Thank you Ladycrafter and Dianna2020 for your kind reviews. So much appreciated. Thank you Rayac for your suggestion to get rid of the bold print. I had contemplated about it earlier and you just validated my thoughts about it. More chapters coming soon.


Chapter 5

A punch and a kiss

When Jareth returned to the Labyrinth, he felt hopeful again for the first time in over two hundred years. He smiled, and had a dreamy expression on his face when he entered his chambers, which was immediately recognized by his servant, Lutor.

"I take it went well, your highness?" he inquired with an inquisitive face.

He hadn't seen his master that content and happy since before the Labyrinth had been cursed. Even in the beginning, Jareth never had such a dreamy expression on his face. It was different from his sexual conquests and Lutor could only hope something was growing inside of him that went beyond physical contact.

"She kissed me, Lutor. I didn't kiss here, she kissed me. She didn't have to, but she did."

Jareth kept on rambling and sat down in his chair by his desk. He picked up the crystal that held her memory. How much she had changed over these past twelve years.

She had turned into a stunningly beautiful young woman of perfect marrying age. He had felt a tingling sensation every time she had touched his skin, and he could only hope she had the same experience, as without it, there would be no hope. This had never happened before in all of his years of searching, no, in all of his years of existence.

"Lutor, I feel like reborn. She kissed me, and her lips were oh so sweet. She kissed me, SHE kissed me."

Lutor glanced carefully towards Jareth, who sat in his chair and stared at the ceiling with a stupefied happy expression on his face continuing his rambling about the kiss. He had never seen him like this before, so enthralled, so enchanted, by a woman for a mere kiss. A spark of happiness erupted inside his heart.

"Maybe she is different because she has been here. She knows you, she just doesn't remember it. Maybe, just maybe there was something happening in that ballroom of yours, when you and her danced. It is possible."

Lutor threw Jareth a hopeful look with his big goblin eyes and Jareth smiled back at him with a blissful sigh. Oh, he would not sleep one wink tonight. He was too excited about his date he had with her. Could it really be, that she may reciprocate his feelings?

Jareth leaned further back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head closing his eyes to savor the inner picture of Sarah kissing him. How his heart had jumped and nearly stopped when her lips had touched his. The electricity he had felt coursing through his entire body like a raging mountain stream, making it difficult to restrain himself.

"When are you going to tell her the truth? I know it was only the first date, but you don't have much time. A year is not long, not down here, and not in the Surface World."

Lutor picked up Jareth' cape and gloves he had tossed carelessly onto the floor when he had walked in, and laid them gingerly across the back of another chair.

"Everything in due time."

Jareth didn't move but threw a quick glance at Lutor with a cautious smile.

"She didn't run from me when I told her I am looking for a wife. I need to work this carefully. I can't afford to mess this up. She is my last chance, my last hope to redeem myself and save this world, and maybe in the process find my true love for eternity."

"True love for eternity. Those are big words, Jareth, but that's what it will take to break the curse, win this bet of yours, whatever you want to call it."

Lutor sounded skeptical and it didn't go unnoticed by Jareth.

"Do you love her?" Lutor asked him and stopped in front of him with piercing eyes.

Jareth sat quiet with a pensive look on his face for several moments before he turned back to Lutor.

"I felt the force when she touched me. Yes, I love her, and I can only hope she loves me back."

Jareth, without realizing, subconsciously trailed his fingers from his hand up his arms towards his heart. He got lost in his movement and his eyes glazed over as if in a trance. He no longer heard or saw the goblin in front of him. His mind had taken him elsewhere, if only for a moment.

Lutor stood with open mouth and big eyes. What was he witnessing here? It was nothing he had ever seen before, but it was real, as he could see it in Jareth's face and especially his eyes; the slight movement of his fingers travelling up his arm.

"The force", he quietly mumbled with utter astonishment and had to sit down, as his legs gave out from under him.


Sarah had not gotten much sleep herself, and when she did fall asleep she dreamt again. She dreamt of Jareth, but not the Jareth whom she had a date with. It was a different Jareth, a much darker, mystical Jareth.

He did not look like a normal human and he wore strange garments. A cape, gloves, tight pants, and boots. His hair were long and uneven cut, and his eyes shimmered with upturning eyebrows and white skin pigmentation above the eyes that could change colors according to his mood.

"I am fae, Sarah", he said as the wind blew through his hair and gave him a magical aura of power. "I am a king of a lost world. I need your help. I need a love, who loves me back. I need you, Sarah. Love me, and I will be your slave."

Sarah sat up with a jolt, the sweat pouring down her face.

"What the hell was that?" she mumbled. "I seriously need to quit the wine, no ifs and buts about it."

She got up, took another aspirin, and laid back down. She glanced at the flowers on her nightstand Jareth had brought her for their date, and a smile crossed her face. She really liked him, and she most definitely wanted to see him again. She also would not be opposed to physical intimate contact with him. But, did she love him?

"If I have to ask myself that question, then the answer is always no. If I love someone, I know it," she thought to herself and closed her eyes only to see his mesmerizing eyes and his incredible sexy smile. His smirk, which grabbed her right by the soul.

"Damn it", she mumbled. "It is not all that black and white now is it? Let's see what the next date brings."

With this thought on her mind she went back to sleep, and this time no dreams haunted her.


Jareth had called her right after breakfast the next day. How she slept he wanted to know and if she would like to see him today. What a question, Sarah thought as her heart was about to pounce out of her chest when he had asked.

They were going to meet at the Old Fashion Dinner for lunch. He already was waiting on her when she arrived, and had her a seat reserved in the corner, away from most other folks.

"Hello, Sarah", he beamed at her and scooted a menu her way as she sat down. I took the liberty to get you some water."

Sarah thanked him with a big smile and took several sips.

"I slept fairly well, considering", she answered his question.

"Considering?" he inquired with questioning eyes.

"Considering, every time I closed my eyes, I saw your face", she smirked at him as he quirked his eyebrows. "And then the dreams I had."

"What dreams are plaguing your sleep, Sarah?"

For Jareth dreams held an importance, a message, even a foretelling of what was to come. His kind believed dreams were the most important part of a person's sleep.

"I am not sure, they are just a bit weird, and I don't want to sound crazy in front of you. You may run from me before I have a chance to make up my mind about you."

She laughed and gave him a playful toss of the hair which he found irresistible and adoring.

"Plus, I've been having them since I was sixteen. Something happened back then and my subconscious is still dealing with it."

She had waved it off and mentioned it in passing, but it made Jareth sit up straight and a jolt went through his heart and his body stiffened.

"The Labyrinth. She is dreaming about the Labyrinth", he thought.

He should have known. Was the loneliness she had mentioned the other night part of it? He gave her an inquisitive look with squinted eyes and tilted his head while she stared into the menu and didn't notice him looking at her.

The next thing that did jolt her out of her menu was Richard's voice.

"Hey buddy", he called out and Sarah could tell he was not talking to her.

Jareth looked at Sarah with a stoic face and didn't move. Richard was behind him, and by the look of Sarah's shocked face, he was not in a good mood.

The server came by and Sarah placed her order while whispering into the waitress' ear. She nodded with a smile and walked off as she briefly glanced over towards Richard. Jareth in the meantime had turned around to face his nemesis standing behind him.

"Hello, Richard. Nice to see you. Are you joining us?"

Jareth tried to remain as calm as he possibly could. This situation could get out of hand, and he did not want to risk Sarah thinking of him as a trouble maker and dump him before he had a chance with her.

"Did you spend the night with my girl?" Richard moved around Jareth now and balled his fists as Jareth matched his move.

"Richard, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not your girl."

Sarah was already getting annoyed and wished him to hell.

"We slept together, more than once, that makes you my girl", he declared and threw Jareth a victorious sneer with narrowed eyes.

"I guess I marked her after all, mister. I marked her with my stuff."

He stuck his face right into Jareth', and it took Jareth everything he had to fight his desire to obliterate this disrespectful insect of a human in front of him.

"If I were you, I would shut up and leave", Jareth hissed and squinted his eyes at him, throwing him daggers. His eyes grew darker and his throat emitted a low growl, only audible to Richard.

Richard was too dimwitted to get the hint or the warning.

"You can't tell me what to do. Maybe it's you who needs to take a hike."

Both now stared at each other with murder in their eyes and Jareth nostrils flared with an anger he had not felt for some time. If he could not control his outburst there would be nothing left of Richard and part of the dinner. He had to get control of himself, but the closeness of Richard's face and the hate he felt from him made this nearly impossible. He breathed heavily through his nose holding Richard's stare.

Sarah was now fuming and yelled at him to get out. She didn't know who threw the first punch, but before she realized what was going on, Jareth and he were in a brawl grabbing each other by their shirts and trying hard to land some punches.

Richard had landed a sucker punch before Jareth could react and made him bleed from his lip, infuriating Jareth. He pushed him back as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll and dished out a few well-placed hits as Richard went down with a groan.

The entire restaurant was now focused and staring at the two exchanging jabs, but nobody wanted to interfere. Jareth had made sure to cast a blocking spell before Richard landed his first punch, to make everyone around them somewhat oblivious to the situation. They would forget about all of it as soon as they were gone from the venue. All except for Richard. He wanted him to remember.

It only took one more perfectly placed knock across Richard's chin to keep him rolling on the floor in agony holding his face as the blood dripped from his lip and nose.

"I forgot to tell you, I had intensive training in close combat fighting", Jareth hissed into Richard's ear and gave him a devious grin, flashing his eyes at him and taking on the form of the Goblin King for a split second, only visible to Richard.

Richard met his gaze and his eyes grew big and frightened as he stared into Jareth' eyes and saw his true form. He froze and did not attempt to get up. His eyes were filled with horror, as if he had seen the devil himself. Jareth withdrew with a sneer and turned to Sarah while he straightened out his jacket.

"Let's go. I don't know about you, but I had enough of this guy."

He gently retook Sarah's hand and turned to leave.

"Hang on one second", she responded, walked over to the bar and paid the waitress, who had their food already packed in a bag for them to take home.

Sarah gave her a smile and nodded to Jareth to come who followed quickly behind her, completely ignoring Richard, who moaned as he slowly collected himself off the floor.

"Let's go to my place", she sounded somewhat perturbed and unlocked her car as Jareth stepped in and closed the door.

Inside the restaurant the patrons continued with their meals as if nothing had ever taken place. Had it not been for Richard now sitting bedraggled on a chair bleeding from his lips and nose, it would have looked as if nothing out of the norm had occurred. Even the waitress completely ignored him and walked back behind the counter.

Jareth gave a terrified Richard a sardonic grin through the window as Sarah pulled her car onto the street.


"What a god damn asshole. I am so sorry about this." Sarah placed a cold wet rag over Jareth' lips and sat next to him on the couch with a concerned look.

"Richard is not my boyfriend, please believe me. I made a mistake with him. Yes, I hooked up with him a couple of times, but that was it. I am not committed to him, and after this, I don't ever want to see him again. That fuckin' jerk."

She carefully held the rag against Jareth' face and gave him a compassionate look. Inside she was in turmoil and an utter mess. If Richard had destroyed her chance with this man sitting next to her she would personally kill him.

"You don't have to justify yourself, Sarah", Jareth told her and gently grabbed her hand, instantly feeling a tingling feeling. And by the way Sarah closed her eyes and jerked, she must have felt it too, which again gave him a feeling of hope and pleasure.

"Yes I do. Look what that idiot did to you. You must think I'm a..." she couldn't get herself to say it and tears welled up in her eyes.

Jareth removed the rag and took both her hands into his.

"Don't say it, and don't think it, because you are far from it. We all make mistakes. I have made mine. Many of them, and now I am paying a price for them all. You are a wonderful person, Sarah, and any man who gets you should be proud of being called your husband."

"You mean it?" Sarah asked as a tear ran down her cheek.

Jareth gently wiped it away with his finger.

"I always mean what I say." He gave her a smile and a wink.

"I would give you a kiss, but you are hurt right where it would have to go." Sarah said with a chuckle slightly blushing and lowering her gaze.

"I'm fine, look the bleeding stopped and you can barely see anything."

Sarah took a double take. She could've sworn he had a busted lip just a second ago.

"Well, aren't you the quick healer", she grinned as Jareth leaned forward and gently put his hand on the side of her face.

"May I kiss you?" he asked, but before Sarah could answer, his lips already pressed against hers.

She was startled by how warm and soft they were. He gently tried to open her mouth with his tongue and Sarah did not refuse him access. She slightly opened her mouth, and soon his tongue gingerly searched for hers and danced with it in circles. She had never been kissed like this.

There was a gentleness to his kiss she had never felt before, and a warmth. He was in no hurry, and it was obvious he enjoyed every second of it. Every time she thought he was going to break away, he gently came back for more.

She had placed her hands against his chest, and she felt his soft warm skin below the half unbuttoned shirt.

"Gosh, he feels good. Like a god."

Sarah could no longer think straight as he completely entranced her, and when he finally did break from the kiss, she sat as if hypnotized on the couch and only looked at him with astonishment.

"Wow", was all she could mutter and he laughed quietly.

"I would assume you approved of the kiss?"

"Most definitely", Sarah replied, and she had to hold herself back to not jump him, rip his clothes off, and take him right there on the sofa.

Jareth must have noticed her dilemma.

"How about our food? Why don't we eat something? I'm hungry, aren't you?"

Sarah shook herself out of her day dream and gave him a blushed smile as she nodded.

"Good idea. Let's go eat something and cool off. I definitely need to cool off."