In Times of War

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear to tell people that these characters are not mine, that the whole bunch of them aren't mine, and nothing but telling them that they aren't mine, so help me God. (With one small exception of Josephus.)

Summary: It is a story revolving around Jareth, taking place at the same time as the last three or four chapters are going on with Sarah, whenever she began to have her dream.

Well, I made a promise to get a chapter up to you in the next few days, and look. I sit down and begin to write it the same night that I finish the previous chapter. I am on a role. Don't try and stop me now. I also encourage you to read my other stories over the next few days. They are titled, "Months" and "A Price to Pay" because I plan on continuing these starting tonight. ( I think I am on a sugar crash right now and I can't help myself.) But please read and review.

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Jareth sat on his bed in his room and put his head in his hands. He had just arrived back from seeing Sarah and asking her his favor. He didn't really know what to make of her reaction. She seemed stunned, but somewhat interested.

He didn't want to give her a week's worth of time to think about it. The time in the Underground passes much more slowly than up above, and it was going to be torture for him. He would keep one ear open in case she made her decision early and wanted to see him.

He decided he wanted to take a walk around the Goblin Kingdom and see what everyone was up to, but as he was about to get up and leave, his father, Josephus, appeared before him, a look of panic in his eyes.

"Jareth, Thank God you are here. Something terrible has happened." His father said to him.

"What's wrong? You look like a living hell." Jareth commented, trying to make a joke out of it. Whatever it was couldn't be all that bad.

"A war. A war has broken out between My kingdom and the Warlock Kingdom." His father said, grabbing Jareth's wrist and leading him down to the doors of his castle.

"What? That impossible. There hasn't even been any conflict between the kingdoms. How did this happen?" Jareth asked, his eyes grew wide.

"I never really told you, but there have been conflicts between the two kingdoms for many years now. It was decided that there would be a meeting between the leaders to discuss resolutions to most if not all of the problems."

Josephus paused, then continued, "Little did I know that when the ruler of the Warlock kingdom arrived, he secretly had planted troops around my kingdom. He didn't even want to discuss anything, but started to invade. My troops were able to fight back, but now we're short of help. That's where I need you."

"What can I do to help?" Jareth asked. "I'll do anything."

"I'll need your troops to help my troops in battle. With the two groups working together, we have a chance to overpower them." Josephus said to them.

"Yes, of course," Jareth said. "Anything I can do to help. And I know that the Goblins will help out. I'll arrange to have them there and ready to fight in no time."

"There is one more thing I'll need from you," his father replied. "I'll need you to join me in battle. I can't lead the troops on my own, and if anything should happen to me, I know that you'll be there to take over in my place and lead the troops."

Jareth paused at this request. He didn't want to go to war. He hated fighting. He hated War. But his father was asking him for his help. How could he refuse? "I'll be glad to join you, Father." He said, and watched his father's face light up.

"Oh, thank you. The sooner that we can get this mess resolved, the sooner we might be able to settle everything and get our lives back to normal. I look forward to seeing you on the field, son." Josephus said, giving his son a great hug, then vanishing in front of his eyes.

It wasn't until now that Jareth thought about Sarah. He had promised her a weeks worth of time, but now he didn't know if he was going to be able to keep his promise. With a heavy heart, he called for a few messengers and prepared to make an announcement to the goblins about the war.

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"....And that is why I am asking for everyone's help in dealing with this matter by volunteering to help fight for my Father's kingdom. It might be very long or very short. But the sooner we get more goblins into the battle fields, the sooner this will all be behind us." Jareth finished his speech and moved away from the balcony as a few messengers gave instructions to goblins that were volunteering.

He walked into the throne room where Hoggle was waiting for him. Jareth had called for him earlier and Hoggle came as quickly as possible.

"Your Majesty, I came as quickly as I got your message. And I just heard your speech. I am not usually a fighting Goblin, but I am ready to help in any way that I can." Hoggle said, as soon as he saw Jareth enter the room.

"Hoggle, sit down," Jareth said to him. Hoggle sat. "I do need to ask you of your help. Now I know for a fact that you are a coward, and that many things scare you, so I am asking that you do this favor for me."

"Anything, your majesty," Hoggle said.

"I need you to look after the kingdom for me while I am away. Make sure that everything is kept in order around here, and take care of anything that comes up." Jareth said to him.

"Your majesty, I don't know what to say, except that it would be a great honor for me and that I would be glad to help you out." Hoggle said, relieved that Jareth hadn't asked him to go into the war. A coward will always be a coward in his opinion.

Jareth gave Hoggle all of the necessary instructions, addressed the crowd once more, and went to his chamber to prepare to leave for the war.

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Jareth looked around at all of the fallen soldiers around him. It had only been about a day and a half since he had appeared at his Father's side with his troops, and there had been many casualties. Jareth had underestimated how powerful the Warlock kingdom was. He found it Ironic, considering the level of magic that they both possesed was the same.

Josephus appeared at his side, looked around and said, "It will take some time for the wounded to heal. All of the medics are working overtime, using their extreme powers to help heal troops. They are all exhausted." Josephus paused, then said, "If only we could get more troops for reinforcement, we would be fine."

Jareth decided that since things were very calm between the two sides, he would tell his father about Sarah.

"Father, you remember telling me repeatedly about how I should have an heir," Josephus nodded. "Well, I took your advice and found someone suitable. She was the girl that defeated my Labyrinth. Your remember me telling you about her, right?"

"Ahh, yes. Sarah, I believe, was her name, correct?" he said smiling. Jareth nodded, and his father beamed. "Well that's wonderful, my boy. So when do I get to meet this young Lady. When do you plan on introducing me to her?"

"Wait, father. I had better start from the beginning." He took a deep breath, then began is story.

"Not long after you left me, I decided that Sarah would be the best choice for the mother of my child. She is strong, stubborn, and fiery. She was perfect. Anyway, I left the underground to visit her. At first, she wasn't very happy to see me, but settled down after a few minutes."

He paused, then continued, "Naturally, I tried to tell her that I was coming by leaving a few hints for her, but she didn't catch on. I told her that I had been leaving her clues and then I did something I never thought that I would do. I confessed my love to her." He paused again.

Josephus stared at him, his eyes wide. "Well don't stop there, you idiot, continue. What did she say?"

"At first she was shocked. But then it sank in and I think that there were some feelings in return. Then I made a stupid mistake."

"You blurted out that you wanted her to have your baby, right?" Josephus said.

"Yes, well not exactly like that but.... wait, how did you know?" Jareth asked him.

"You have never been that good with asking people favor, and you usually tend to just blurt things out to them. It is a terrible habit that you have." his father answered.

"Yes, well anyway, She didn't take that all too well at first, in fact she hit me a couple of times, and called me an arrogant pig. But I sat her down and explained everything to her. She seemed to be interested after that, and I said that I would give her a week to think things over."

"That was a pretty stupid thing to do," Josephus said. "You know how much slower time is down here in the Underground."

"Yes, I realize that now." Jareth said. "But I am hoping that she will make the decision that I am hoping for." he paused, then said, "I never really told anyone this, father, but she is really the only person that I have ever truly been in love with. I don't know how to describe it, but there was a passion that I saw in her that I couldn't explain."

"That's the same way that I felt about your mother when I first met her. It means that you two were simply meant for each other." Josephus said, smiling at the fact that his son was in love, and he secretly wished that Sarah would make the right decision. He was about to tell Jareth that he wished him the best of luck, but an enemy force was marching along the horizon, and they had to put off the conversation for awhile.

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Jareth was in the middle of battle when he heard a distant voice call out his name. He didn't recognize it at first, because it was very soft. He was just about to slay a warlock warrior when he heard the voice, and he was distracted. This gave the warrior time to regain his composure and take a shot at Jareth with his dagger hidden within his clothing.

Jareth cried out as he felt the dagger plunge into his arm. He focused all of his attention to the Warrior and easily slayed him. The warrior fell instantly to the ground, and the voice calling his name was getting louder. He finally recognized that it was Sarah and was about to rush to her side when he felt another dagger pierce him, this time in his side. He cried out again, and turned to slay the warrior that had just attacked him.

All that he could think about was Sarah. He began to run, he didn't know where he was going, but he knew he had to get away in order to think for a minute. He found a hidden spot where he couldn't be seen and sat down. After checking to see how badly he was injured, (He wasn't terribly hurt,) he thought. Should he leave his father's side and go to see Sarah, or should he wait until the fighting has died down a little. Jareth couldn't decide.

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Well, How was that one for you? Talk about a cliffhanger, huh? Should I have him go directly to her side, or should I have him wait until things die down a bit. If you leave a review on the way out, your opinion might be written in the story. ( I'll bet that you would like that, wouldn't you) Just please leave the reviews or any comments that you have. I want to try for one-hundred reviews sometime soon, so please donate. :)