Alright, alright, I know you all hate cliffhangers, but they're so fun, aren't they? *laughs evilly*

Sorry it's taken me so long to post the next chapter, but we just got hit by a 'really bad' snow storm and that has put a cramp on my whole schedule. (I say 'really bad' in quotes because I'm from the north- the amount of snow was nothing, people here just aren't prepared to deal with it.) Really though, I am working as hard as I can on getting the next chapter written, and though I hate to say it, there may not be much more than two more chapters left to the story! Argh! Don't worry though, I presently have at least three different, really good story ideas I'm thinking about, I just have to pick which one to write first! It's so hard!

Lastly, thanks to: everyone who's checked out my other story so far, Emer, Winter (no, don't sick the goblins on me! I'll post more soon as I can!), terrie (ann arbor? not too far from where I lived), Jenny (kill me? eep!), Kris, Phoenix Flight (writing.more. don't. worry.), Ldechols (Clara- thankyou. Chapters are on the way), BeyondWords, and last but not least, Xelena (no, you said that right! hehe, *wink*).

Alright, I'll shut up now. Here's the story. ^.-

Andrea

            Chapter 6: Santa Claus and mysterious oranges.

            Sarah's attention wandered from what Jareth was saying as they stepped out of the room and into the hallway. It was already past sunset, she saw from looking out the window.

            The sun had disappeared and the sky was mostly blue, though the horizon still had some remnants of red and orange.

            A last hint of beauty before nightfall, she thought.

            "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jareth said, turning his attention to the window.

            She nodded dumbly.

            "As soon as I stepped out of that room I…" she looked at him, guiltily, "I forgot about what you were saying."

            He smiled. "It's alright. The sunsets here seem to have that effect on people." His smile faded. She knew he was referring to the years he'd spent staring out his bedroom window, every morning and every night, trying to forget her, yet still wondering if he'd ever see her again.

            Sarah's stomach rumbled, interrupting their thoughts. Both of them looked down at her stomach, which protested its lack of food once more, and laughed.

            "Perhaps we should talk over dinner?" Jareth said, his tone and face serious though his eyes danced with amusement.

            Sarah opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by her stomach.

            "Gurrup," it rumbled one last time. Sarah turned red and continued.

            "I think all three of us are agreed."

            *****

            Sarah again found herself sitting at the large mahogany table she had admired earlier that morning. Jareth sat across from her. The dishes and silverware were laid out before them, but Jareth seemed to be waiting for something.

            She turned her attention to the large windows set along one wall. Outside, the red and orange clouds had disappeared, and the sky was a solid dark blue. The stars, if there were any Underground, had yet to appear.

            Finally, the something Jareth was waiting on appeared. Sarah heard the door open and turned her head to see a short, stout man enter the room. He sported white hair, matching beard and mustache, and an ebullient face. He was dressed in white pants, a white button-down overcoat, and a hat of sorts. All were splashed with small spots and smears of color.

            He looked familiar in some way, though Sarah couldn't think how. She decided she liked him though.

            He walked up to Jareth and bowed.

            "M'lord."

             He then turned his attention to Sarah.

            "M'lady."

            He looked back at Jareth and scowled.

            "You never told me we had visitors." he said with a slight accent. His was different from Jareth's, she noted. He sounded… French? The man continued ranting.

            "I would have changed into something nicer!" he looked down in mock disgust at what he wore. It was then that Sarah realized the spots of color were stains. He was a cook.

            Smiling, Jareth shook his head.

            "Sarah, I'd like to introduce you to Nicholas. He is undoubtedly the biggest windbag in all the Underground, but you'll never find a better chef."

            "And when did this lovely peach arrive?" Nicholas smiled down at her.

            Sarah quickly looked at Jareth who shook his head. Nicholas knew nothing of their past. The peach comment was completely innocent.

            "Early this morning," Jareth spoke up for her.

            Nicholas turned to Jareth again. "Then the poor lady has had nothing to eat all day?!"

            Sarah shook her head. "No, we had breakfast."

            Jareth smiled slightly. "Yes… it appears that Sarah here really loves fruit. You should have seen how much she ate earlier." He looked at her though he still spoke to Nicholas. "I thought she'd eat our entire winter reserves…"

            Sarah felt awful. Had she eaten too much? Was he mad at her? Jareth caught her eye again and winked.

            "Well," Nicholas continued, "since Jareth somehow managed to make you breakfast, I shall make you a real meal." He looked at Sarah. "Would you like anything in particular?"

            She thought for a minute. "Umm… could you make spaghetti?"

            The chef looked confused. "Spaghetti?"

            She shook her head. "Yeah. Tomatoes, noodles…"

            Both men looked at her as if she were speaking in tongues.

            "Nevermind. I'll have whatever Jareth's having."

            Nicholas nodded and turned to Jareth.

            "M'lord?"

            Jareth thought for a moment, and frowned. He had no idea what tastes Sarah liked or disliked. Finally, he looked back up at Nicholas.

            "Yes, how about some parmesana? With aubergines?"

            The chef nodded and started to leave, but Jareth called him again.

            "Nicholas, could you also bring us some bloody oranges and an alligator fruit or two? I think Sarah would like those."

            He nodded and left.

            Jareth looked back up to Sarah. "Alright. From the beginning…"

            Sarah smiled.

            "First, clear up the aging thing for me one more time."

            He nodded.

            "You were almost eighty-three years old when I brought you here. I used the labyrinth's magic to make you about twenty-five, physically. You retained all of your memories from your old life; no amount of magic in the labyrinth could get rid of those, but your body changed." He took a drink of water from his glass and continued.

            "When your scar appeared, I soon realized that you were still aging. That shouldn't have happened- you should have aged to about thirty, and no further."

            Sarah laughed. "Thirty and holding. Every woman's dream."

            Jareth looked puzzled.

            "Nevermind." She shook her head.

            Ok, She knew why she was aging now… but still not why she was here in the first place.

            Just then, Nicholas walked back out, pushing a small cart laden with covered silver platters.

            That was fast, Sarah thought. She didn't know how much, if anything, the chef knew about her, so she decided it best to hold the questions for the time being.

            With a flourish, Nicholas set their plates down in front of them, and a bowl in front of Jareth.

            "Enjoy," he said, bowed slightly, and left.

            Sarah lifted the cover on her plate and peered at what was underneath. Something big and lumpy, covered in a sauce. She made a face.

            "What is this?" she asked.

            Jareth laughed.

            "It's called 'aubergine parmesana," he replied. Sarah nodded.

            "I know that, I heard you say that when you ordered for us, but what is it?"

            Jareth thought for a moment.

            "I don't know if they have them Aboveworld, but mainly it consists of aubergines- chicken plants' fruit- and the sauce is made from a red fruit we grow, called a tomato."

            "Tomatoes we have back home, but a chicken plant?"

            Jareth nodded. "Do you still have the crystal?"

            Sarah pulled it out of her pants pocket and showed it to him.

            "Well, ask it, and you'll see what I mean."

            She looked down at the crystal. Did you have to shake it like that Magic 8 ball she'd had as a kid?

            She decided not.

            "Show me a chicken plant," she said, then quickly added "please."

            The ball didn't glow or anything like the mirror, but a picture suddenly appeared within the clear globe.

            "It's an eggplant!" she said and looked up at Jareth. He gave her a quizzical look.

            "It is interesting that you call them 'eggplants' when the plant itself bears eggs as a fowl would."

            Sarah shrugged. "I didn't name them. I like 'chicken plant' better anyways. And what did you call the fruits? Awwber…?" she stumbled on the word.

            "Aubergines."

            She nodded. Aubergines, aubergines, aubergines. She wouldn't forget that.

            Seeing that Jareth had picked up a fork, she did the same, and started eating.

            "What are those?" she asked, and looked at the bowl Nicholas had set down by Jareth. It was full of roundish objects, but she couldn't tell what.

            He picked up two objects from the bowl and tossed one of them to her.

            "This is an alligator fruit," he told her.

            Sarah looked at the fruit. It was ovoid-shaped, somewhat scaly to the touch, and so dark green it almost appeared black. She smiled.

            "We have those, but we call them 'avacados.' I don't really eat them plain."

            He nodded and tossed her the other object. She knew what it was as soon as she saw the orange color arc in the air. She caught it and looked at Jareth.

            "Easy. This is an orange. We have those too."

            "But it isn't just any orange," he said, shaking his head. He picked up another out of the bowl and deftly cut it in half while he still held it.

            Sarah saw a flash of dark red between his fingers and gasped.

            "You've cut yourself! Are you okay?"

            He slowly set down the knife and looked at Sarah again.

            "We call them by their name for a reason," he said, and held up half of the orange. "It's a blood orange."

            Sarah couldn't believe it. His orange section was a bright, dark red, shot through with a bit of purple. Juice still ran down his fingers. He hadn't cut himself after all.

            He saw her astonishment and grinned in his Cheshire-cat way.

            Sarah just shook her head at him and kept eating.

            *****

            After they'd finished eating, Nicholas cleared their dishes and left them alone at the table. Jareth could tell that Sarah was dying to ask the questions she had refrained from asking earlier in the cook's presence.

            "Alright, so why did you bring me here?" she asked, launching into questions as soon as Nicholas left.

            Jareth smiled. "Anxious, aren't we?"

            "No," she glared at him, "just tired of waiting."

            "Well," he said seriously. "I had told you earlier. It wasn't my fault you weren't paying attention."

            She started a tart reply before realizing that Jareth was grinning, ear to ear. That jerk never could resist baiting her.

            She stuck out her tongue at him then crossed her arms on her chest and waited for his answer. He laughed.

            "Alright, alright. Stop with that face or you'll end up scaring all the mice in the castle away. What else would my goblins eat?" He took another sip of water from his glass and continued, his manner serious this time.

            "Sarah, I brought you here to save you."

            Sarah frowned. "Save me? From what? Endless nights of doing boring word searches?" she joked.

            He sighed, then softly said "dying."

            What? She'd been a very healthy woman when Jareth had plucked her from her bedroom. Old, but healthy. Why, with all the medical advances in her lifetime, it wasn't uncommon for people to live into their ninth and tenth decades. She told Jareth that. He listened, but shook his head when she finished.

            "Think of how much harder it has become for you to walk, even over the last five years…"

            Sarah realized it had, but that was just her joints acting up. It wasn't anything serious. Jareth continued.

            "And your arthritis… it has pained you, constantly, for the last three years. Even your drugs no longer help."

            It was true, they didn't…

            "But Jareth, that's no reason to think I'm…"

            "Sarah," he interrupted, "do not patronize me." His voice grew harder. "You've managed to keep your symptoms hidden from your daughter and granddaughter, but you've not fooled me."

            She stared blankly at him; she had no idea what he was talking about.

            "Six months ago you were at home, peacefully reading a book in your favorite chair, when you were struck with severe chest pains." He watched her face to see if this was coming back to her yet.

            "You saw a doctor about a week later and he dismissed it as a minor condition. It happened a few more times over the next months, but not enough to make you really worry." Jareth looked her square in the eyes. She remembered what he was talking about.

            "You have a condition known as Prinzmetal's angina. The heart arteries spasm, causing the pain in your chest, back, and arm." He paused until she looked up and met his eyes.

            "Sarah," he continued softly, "you would have died from a massive heart attack within a week if I had not brought you here."

            Sarah sat in shock for a moment, silent. She would have been dead in a week? What if it had happened while the girls were over? Dawn would be motherless, alone. And Heather, only eight years old, would have no gramma to read to on the weekends. Sarah had no other family members still living.

            A tear welled up in her eye and she wiped it away. She looked back up at Jareth.

            "Will it still happen? Why would bringing me here help matters any?"

            Jareth produced a small crystal in his hand.

            "Remember how I told you earlier that, as king, I can draw power from the Labyrinth and use it? One of the powers I can draw is a regenerative power- healing." She nodded. "If you were to stay here, the Labyrinth would accept you as one of its own and heal you permanently. However, one of the side effects of the magic on mortals is longevity." She looked up at him. "You would be nearly immortal."

            Sarah took a few deep breaths. This was a lot to think about. The immortal part sounded ok, as did the healing… but would she be immortal at the ripe old age of eighty-three? She asked Jareth.

            "No," he said, and shook his head. "Once the Labyrinth healed you, you would stay at one physical age. Much like how I tried to keep you thirty."

            Ok, she wouldn't be stuck an old granny for eternity… that was a start. She had one more question though.

            "Since you were able to bring Toby here, and myself twice…"

            Jareth knew what she was going to ask before she finished the question. Mentally cringing inside, he nodded for her to continue.

            "…that means you could bring Dawn and Heather here to visit me on weekends, if I stayed, right?"

            He reached for his glass of water, noticed that his hand were shaking, and put it back down. He had hoped she wouldn't have asked that particular question yet. He still had more explaining to do. He finally met her eyes.

            "No, Sarah…" he said softly. "If you stayed here, your life past the age of twenty-five would never have happened…" he paused. "There would be no Dawn or Heather to bring here…"

            *****

Ok, so did I answer one more question for everyone? Yes? Good. Now stop bugging me as to why he brought her to the castle. *Laughs*

One more note; I am pleased to say that the dinner conversation actually has a grain of truth behind it. Eggplants really are called aubergines, and avocados are called alligator fruits. Maybe not so much here in the States, but elsewhere they are.

One more last note: the blood oranges? I didn't make those up either! Check out your grocery stores for them, they're called Moro blood oranges. They usually have a nice red blush on the outside of the skin, and don't freak when you peel them- they will look almost black inside. (Hold one segment up to the light- they are a beautiful orange at one end, pink in the middle, and purple at the other end). They really are wonderful, so don't be afraid to give one a shot. You'll want a larger one that feels heavy, and doesn't feel mushy when you squeeze it. Also, they have a slight raspberry aftertaste.

Alright, there's my two cents on the oranges and whatnot, hope everyone liked the story. I'll be starting the next chapter now, and hopefully soon it will be posted! (Remember, I still love comments! hehe)