Chapter 11

Sarah's return to the Labyrinth Kingdom

When Sarah opened her eyes, she was dressed in her white party dress again. Jareth still had the clothes on she remembered from the Escher Room, but they both now were in a large bedroom with a huge canopy bed in the center. Sarah looked around in amazement and got lose from Jareth' embrace.

"Welcome to my private chambers, or should I say our private chambers," Jareth motioned his hand across the room. She looked around in amazement.

"This teleporting thing is really throwing me for a loop", she mumbled quietly.

Jareth watched her with amusement. She did one more spin around the room with her head before her eyes fell back onto Jareth. He stood there with a serious face, looking gently at her.

"I was so afraid of today," he quietly admitted. "If you had said no..."

Sarah interrupted him in mid-sentence by softly placing her fingers against his lips and slightly shaking her head.

"Let's not talk about the 'what ifs'", she whispered. "I'm here, with you, in your kingdom. That's all that matters now." She caressed the side of his face and looked at him with a soft smile.

"I love you Jareth. I would not want to be anywhere where you are not."

Jareth moved towards her and leaned in for a kiss. This time it was Sarah who pulled him in to her, and kissed him passionately.

"So, what a big bed you got there. Is that where you bring all your other fae girlfriends?" she asked while Jareth was still kissing her neck and face.

"Only once every three hundred years." Jareth replied absently. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy there?" He stopped what he was doing and smirked at her.

"No", Sarah lied turning her head to look at any place in the room but the bed, or Jareth.

"Sarah", he gently whispered, "You are my first, and I want you to be my last." Sarah looked at him with surprise.

"But you are three hundred years..."

"Three hundred and twenty nine" he corrected.

"Ok, three hundred and twenty nine years old, I figured you would have had many girlfriends over the years by now. Maybe even married a few times." She sounded sad and scared at the same time.

Jareth laughed.

"You are jealous!" he declared happily, "and no, definitely never been married, and I have not had any girlfriends really, unless you count a little kissing and touching being serious. I never found one I wanted to share my life with. I am not a promiscuous Casanova, Sarah. I wanted to wait for the right girl. And now that I have found her..." he looked deep into her eyes, "I am glad I had waited."

"So, when we first made love, it was your first time to? You were a virgin like me?" Sarah asked with quiet astonishment. Jareth nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me? You appeared so more experienced than me." She lowered her head again and sighed with a slight blush.

"What difference did it make? It was wonderful, precious. I shall never ever forget it. And for the experience part. I studied up quite a bit in books and some movies of yours you might not find suitable for all audiences."

He bit his lip and had a cheeky smirk on his face.

Sarah started to chuckle and couldn't help but feel a deep love for him as she fought to keep the tears out of her eyes. She put her arms around his neck.

"So, now what?" she asked clearing her throat. "I'm sure there is a reason you brought me here."

"I still have to give you my birthday gift", he laughed.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Sarah sounded excited.

Jareth walked around her in a circle as if he were a lion stalking his prey with steely eyes.

"Didn't you tell me not too long ago you can't wait to make love to the goblin king in the Labyrinth Kingdom?" Sarah smiled sheepishly.

"Well, we're in my kingdom and you are with the goblin king. That would be me." He really had a knack for pointing out the obvious.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Sarah challenged him.

Jareth quit his stalking and looked at her quietly for a moment before he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Sarah did not protest.

The next morning Jareth was already sitting by the window sending crystal balls floating through the air.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked groggily sitting up in bed and trying to gather herself.

"Sending morning greetings to my subjects. Something about goblin worker morale improvements. I don't quite understand it all myself, but they do seem to work better if I send them stupid encouraging messages." Jareth shook his head in annoyance and waved his hand as if to say "It's all pointless".

He walked over to Sarah to sit by her side on the bed.

"You're going to sleep all day?" he asked with a grin.

"What time is it?" Sarah yawned and stretched her arms over her head, much to the delight of Jareth who got a good look at her breasts.

"Nearly noon." Sarah jumped up as if she had been shocked by a live outlet.

"What? Agh, why didn't you wake me up earlier?" she moaned.

"Because you looked so pretty laying there in bed, and I didn't want to interrupt my enjoyment of looking at your beautiful body."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Of course, no clothes", she pulled the sheet in front of her, slightly blushing and feeling stupid at the same time. It was not like he hadn't seen her naked body before.

"Do you, um, do you have a bathroom or something like that around here?"

That thought had never even crossed her mind last night. She definitely had other things that had kept her occupied. She giggled thinking about it.

"This is the Labyrinth Kingdom my dear. We have anything you desire", Jareth replied with a smirk.

Jareth had not been lying. The Labyrinth Kingdom really did have everything. Not only a bathroom, but the most beautiful gorgeous bathroom Sarah had ever seen, with a huge bathtub and a walk in shower, and extra-large double sinks.

"Hm," she thought to herself, "huge bed, huge bathtub, and huge shower. I'm detecting a pattern here. He's up to no good." She laughed out loud at the thought.

All her most precious belongings where there as well. Jareth had arranged to have them brought down to the castle. Her dad's letter and crystal ball had been placed on her side of the bed. Right next to her drawing book. A small wood box with all her favorite photos of her friends and her dad was sitting on top.

Her clothes had been neatly folded into a dresser, and her dresses hung up in a large walk in closet with her shoes below. Sarah was impressed.

Hoggle had a delicious brunch prepared and Sarah ended up over eating. "I think I ate too much" she moaned, "My stomach hurts now."

Jareth tilted his head. "You know what helps with that?"

"What?" Sarah eagerly asked, expecting a magical cure.

"Certain bed activities", Jareth replied dryly raising his eyebrows and smiling cheekily.

Sarah busted out laughing. "Nice try, really nice try."

Jareth showed Sarah most of the castle during the morning. It was a huge place with hundreds of bedrooms and bathrooms, but it only had that one study.

It seemed all of Jareth' private quarters were separated from the rest of the castle by a long breezeway, and actually made for a very cozy, warm feeling place.

"Why so many bedrooms?" Sarah asked, "It almost feels like a hotel".

"It might as well be", Jareth had replied. "It is for guests during celebrations, meetings, parties, conferences, and such. It can get quite busy here at times. I don't think you'll be lonely or bored."

Sarah wondered if Marjorie and Mark would ever be allowed to come to a Labyrinth party at the castle. It was almost as if Jareth had read her mind.

"I'll find a way to arrange visits. I promise". Sarah blew him a kiss.

Jareth pulled out several crystal balls and started juggling them in front of Sarah with one hand. She was always impressed by his juggling abilities and it fascinated her. She could have watched it for hours.

"Where would you like to go? Look deep into them they will show you different places we can go. Pick one for today."

Sarah stared with intense fascination into the crystals as they showed her all sorts of destinations: Stores, a restaurant, a music club similar to the Blue Rock Café, a beautiful lake, a dark forest, a shopping center, a movie theater, and more.

"Wow", Sarah exclaimed, "You have all that here in the Underground, the Labyrinth Kingdom"?

Jareth nodded his head and made another crystal ball appear out of thin air, which he held up with his other hand and let it float up towards the ceiling where it disappeared.

"I told you, I'm offering you all your dreams" Sarah looked up at him.

"You sure did, and you sure are delivering."

Sarah had chosen to see the lake and forests, and Jareth had teleported them there in an instant. She had a yearning for peace and quiet, and she longed to be alone with him.

"Will I ever be able to teleport on my own?" She asked, "Or am I forever depended on you or the Labyrinth Goblin Cap Service?"

Jareth laughed out loud. "We don't have that kind of service in the Labyrinth."

Sarah huffed with objection: "What? No cabs? But what about making all my dreams come true? What if I'm dreaming about having a cab to shuffle me around, with a goblin chauffeur?"

Jareth was walking away still laughing hard with Sarah running behind him. "Are you messing with me?" She yelled after him.

Sarah finally caught up with him by a beautiful little clearing that contained a serene lake and a waterfall.

"Wow", she exclaimed, stopping in her tracks.

"It's been my favorite hangout ever since I was a young teenager", Jareth said. "Come let me show you something".

He reached out for her hand and led her down a small path behind the waterfall, which had an opening at its back wall that led into a cave. Sarah expected a dark damp place, but the cave was brightly lit with beautiful colored glowing crystals that studded its walls and ceilings. Sarah was speechless.

"It's absolutely breath taking. What kind of crystals are these?" Sarah asked in wonderment.

"Amethysts and Emeralds", Jared replied as he helped her get down a rocky ledge. In the middle of the cave was a small emerald green pool that bubbled and looked as if it was illuminated from below. Steam was rising from parts of the pool.

"Take your clothes off", he told her, as he was already removing his boots, gloves and cape. Sarah looked baffled.

"Here?" she asked confused, "you want to make out here? Looks a bit uncomfortable with the jagged rocks."

Jareth removed his last clothing and laughed as he stepped into the pool. "No silly, it's a natural hot tub, babe. You'll love it."

Sarah's eyes opened wide. "Oh, how cool."

Quickly she removed her clothes and followed Jareth into the pool. The water was exhilarating and the bubbles felt relaxing and soothing. She waded over to Jareth and sat down with him, submerged up to their shoulders.

For a while they sat by each other not saying anything. Jareth had his arm around her waist and she leaned against his chest.

"I came across this place as a young teen. Found it by accident when I was out hunting. I always kept it a secret. No, no fae girls in case you were wondering."

He laughed and pulled her closer into him. Sarah blushed. He must've read her mind again. Damn she hated this ability of his.

"I want this to be our special place, like you had your special little swimming hole." He looked over at her and smiled.

"I love that idea", Sarah said softly.

Jareth pulled her in for a kiss and started to caress her body which was submerged and surrounded by bubbles.

"You had a great idea, too, a little while ago."

"Which one was that?" Sarah wondered.

"The making out one", Jareth replied moving both his hands down her back and pressing her against his body, as he kissed her passionately.

"Oh, that one", Sarah thought to herself as she turned to embrace him.

After the stay at Emerald Pool Cave, Jareth took Sarah by a nice little outdoor place for dinner. It was full of faes, elves, and human type creatures which Sarah had no clue what they were, as well as a few dwarfs who looked like Hoggle. Most of the goblins she saw were the restaurant workers. Sarah found the place fascinating.

Jareth was acknowledged by the patrons and staff and addressed as his majesty, but nobody made any fuss about them. Sarah felt comfortable as they were seated in an isolated corner a small distance away from everyone else.

"What's this place called?" Sarah whispered.

"The GobliNaut", Jareth replied.

Unusual name Sarah thought, but then again the entire Labyrinth world was unusual. Nothing seemed the way it was, it was full of surprises, and everything seemed possible.

Jareth had to help her with the menu since she had no idea what all the items were, and Jareth wanted to make sure she was not going to order any of that Goblin fried sausage stew he had brought her on a date a few months back. It had eyeball shaped mystery meat swimming around in it and Sarah had refused to even look at it.

Sarah actually found her dinner to be quite tasty. They did have regular red wine on the menu, and Sarah was happy with that.

Sarah had a wonderful day and by the time they had returned to the castle it was late in the evening. They sat for a long time by the fountain, talking and holding hands. Jareth told Sarah some of his youth stories and she found it quite entertaining. In turn Sarah told Jareth some of her childhood memories. They both laughed and enjoyed themselves; and every now and then Jareth stole a kiss.

Hoggle watched them from the study window with delight.

"I am so happy this worked out ok," he thought to himself. "That all could've turned out to be quite ugly." He shuddered at the thought. He's never seen Jareth that happy and contend before, and it actually warmed his heart to see it.

After Sarah had taken care of her nightly bathroom duties and slipped into something more comfortable, Jareth took her to his study.

Sarah had shown interest in Jareth library, especially once he pointed out his large section of folklore books. Sarah's eyes had popped wide open as she ran her fingers across the bindings of the books on the lowest shelf. She needed a ladder to reach the top shelf. There had to be hundreds of books just on folklore alone.

"How many books are there?" Sarah said in amazement looking around with her head tilted back.

"All together over five thousand. Around five hundred for folklore, or nonfiction as we call it. For us it is actual history, only for you it is fairytale folklore"

Jareth pulled down a book from the second shelf and handed it to Sarah. "You may find this one of interest."

The book was huge and Sarah had some trouble holding it as it was so heavy. She looked at the title. "An extended history of Goblin City and the Labyrinth Kingdom, Vol 1"

"Wow", she mumbled to herself. "This is fascinating. How many volumes are there?"

"Ten" Jareth answered.

She walked over to a very comfortable reading chair with a leg rest and put it on her lap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, do you mind if I look at it?" She looked up at Jareth. She had been so taken by the book she almost forgot he was there.

"Dumped by a book", Jareth laughed. "No babe, you go read and I'll go play some piano if it won't bother you."

"Are you kidding me?" She looked up at him. "I love to hear you play. And music never bothers me when I read. Please play something for me."

Jareth walked over to his grand piano in the middle of the room and started to play a few short etudes to warm up his fingers. Then he started to play and sing "Life on Mars?" by David Bowie and Sarah closed her eyes to take it all in.

"He almost sounds exactly like him", she thought to herself. "He is absolutely amazing."

Jareth followed that up with "Only You" by the Platters and "I Will" by the Beatles. Sarah clapped each time he was done and told him how wonderful it was.

"You should be a rock star, honey", she said as her attention returned to the book. Jareth smiled happily as he continued to play Bach's "Four Pieces from the little notebook".

Sarah was completely submerged in the book Jareth had given her. It was the complete history of the Labyrinth and its main key figures, its founders. This book could teach her everything she needed to know about the Labyrinth and the Underground, and all those different species of creatures living in it. And there were nine more volumes to go.

This library was literally one big research lab for her studies. She never could have done that sort of work at her little city library back home. She felt like a child in a chocolate factory. She was going to love it here, she already was certain of it.

She didn't even realize how much time had passed. It had been a long time since she had felt that relaxed and at ease. Her, reading a book in a nook, Jareth playing beautiful songs on his piano, Hoggle doing some paperwork over at the desk, and a gentle wind blowing through the open window carrying with it the distant hooting call of an owl, made her feel as if she had come home.

The Labyrinth Kingdom had exceeded her expectations. But she knew, there was another side to the Underground, one she had experienced five years earlier, a much darker and much more sinister side.

Sarah had fallen asleep over her book in her reading chair and was now curled up in it. Jareth was still playing his piano and glanced towards her. When he noticed her sleeping, he stopped and walked over. Hoggle had long left.

"Sarah", he gently touched her arm as he squatted down in front of her chair. Sarah didn't stir.

Jareth smiled and then picked her up. He teleported them to the bedroom, undressed a few of her cloth, and laid her in bed. Sarah never even budged.

"Sweet dreams my precious, I see you tomorrow", he whispered as he lightly kissed her forehead.

Jareth sat by his window for a long time releasing a few crystal balls into the night, but for the first time in forever, he felt totally at ease, and at peace with himself and the world around, as his heart kept skipping beats of deep joy.