Qe Too: … You're scaring me… I hope you won't grow sick of this story!  Ah, I wrote the 1st chapter in few hours so there were a lot of grammatical mistakes and typing ones too, please, forgive me! BTW, I also wanted to tell you that English is not my mother-tongue so if my verbs tense aren't right, please drop me a little line (please, don't flame me! It's quite depressing!) Thanks mikim.

Chapter II. Your life belongs to me.

Sarah blinked once, twice before what Jareth had just said, made sense.

"WHAAAAAAAT???"

Since Jareth was nibbling her ear, he got her full scream right in the ear.

"AaaaaaH… Sarah, please…" He whined, holding his head, still lying on top of her.

"Get off me!" Sarah yelled again, pushing the Goblin King aside. She rolled on her side and kneeled in the bad, facing lying Jareth on his side. Sarah was panting hard, face red, not really believing what Jareth had asked her to do. How could that man ask her that? He was supposed to hate her, after all.

Jareth, leaning on an elbow, titled his head on the side and looked thoughtfully at her.

"I never hated you, Sarah."

Taken aback, Sarah stared at Jareth, speechless.

"Here's the deal, Sarah, you stay here with me for a full year and then you'll be free from your debt."

Sarah shook her head, to clear her mind. She would find some time later to actually find out what the King's statement could mean, for her and for him.

"But…" she spluttered. "What about… what about my family and… and my work?"

"Well" Jareth started, turning on his back, gazing at the ceiling. "You could write your stories here, and for your family do like always. I mean, going over only on the week-ends."

Sarah's mind started to whirl trying to find some arguments to talk him out of that crazy idea of his… But, she had to admit that she didn't have anymore. Apart from her family and work, she didn't have many friends and since she worked at home, it wouldn't be like she was going to miss to her colleagues. Then something hit her.

"Jareth" she started in a low and menacing voice, "how did you know about what I'm doing for work and when I go over my parent's?" Jareth only smiled back at her, knowing all too well what would happen. "YOU! LITTLE TOAD! HOW DARE YOU TO SPY ON ME?"

"Little toad?" Jareth repeated. "I'll show you what kind of toad I am!" He snarled, grabbing her arms and made her fall again in the bed.

"Jareth!!!" She angrily cried out and fought him again. She tried to kick him and in the tangle of limbs and screams that they had become, Sarah watched in disbelief as one of her feet made its way towards Jareth's head. Just in time, Jareth grabbed her ankle and stared at her leg. She was lying on her back, with Jareth kneeling above her between her legs, she was still wearing her jeans and during their "fight" her tank top had a little got up, revealing her flat stomach. Jareth's eyes traveled down her leg to her face and when she met his gaze, it was heated but angry too. Jareth leaned again to stand inches to her face, still holding her ankle, her knee resting against his shoulder, and snarled:

"Like it or not, Sarah, you will stay here for a whole year or else your life will be mine." At Sarah's shocked face, Jareth smiled arrogantly. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah… I saved your life! It belongs to me. Now, if you would excuse, I still have a kingdom to run." With that, Jareth purely and simply vanished in thin air leaving a startled Sarah.

:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:

Jareth reappeared in his study, rather content of himself. It was a big room, at the top of the higher tower of his castle, with no door, so the only way to come in was to appear by magic. His study was full of light since there were huge windows that let the sun peer in. In the middle of it, was a big round table and against the only wall without windows rested a huge bookcase, full of books of every sizes, every colors some old, some ancient, some new. In the middle of the bookcase, there was a small chest with some wine and glasses in it. A large and old red couch was under the windows. Jareth conjured a crystal and peered in to take a look at Sarah, when a male voice behind him stated:

"You won't make her fall in love with you if you force her to stay here, you know."

Jareth sighed and turned around, frowning in annoyance. "Gal… "

"Hello, little brother, nice to see you too!" The other male replied, cheerfully. It was a tall man, with black hair falling on his blue-gray eyes, dressed much like Jareth but instead a white poet shirt, he wore a plain shirt. Jareth rolled his eyes and said:

"You know I hate when you do that."

"Do what?" the other man answered innocently, putting the book he held on the table.

"Galion." Jareth looked at the older man menacingly. Galion was his best friend and since they grew up together, he also was the only being in the Underground but also in the Aboveground that Jareth couldn't predict where he was and Galion knew it. For some times in their younger days, Galion used to pop out of nowhere just to play tricks on Jareth and since Jareth couldn't tell where Galion could be, Galion used to find it funny.

Galion smiled and walked to Jareth. "So, show me your Lady Sarah you babbled so much about."

"I don't…" Jareth started but he stopped in mid-sentence, rolling his eyes heavenward again and handing him the crystal.

"She's cute." Galion watched Sarah, sitting at the windowsill, gazing outside, lost in her thoughts. "But, Jar…"

"I know." Jareth cut Galion, looking away.

Galion looked sadly at Jareth. He remembered the boy so full of life that he used to run around with, the one that would scare away every single nannie his father would try to hire till Celia. "Then, why, Jar? Why inflict yourself so much pain? You know that eventually she would go back." 

Jareth sighed and looked back at his "elder brother", taking the crystal from him. He walked away, looking in it, drinking in Sarah's sight.

"Watching her…is not enough… not anymore." Jareth stopped and turned around to face his friend, his voice low and sounded almost defeated.

Galion's eyes saddened, his smile gone. "Jareth…"

Suddenly, Jareth looked up from the crystal, meeting the other man's gaze, livening up. "I know she still thinks of me! I read her stories and I'm in her every work." His voice filled up with some fire and his gaze lit up. "I feel it when she dreams of me, when she thinks of me! Gal! I'm always with her, but… But…" Unable to go on, Jareth sat heavily on the table where Galion had put his book. Galion sat too on the table, next to Jareth and looked out, by the windows.

"You got it bad, don't you?"

"You can say so…"

"Jareth, how do you know that she might one day love you back?"

"I wanted to know what kind of stories she was writing so I got myself one of her books. When I first read it, I couldn't believe it: I was in and I was the villain that the main girl fell in love with. I got mad and I read another, thinking that maybe it was just a coincidence. But I was in the other too, and in the one after and in the one she just got released. And in the one she's writing."

"How do you know it's you?"

"On the back of the book, it was written that it had become her trade mark: in her every book, there is a man with mismatched eyes, who belongs to nobility, an arrogant man with quite a temper."

"Hum… Yes, I guess that it can only be you."

"Well, thank you." Jareth bitterly bit back. "But, it's what tells me that she still thinks of me, that she might love me."

"What if she says no, Jareth? Would you force her to stay? Indeed, her life belongs to you by our laws, but would you Jareth?"

Jareth avoided Galion's eyes. "Of course, no. I'm not a monster. But, I don't think I could survive like this" he said, showing himself, "if she says no."

"And what would happen if after a year, she doesn't love you and wants to go back?"

A moment passed before Jareth finally answered. "I hope that I could go on with the memories."

"Live in the past? My, Jareth, I've never seen you like that! I mean, you truly were a wreck when she left you for the first time, but as you pointed out yourself, she was too young to accept what you were offering her at that time, but now… It's incredible the power she has over you… Jareth, as a friend and one of the War Lords under your command, I want you to either make her your queen either hide her in a hole in the Aboveground, because if this news spread out, she would be in a great danger. A wonderful bait for your enemies!"

"As if I didn't know that already!" Jareth angrily stood up and turned around, marching all around the room Galion's eyes following him. "Don't you think I'm a fool and didn't think about the consequences on having her here? I may be in love with her, Galion, I'm not stupid!"

Galion stared at his friend, the one he considered as his little brother, and smiled sadly.

"Ah, Jareth. You always such a temper. But I'll help."

Jareth stopped hiking around and angrily snapped. "Help what, Galion?"

"Jar, the Lady is more than confused: you took away her brother, made her walk through that damn labyrinth game of yours and made her refuse her dreams."

"I offered her…"

"Jareth." Galion cut him. "I would have done the same, was I in her position. And, seriously, do you think you would have fallen in love with her if she had chosen you instead of her baby brother?"

Jareth didn't answer and Galion kept on, talking softly.

"Your father took me in when mine passed away and you and I grow up together like brothers. Knowing that his end was coming, your father gave me back the title of my father, as one of the War Lords, protector of the Underground and you became the Goblin King, soon after. I swore to protect the Underground and I made your father the promise to look after you. Jar, I know you better than anyone else in the Underground, I've seen you playing around, making a fool of yourself, losing your temper an incredible number of times, kicking those of goblins of yours away, threatening, blackmailing thousands of people, having numbers of lovers but I've never seen someone with that much power over you." Galion chuckled softly. "In fact, I've always thought that you'd never know love."

Jareth's shoulders dropped and he peered in the crystal again: Sarah was still sitting on the windowsill, knees drawn under her chin, looking outside, hair falling all around her like a blanket.

"Jareth, talk to her, without fighting, please, take her outside and show her the Underground, not only the Labyrinth but all that she didn't have the chance to see the first time she came here. Allow her to have other memories, some happier than the ones she certainly has from her first visit."

Jareth looked up from the crystal and stared in Galion's eyes, sadness floated in the blue-gray orbs, happiness, love, affection, bittersweet memories of a lost love.

"Emerald was a lucking woman to have you." Galion quickly looked away, a sad smile playing on his lips.

"No. I was the one lucky."

"Gal."

"Anyway, I just came to tell you your goddaughter wishes to see you soon. No, in fact, she's breaking her brother's and mine's ears about you, so I came to beg you, oh mighty Goblin King, to come and see that little scoundrel." Galion's eyes were flickering with laughter and mischief and Jareth couldn't help but smile. His smile widened when an outraged, girlish, little voice resonated in the room.

"DAADDY!!!! Whom are you talking about ?!?!?!?!?!"

"Calandra! Would you please lower your voice level, please, for the sake of your beloved uncle Jareth and mine? And when are you going to learn to behave, young lady? You know you shouldn't eavesdropping on adult conversation! Nor that you have the right to come in and scream!" Galion said irritably, looking at nothing in particular.

"Sorry, dad." Another a male voice said. "I tried to stop her, but you know her, when she's got something in mind…" Galion sighed. His children were growing way too fast for him. Their powers were really powerful and without Jareth to cover them up, Galion knew they would have been in deeper troubles that what they could experience now. Calandra and her twin brother had the ability to "listen" to their loved ones conversation as if they were in the same room but not miles away.

"It's alright, Nathan, in fact, I think that it actually served our cause, didn't it, Jareth?"

"Did it, Uncle Jar?" The young boy inquired.

"Yes. I'll come."

"YEAH!" Calandra cried out happily and Jareth didn't have any difficulty to picture his niece turning on herself in glee. "Oh, Uncle Jar, you ought to bring your wife along! Bye!" Calandra suddenly added before withdrawing from the conversation, hers and her brother's presence disappearing from Jareth senses.

"Wife? CALANDRA! Come back right now!" Galion burst in laughter at Jareth outraged face. When the Goblin King had calmed down a little and that his face had lost some of its red color, Galion told him:

"You know, Calandra had a good idea, actually. It would show her your other face."

Galion smiled a last time before vanishing from the room. Jareth collapsed on the couch and held up the crystal again to look in it.

"Gal." He whispered, watching Sarah. "Thank you."

His mind and feelings clear, the Goblin King went out for the hunt, for Sarah's heart.

*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Sarah watched in disbelief the ceiling above her: few seconds before there was a man, there, the Goblin King holding her ankle as if his life depended on and now… Nothing.

Sarah sighed and rolled on her belly, arms outstretched, staring at nothing in particular.

Jareth…she thought. You're confusing me.

"I never hated you, Sarah."

This had been for the longest time in her life the safer ground ever, the only unmistakable truth. She defeated him, the mighty Goblin King, she denied him, she refused to give herself to him, she… How could he not hate her?

Sarah let her gaze wander on the room: it was a room like those she dreamt about, a room for a princess. The place was spacious and shiny, a vanity and curtains rested against the wall in front of her, the walls were rather pinkish but it was cute, actually. The light from the window on the left side of the bed attracted her. Sarah got up from the bed and walked to the window, looking outside: she could see a forest and of course, the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth… It held so many memories, some painful and some happy. Yes, she had happy memories from the Labyrinth: Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus…

Tired, Sarah sat on the windowsill, drawing her knees under her chin and kept at looking outside. Minutes or maybe hours flew away but Sarah didn't care, she just kept on staring at the Labyrinth without really seeing it… 

Sarah ran a nervous hand in her hair.

"Damn. Impossible man! Now, what am I supposed to think? What am I supposed to do?"

"Jareth…" she whispered. "What do you want from me?"

_____________________________________________

I've just decided to be evil for a while and let it end that way for now! grin! Now, people there is a plot! I swear and it is going somewhere and yes I know where! Ah, about Galion, Calandra and Nathan: these three are mine. Their little family will be explained in more details in the next part, sorry if it's confusing right now…