyone but Hope.

They already saved a few dozen families and were going back for more. She ached to the bone, and they still weren't done. Many were trapped from inside.

"I need to go back!" One father screamed. "My baby daughter is in there!"

"I will go find her." Sarah promised him, though the prospect looked bleak.

"We can't." The older son cried. "Father, I wished her away to the Goblin King."

"What?" He took his son by his shoulders. "Why?!"

"Because she didn't wake up when I tried to rouse her." He sobbed.

At the mention of Jareth's title, Sarah stopped. "It worked? You wished your sister away?"

If he was here, was he helping them? Did he know that she was there too? What did this mean for the war if a fae king was involved, even if it was his duty to answer these wishes?

"He promised me that she's safe." The boy cried. "I didn't know what to do."

"Sarah!" Hope called after her. "We need to go, now!"

Sarah looked back and forth between Hope and the little family. She desperately wanted to know more about Jareth, but the lives of the villagers were more important at the moment.

Another grueling hour passed. Sarah and Hope gathered the few adults to help them in the rescue. Some got injured and they did their best to administer first aid. It was exhausting, terrible, and apocalyptic.

Just as Sarah was about to collapse, she caught a glimpse of something.

A Thalassan solider with a screaming child in his arms.

No. Not on her watch!

"You!" She ran as fast as she could, jumping over logs and other debris, grateful now that the sun was rising so she could see where she was going. "Get back here!"

She had no idea how far she was running for. All she knew was that she was fueled by adrenaline, fueled by justice to save that poor child.

She finally caught up with him. "You are going to pay for this!"

He turned around, empty-handed and with a smirk on his face. "Pay for what?"

Only a second ago, she was heating up with anger. Now she was cold with fear. Sarah stammered. "What-"

He pointed off to the side. Towards the horizon, the little boy was running away from them.

The soldier bowed. "Welcome to Thalassa."

With absolute horror, Sarah realized that she was alone as more Thalassan soldiers emerged from the trees.

She had run past the border without realizing it.

"Hands up in the air, soldier." Their general commanded her.

Sarah did as told, bracing herself for her capture…

"Halt!"

Sarah watched as the Thalassan soldiers looked up. She turned around, seeing that Estellan soldiers were behind her. Sarah sighed in relief, knowing that she would be saved. She may be disciplined but at least she was not going to be a prisoner of war where they would inflict all sorts of torture upon her.

They did not cross the border, staying where they were at. Sarah scanned for Hope but could not identify her among the sea of soldiers.

The Thalssan general cocked his head to the side. "Are you here to bargain for your soldier?"

Terror filled her soul when the sergeant shook his head. "By the order of the King, we are not here to save this traitor."

"Order of the king?" The Thalassan general looked at Sarah, confused. Even in war, there was honor in saving your comrade, to negotiate for them. It was probably why the soldier lured her in the first place, to use her as leverage. "You call her a traitor? On what grounds?"

How was it that her supposed enemy was defending her more than her own people?

A new voice, female this time, joined them. "She ran to your side, and no matter the reason, she has been branded a traitor."

That voice, she heard it before. It couldn't be!

Just as she thought that she had enough shock to last her for the next decade, Princess Miread of Efrela walked between parted sea of Estellan soldiers.

Both women couldn't have been more different. Sarah was dirty, tired, and powerless. Miread was impeccably clean, well rested, and held her life in her hands. She wore black armor, a silver tiara on her head.

The Princess raised her right arm, her hand in a fist.

The Estellan soldiers in the front aimed their crossbows at Sarah. The ones in the back had their catapults aimed at the Thalassan soldiers. Thalassa, in turn, had their firearms pointed at Estella.

"No." Sarah didn't mean to whimper, but she couldn't help it. "Why are you here?"

Miread was unsmiling but her eyes sparked with amusement. "You shouldn't speak, traitor."

The princess brought her hand down swiftly. "Fire!"

Sarah covered herself, knowing that it was futile. She felt the heat increasing around her, about to put her out of her misery.

She heard something from the air hurling towards her. Her body tensed up, thinking that it was a rock of some sort.

It landed right on her.

But, why was it so soft? Why wasn't she hurting?

Looking out, she couldn't see anything but rows and rows of feathers. Two arms surrounded her body. Her eyes moved upward and saw an unexpected face.

Those bright blue eyes, glowing unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Jareth?" She felt him pull her even closer to him.

"Hold on tight." He told her.

Jareth was spread thin, taking care of these children. Not only did he not sleep, he used quite a bit of energy transporting and flying back and forth.

He helped many families escape and even used magic to put out many of the fires. But he was one person.

Flying again to Estella in his owl form, he saw that the villagers were either safe or dead. There was nothing else for him to do but to go back to his kingdom to take care of those who needed him and to mourn for those who were lost.

Then, on the way back, he saw Dominic. Odd. A king usually would not be traveling to the front lines of the attack, especially this early on in the war.

He flew to the trees, close enough to hear the conversation but not close enough to cause any suspicion, even if he was a barn owl.

"Sire, it's a surprise to see you." A woman bowed, someone that Jareth assumed was a high ranking official.

"What is this commotion?" Dominic asked someone next to him, ignoring her. "Were we able to fight them back?"

"No, Sire." An Estellan general said. "They were too far. We have a report that a lone soldier went to cross the border. We are unsure as to why."

"Who was this soldier?" A female voice joined them. "A name will do."

Jareth's eyes narrowed, seeing Miread when he hopped to observe them from another tree. She would never get her hands dirty. If she was here, then she was up to something.

"Sarah Williams, Your Highness." The general said.

Jareth's heart dropped.

Sarah?

His Sarah?

She was here?

At the name, Miread and Dominic looked at each other.

Suddenly, everything clicked for him. Miread was bringing her revenge on him through Sarah. He didn't know how, but he was sure that she was the one who put Sarah to the front lines, trying to teach him a lesson for spurning her.

He wanted nothing more than to snap that neck of hers, but he was going to stay put. Everything changed now that he understood that they were most likely here to make sure that Sarah was to be hurt in the name of revenge against him.

"Let her die." Dominic said harshly. "That traitor deserves no sympathy."

The general looked confused. "Sire, we don't know why she crossed over. She has been exemplary in her trainings. I assure that she will be disciplined, let's not make hasty assumptions that she was going to expose any of our plans."

"I said that she's a traitor." Dominic repeated, hate in his eye. "These are direct orders from your King."

The general looked very conflicted, not wanting to disobey the king but not wanting to hurt the soldier. "Do you know something that we don't know, Sire?"

"Your Majesty," Miread put a hand on his upper arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I will take care of this, if you give me your blessing to do things in your name." She lowered her eyes and slid her hand down to Dominic's thigh.

Jareth shook his head, unable to fathom how weak Dominic must have been for her to seduce him like that.

"Of course, I trust you more than anything." Dominic took her hand and kissed it.

Jareth forced himself to not vomit.

He followed Miread as she walked to the front of the line. There, for the first time in three months, he was in Sarah's presence again.

He tried to pay attention to the conversation, but he was drawn to Sarah. She shouldn't be here. She should be in his arms, safe and sound, not branded as a traitor in the middle of the battle field.

Both sides lifted their weapons.

Princess Miread ordered them to fire at the Thalassan soldiers and at Sarah, execution style.

He didn't think, he acted. He flew to Sarah, transforming to his fae form in midair. His majestic wings spread, descending upon the love of his life.

An audible gasp emitted from both sides, the firing stopping for a moment as he wrapped his arms and wings around Sarah.

"Jareth?" She breathed. Her voice emitted so many emotions. So much surprise, relief, and something else that he couldn't put his finger on. Love, perhaps? He wished but did not hope. He was not here to win her back. She wouldn't want him anyway.

It hardly mattered to him anymore if she still loved him. He loved her, and he would spend every single moment of his life taking care of her as much as he could. His heart demanded that much.

"Hold on tight." He held her body to his, unfurling his wings to rise to the sky.

She held onto his neck. "You shouldn't be here!" She sobbed, her body pushed to its limits. "It's dangerous!"

A sharp pain pierced his left side, a bomb detonating. He felt blood drip down the left side of his face, his left eye burning.

"Jareth!" Sarah screamed, holding onto him even tighter. His wings shielded most of her body but she still suffered the impact, her tunic smoking. She shook, her eyes glossing over.

"Sarah! Stay with me!" Jareth pleaded.

She could not hear him as she was seizing and slowly stiffening.

He rose higher into the air, anger like no other filling him.

Fuck war. Fuck evil. Fuck everything that tried to tear him from Sarah.

Hope watched in awe and terror as the fae rose out of the fire, blood running down on the side of his face and flames licking across his body. His teeth gnashed and his eyes glowing blue in anger. His wings were burnt, a gaping ring of fire creating a hole in the middle of one of his wings.

In his arms was an unconscious Sarah.

He looked terrifying, like a dark and avenging angel.

Thalassa and Estella were still aiming at each other, some aiming at him.

"Curse you both!" He roared. "Curse your egos and your evil! May the reigns of your kings be short!"

From the tips of his flaming and burnt wings, Hope watched a current of magic erupt onto the soldiers from each kingdom, knocking them out like dominoes.

She fell to the ground. Right before she lost consciousness, she heard the war cry from the mystery angel, still cursing the two kingdoms, her friend nestled in his arms.

AN: I cannot tell you how hard it was to write this chapter. It took me forever, lol. Trying to make sure that everything seemed plausible as well as remembering who did what in which part of the war all while making sure that Sarah and Hope rescue made sense too.

I really hope that you guys liked this chapter! Thank you to those who review regularly and even those who expressed an interest in this story, you could be reading any labyrinth or other fanfiction and yet you are taking a chance to read mine, an amateur who is still relatively new to writing. You are the best!