AN: Sorry for the delay…. I had a serious case of writer's block. But now I'm back in action!! Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for all of the support!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~When Down Looks Up~

Sarah trudged through the city, knowing exactly where she would be going and what will occur in the future. The question was did she want to end up in the same place again. The pressure of living was back and in full swing, creeping up on Sarah and slapping her in the face.

"I don't think I can take anymore of this," Sarah thought as she slowly walked towards the park. "Why can't I just find a nice, stable job where the coworkers don't bother me?" She asked herself.

"You're a failure and a pathetic excuse for a human being. You'll never get anywhere. Loser!" Her mind screamed as she can upon her destination.

"That's enough from you brain!" Sarah screamed out loud, shaking her fist at the sky. As if her brain was up there, hiding in the murky clouds, laughing at her. She sighed, letting her arm drop to her side and continued down the street. Looking at the ground, she traced the cracks with her eyes, memorizing them, feeling their same brokenness. Yes, she felt as though she were a part of the sidewalk. Being walked upon, dirtied and pounded to the point of breaking. Her life was as that pavement, solid from the outside but underneath was hollow, soft earth; sensitive and easily broken. She was slowing fading away.

*************************************************************

Sunlight bounced off the glass statue, bursting into hundreds of prismatic colors, brightening the room with its happy hues. The rainbows randomly chose items in which to endow with their vibrant glory. Highlighting texts, kissing the maroon-colored walls and the large, deep cherry desk that rested serenely in the corner of the room. Its owner sitting, hunched over it, quill waving meticulously across the papers that littered its top. The rainbows danced cheerfully, like little sprites, across his long hands and exquisite fae features. A sigh escaped Jareth as, again, while in the middle of his work, SHE had popped into his head. Angry at the twirling bits of color, he threw his writing utensil harshly onto the desk; they always reminded him of her bright eyes.

"What is wrong now, Jareth?" A pile of papers in the corner moaned.

Jareth traced the shards of color back to the window, where a crystalline sculpture of a water nymph stood, the light caressing its features. He stood in front of it, warmed by its colorful rays of light and stared into the face of this beauty. Slowly, he closed his eyes and imagined that is was Her face surrounded by light. She was moving closer to him, this beautiful goddess that tormented him so. He held his breath and waited for her sweet caress.

"Jareth. What's wrong?" The stack of papers spoke once more, laced with concern, breaking his sweet reverie. Jareth turned to the documents.

"Nothing is wrong," he stated, retuning his attention back towards the incredible view. The sunlight glazing his labyrinth with its happy rays. "It's a beautiful day. Let's take a walk in the gardens." He awaited an answer. Silence was all that greeted him. "Dalton?"

Jareth turned, walking towards the papers. As he closed in he heard a slight whisper of moving papers. Suddenly the stack burst into the air, papers flying everywhere, impairing Jareth's sight. A shadow flew to his left, dark laughter filling the room. Jareth felt a strong arm snaking around his neck, he produced a crystal and tossed it at the owner of the arm. Breaking the hold, he ran towards the door.

"Cheap shot, Jareth!" The deep voice bellowed from inside the study. Jareth walked back into the room, making his way to the window. Chuckling briefly, he sat on the window sill, raising his eyes towards a shelf top as the papers settled, scattered across the large room. A strong figure with short, dark hair stared down at Jareth with bright green eyes, filled with laughter.

"Nothing like a good romp around the study to brighten your day!" Dalton exclaimed.

Jareth nodded his response, returning his gaze to the window. "SHE would brighten my day," he thought, crossing his long arms across his chest. Dalton looked him over from his perch, blonde hair strewn around his face, his amulet glinting in the sun, the distant look in his eyes… like a statue. Yes, that look reminded him very much of a statue.

"Jareth, you have been like this for too long."

Jareth raised his eyebrows and glanced at Dalton, "Whatever are you on about?"

Dalton rolled his eyes, "You know what I am talking about. You've been like this for over eleven years! What happened? You used to tell me everything."

Jareth sighed. Standing up, he looked at Dalton. "Nothing is wrong with me. Just the pressures from the High Counsel and prospects of war have gotten to me."

Dalton knew this was false. "Jareth, you've dealt with that silly Counsel since you were first given the throne and don't tell me you don't know how to deal with war. How many have we been through? You cannot tell me that 472 years later you've finally realized the 'pressures' of ruling a kingdom. We all know that you could do all of this in your sleep!"

Jareth walked towards the door, pausing for a moment he looked up at his friend. "Dalton, king or not, there are just some things that one cannot handle." He produced a crystal and tossed it onto the floor. In a flash of glittering light, the papers that once decorated the floor were once again stacked neatly in a corner. "We'll talk later." Jareth said, turning on his heel and walking silently down the hall.

*************************************************************

Jareth sat silently on the veranda, overlooking the gardens. Roses weaved around the railing where he was situated. He twirled a blushing rose delicately in his fingers as he watched his goblins scurrying about, tending to his blooming, regal foliage.

"I haven't even looked upon her for two years, I wonder if she's fairing well," Jareth thought. He placed the rose gently on the chair next to him and produced a crystal .

"Hey Jareth! Is it later yet?" Dalton drawled, startling Jareth, who dissolved the crystal in seconds with a wave of his hand, never once being able to look at the subject within.

"How about a game of chess?" Dalton proposed, unceremoniously flopping onto the marble balustrade.

"Sure," Jareth replied, watching as Dalton produced a glass chess set with a wave of his hand.

"So tell me what is going on my friend," Dalton said as he moved his knight.

"What would you like to know?" Jareth asked as he moved his pawn from in front of his queen.

"Everything," Dalton replied, taking Jareth's pawn with his knight.

"Where to begin…" Jareth thought aloud, trying to think of how to tell Dalton that he had been trapped by the ardor of a beautiful temptress and explain why he never spoke of these events with him.

"I fell in love, Dalton…" He blurted out, "but she was too young then, she didn't know anything about the world. I was just being impractical and fastidious. I was blinded by her light, her enormous passion for the magical and mystical." He didn't give Dalton any time to respond, "I first spotted her on one of my visits to the Aboveground. I was like a moth to that bright flame, I was drawn to her mysterious beauty and audacious personality. I watched her for months after that. Then one day she called upon me, unfortunately it was for all of the wrong reasons. I granted all of her wishes. Her every wish. She ran my labyrinth, obtained her brother and rejected me in every way possible. I've tried to ignore my feelings but I cannot help it… I've never gotten over her."

Dalton was shocked into silence. He stared incredulously at his friend. Jareth… in love… impossible. The rarest emotion a fae has ever felt and here sat one of those few. How could this have happened? He blinked away his thoughts and shook his head at Jareth in disbelief.

"You, in love? Jareth you must be joking!" Dalton laughed tentatively. "You are joking right?"

Jareth stared at him, a solemn look upon his features. "This is a weakness, Dalton. Our foes could use this information against us! We could fall prey to those around us because of the foolishness of my, my… feelings for another! If only it were a joke, but I cannot deny that I have loved this woman ever since I laid eyes on her."

Jareth put his head in his hands, " I apologize Dalton. I have mislead you and have kept things form you that I should not have. I am sorry."

Dalton shook his head and placed a reassuring hand on Jareth's shoulder. "You are right, this could be a dangerous situation indeed. But Jareth, if you love this woman, then why have you not told her? Why have you just sat around for years, mourning the loss of a one-sided feeling? If you cannot get over this, then you must face it. Jareth, this kingdom needs a powerful leader, you should be able to take care of this situation on your own. You do what is best for you and this kingdom." Dalton stood up, "I'll go and take care of the rest of the daily paperwork. You know where to find me." With a flick of his wrist, Dalton disappeared, leaving Jareth to contemplate the future.

"Chess is as unpredictable as our future…" He knew he had to make a move, and soon.

*************************************************************

The sky rumbled. Sarah looked up at the dark, night sky. "Everything's a mess," she thought as she leaned against the railing of an overpass in Central Park. "What am I going to do with my life? How long will it take to find where I belong?" Her mind was jumbled with thoughts of the past and future. She was caught up in the whirlwind of her rebelling mind. The wind brought her out of her mind's war as it blew, cold and hard, stinging her face in its fury. Again the sky thundered, Sarah shivered, helpless to the onslaught of wind that hammered her. "I should have brought my coat," she mumbled to herself. As if the sky had heard her and thought it fun to contravene, it spilled its icy contents, drenching her within seconds.

" I just wish some one could take me away from this life. I wish I was anywhere but here." She sighed as she let the rain run over her shivering form.

Moments went by as Sarah listened to the whispers of the rain, unfolding the past events in her head, suddenly a rough hand grasped her shoulder. Sarah screamed. Her mind was in utter shock. "Fight or flight, fight or flight…" She had no time to argue over this. She turned to see her assailant. He was a large burly type of man, probably wanting to take everything she had, which wasn't much, and rape her. It didn't matter in her mind's eye, her body took over where her mind could not. She leapt off the small bridge, it wasn't very high so she knew she could get away with a twisted ankle or broken wrist, depending on how she landed of course. Unfortunate for her, the man had a strong hold of her t-shirt, her head hit the side of the bridge, causing pain to sear through her head and down her body. She struggled out of the shirt with her last ounce of energy. She heard her own screams as if she were some where else.

She expected to hit the pavement below her, bracing herself for a pain that never came. Strong arms caught her easily. Sarah was in a whirlwind of panic, she struggled blindly to break the vice-like grip of her new captor. Sarah slowed, unconsciousness taking hold of her, she opened her eyes to see a piercing pair of kind, mismatched eyes gazing back at her, soothing her with its gaze. Blackness fell.