The nausea that accompanied Reveicum began to set in. Though unpleasant, Jareth noted that it was far milder than his last encounter with the drug. Raelia clearly knew what she was doing, though I still disapprove of her tactics.

Looking around, Jareth noted that the others appeared to be feeling the after effects of the Reveicum as well. Just as well, it's been a long night, and it's not over yet. There was still the matter of his promise to Sarah to see to. As he'd suspected, Raelia's tale covered most of the pertinent information, and filled in the gaps in his own knowledge. Getting Sarah caught up would, mercifully, take little time at all. An hour or so, best estimate.

"Raelia, you have done more than enough for one night. It's time we all got some rest. Saresh, would you please show Raelia her room? I believe there are still several empty ones near the armory."

Saresh hesitated for a moment, glancing at Sarah, before his face paled with a wave of Reveicum-induced nausea. He gestured at Raelia to follow him, and the two departed.

Jareth then turned his attention to Sarah, who also appeared to be waging her own battle against nausea. He crossed to her, helping her to her feet.

"I'm fine." She said, waving him off, though the pallor in her face betrayed her. "Besides, we have more to discuss. You promised."

"Yes, but there's no need to suffer through Reveicum sickness while we talk."

"I can get through it."

"I am certain you can, but I have no intention of allowing you to do so. You need to eat something. There's food up in the tower. We can continue this conversation up there."

"Jareth—"

"It's not up for debate, Sarah. As it stands you look like you are about ready to drop from exhaustion. If we continue this conversation here and now I suspect I'll be carrying you up to bed. In which case I would have to change your clothes again—"

An entirely appealing option, though it would test his already faltering resolve to give her space.

"Alright! Alright!" Sarah said, her cheeks flushed as she strode toward the doors of the throne room.

Mortals really can be such prudes.

They made the walk to Jareth's tower room in silence. Several times, Jareth caught Sarah looking at him as thought she were about to say something, then quickly look away, lost in whatever thoughts were burning in her mind.

Jareth, meanwhile had his own thoughts to deal with, namely the notion that Sarah—and the rest of the Order for that matter—could be a changeling. A fae reborn as a mortal, not entirely human, not entirely fae. There hadn't been a known changeling in hundreds of years. Not since the Underground had been sealed off from the Above. And now there are potentially eleven of them—the entire Order minus Raelia and her father. No wonder he hadn't considered the idea before, learning only tonight that the barriers between the fae and mortal realms were more fragile than he thought.

And there was the matter of their marriage. While it was true, he did not feel the marital bond that formed between married fae with Sarah, he did feel some kind of connection with her. He recalled the moment he met her, the feeling that they were cut from the same cloth, that sense that—somehow, someway—he knew her. Some part of Saeliah lived in Sarah, Jareth's continued existence was proof enough of that. If the former Queen had been reborn without dying, it would explain why he hadn't perished the moment she ran through the portal. As for the current state of his relationship to Sarah, that was less certain, as he had no idea the effects of a lingering marital bond on a changeling.

At last they reached the tower room. Jareth opened the door for Sarah, who gave a small nod of thanks as she entered before sinking into a plush armchair by the fireplace. Jareth, meanwhile, grabbed a bowl of fruit off the the large wooden table and brought it to Sarah, who searched for a moment before selecting a green apple. Jareth noted that she avoided several ripe peaches on top of the bowl. A pity, the Labyrinth's orchards did produce some truly spectacular peaches, though after her last encounter with one he did not blame her. He selected a dark purple plum for himself before returning the bowl to its former location.

Leaning against the table, he began. He told her everything. How, according to his notes, Morcant had come to power seemingly out of nowhere, claiming a neighboring kingdom by force shortly after his memory reset the first time. As each Saarah ran the Labyrinth and his memory reset anew, Jareth discovered that Morcant's territory increased, until his lands completely surrounded the Labyrinth.

He told her how Morcant had poisoned the peach Jareth had sent to Hoggle. How Morcant had infiltrated the ballroom dream Jareth created in an effort to protect her from attack. He told her how, when he'd encountered the man in the dream realm, Morcant indicated that he was hellbent on the destruction of all Jareth held dear. Sarah included.

"He wants me to 'suffer as he suffered.'" Jareth concluded, running a hand through his blue tipped hair. "Until tonight I did not know what that meant, exactly. But now, I suspect—"

"He wants me dead." Sarah said, speaking aloud the words that made Jareth's skin crawl. "He wants you to lose everything, the way he lost Ardina."

"Yes. I believe so." Jareth said. "Forgive me for keeping it from you. Until I knew why he hated me…why he wanted to hurt you…I couldn't—"

"It's alright," Sarah said, the color returning to her cheeks as the apple dulled the last effects of the Reveicum. "Now that I know, I almost wish I didn't."

For a time, neither spoke, the silence broken only by the crackling of the dying fire. Finally, Sarah stood, tossing the apple core into the flames. She looked at Jareth, a strange expression on her face, as though she were waging an internal battle with herself.

"There's just one more question I have," She said, her cheeks again turning scarlet.

"Anything," Jareth said.

Before he could react Sarah had closed the distance between them and kissed him. The plum fell from his hand and dropped to the floor, her lips yielding as he overcame his utter surprise at this turn of events, kissing her in return. He could still taste the tartness of the apple on her lips.

He pulled her closer and held her against him, as though trying to assure himself that this was real, not some hallucination included by Reveicum and exhaustion. The warmth of her body against his, the feel of her hands on his shoulders, convinced him this was no dream.

Fuck restraint. He felt something in him release. The pent up fear of rejection after his proposal, the near-month of her living in his room, having her so close, yet so far, unable to touch her, all melted away. He released her for a moment, and, with a single sweeping motion, sent the bowl of fruit, several unlit candles, and a few odd books and papers that covered the table hurtling to the floor. Then his hands were back on her, scooping her legs out from under her and sitting her down on the now empty table.

The air shifted between them. The hairs on the the back of his neck stood on end, and as his hand caressed Sarah's arm he could feel goosebumps forming along her skin. Tiny sparks of blue and lavender magic sprang forth where skin met skin. Their kisses grew more fervent. Jareth felt like a fae wandering the eastern dunelands, desperate for the lifesaving water that was her kiss.

"Jareth," Sarah breathed,"I—"

"Choose your right words," Jareth interrupted, kissing the apex of her throat, "because if you invite me back into my bed with you, I won't be leaving again."

"No, I wasn't trying to—I mean…" her face turned scarlet and her eyes darted away from him as she bit her bottom lip. "I do want to—it's just that I've never…you know"

"Ah." Well this was unexpected. He was still processing the fact that she'd just admitted she wanted him, when the second part of her statement set in. She's a virgin. She did say she's eighteen…or at least the human part of her is.

Magical interventions, existential threats, changeling rebirths. Why did things always have to be so damn complicated? He ran his free hand through his hair, the other keeping her tight in his embrace, not willing to let her go.

"Can I ask you a question, Sarah? He asked, his hand traveling to cradle the nape of her neck as his thumb brushed lightly across her pulse point, feeling her racing heartbeat.

She gave a slight nod as she leaned into his touch.

"You've been so distant since…" My ill-conceived proposal. He couldn't bring himself to say the words, but judging by her expression, she knew what he meant. "What changed?"

"I needed to know if my feelings for you were just because of the magic—my role as regent—or…if they were really mine."

"And?"

"After tonight, I don't think I'll ever really know." Her bright peridot eyes looked deep into his with that same ineffable expression she'd had when they'd first met. A mixture of awe, fear, and something else…

Desire. It was so plainly written in her eyes that he wondered how he had ever missed it. She had been so aloof. But hadn't he kept a "professional distance" when his feelings for her grew too much to bear?

"Does it not concern you? Not knowing?" I must be a glutton for punishment. But he needed to know whether she genuinely wanted him, or was merely seeking the answer to her question, and toying with his heart in the process.

"No." She said sincerely, tucking a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. "In a way, it's kind of freeing. If I'll never know for sure, then…I guess, why fight what I feel? What I've felt for a long time, actually."

Jareth was stunned. He knew his feelings for her began the moment he'd met her, but he hadn't considered, given the circumstances—baby snatching and the like—, that she could have been developing feelings for him this whole time.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not agreeing to marry you—" She said, catching his, no doubt utterly bewildered, painfully smitten expression, before adding hastily, "—I mean—not…yet anyways…But right now…I…" The flush of her cheeks crept to her ears as he felt her pulse quicken.

Yet. His heart leapt at the word, a smile spreading over his face, exposing his pointed teeth. She was considering his proposal. Please Gods let this not be the Reveicum talking. Though, truth be told, a dose as small as the one they'd been exposed to would have worked its way out of their systems by now.

"Oh precious, don't you remember? We're already married!" He teased, only partly serious.

"Oh stop it! You know what I mean!" She shot back, shoving him playfully.

Two can play at that game, Sarah.

"I'm afraid I don't." said Jareth as he drew closer, his mouth pressing a gentle kiss against her throat. She drew in a small, ragged breath, barely audible but for his fae hearing. "You'll need to be…explicit. In fact, I do recall saying that you would need to beg me."

"You can't be serious!"

Moving with fae speed, he held her hands behind her back with one hand, the other tilting her chin upwards, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Deadly serious, I'm afraid. Tell me what you want."

She paused momentarily, her eyes darting slightly as if searching for the words.

"I want—that is…well—"

"Oh Sarah, you can do better than that!" He chided, enjoying the obvious rise he got out of her.

"I want you." She said, her voice unwavering, the same fierce resolve he'd glimpsed in the Labyrinth burning in her eyes as they locked with his. He had to admit, her intensity when pushed always caught him off guard. "Now—tonight, Please."

Mine.

"Good enough. We'll leave the begging for another time." He was done waiting.

He picked her up off the table, carrying her into the bedroom. His bedroom. Their bedroom.

Once inside, he turned her away from him, embracing her from behind, and undoing the laces on her brown leather waist cincher, which he removed in short order as he kissed her neck. Turning her to face him, he removed her chemise top, as she kicked off her shoes, unfastening her black breeches with fumbling fingers. Before she could remove her breeches, he picked her up again, gently laying her on the bed, removing the last piece of her outer clothing to reveal her the porcelain skin of her legs.

He took in the sight of her, the way her dark hair falling onto her breasts contrasted her ivory skin. The blush returned to her cheeks as she brought her hands up to cover her breasts, still wrapped in their bindings from her earlier training session.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, the slightly higher pitch of her voice betraying her earlier confidence.

"Gods no." he breathed, removing his loose, white chemise, followed by his tights before leaning over her to kiss her. In the brief moment that she'd glimpsed him naked he thought he saw just the slighted flicker of fear cross her eyes. I'm going to have to be gentle.

He grabbed his knife from the bedside table, the same one he'd used to mar his skin, counting each attempted run on the Labyrinth. Counting down to her. He sliced the bindings from her breasts, the white linen falling to ribbons beneath her, before performing the same task on her underwear.

He ran his hand across her breasts, blue sparks of magic cresting over his fingertips where they touched. She moaned, no doubt sore from being so restrained, her nipples forming into hard points. His hand travelled back up towards her head, drawing her in for a kiss.

This time he kissed her commandingly, his mouth taking possession of her. A low growl escaped his throat as he moved his lips down to the apex of her throat, then to her breasts, his tongue lightly teasing her erect nipples before moving farther south. He spread her legs, her arousal plainly displayed before him.

So wet. His hands grasped hers, holding her still as he began to trace small, agonizingly slow circles with his tongue over her clit. She moaned, the sound making his already hard cock throb. Her hips moved with him, her hands clenching and unclenching as his tongue stroked her, faster now, her pleasure mounting. He felt her muscles clench and he released one of her hands, slowly sliding a finger inside her. That small act of penetration, combined with his tongue, was enough to send her over the edge. She cried out, body trembling, as she came.

He let her come down to earth as he slowly fucked her with his finger, in and out. When her breathing began to lengthen again, he added a second finger inside her, eliciting a deep moan from her.

"I'm not finished with you yet." He said, looking her deep in the eyes, a cheshire cat grin on his face. Her eyes closed as she moaned under his ministrations. I could watch her like this all day.

She was dripping wet, her hips moving with the motion of his fingers, drawing him deeper inside her. He withdrew his fingers, replacing them with the head of his cock.

"This may hurt for a moment," he said, slowly inserting himself inside her, "I'll do my best to minimize the pain."

He placed a hand over her lower abdomen, blue light emitting from his fingertips as he pushed deeper and deeper inside her. She winced as he entered her, but only for a second, his magic drawing the pain from her until she felt only pleasure.

Once he was all the way inside her, he began to stroke her clit again with his finger. It didn't take her long to come again. At the peak of her orgasm, he began to move inside her in a slow, steady rhythm, filling her with the entire length of him.

"Please. Harder"

He was more than happy to oblige. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him in closer to her as he fucked her. Her hands wound through his long hair, and she lifted her shoulders off the bed to kiss him again. All around them, lavender and blue sparks of light danced, entwining like their bodies, until the two colors were nearly indistinguishable from each other. He held her tight against him, as he drove into her, fucking her harder, until finally he came, letting out a deep guttural moan.

Pulling out of her, Jareth drew her into his arms, her head resting on his chest, her seemingly boneless frame draped across him. He traced gentle lines down her arm draped across his chest, her back, her chin.

"You're mine" he said, taking her hand in his, "You belonged to me the minute I laid eyes on you, and after tonight's revelations, long before that."

"I know." she said, letting out a contented sigh. "And you're mine."

They lay like that, limbs entwined, as sleep overcame them.