Disclaimer: Once again, Jareth and Sarah, and all that are in the Labyrinth are not mine. Balfour is, so back off! LOL Just kidding there. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my fanfic. Please continue to do so. I would once again like to thank my beta, Eruesse. You have helped me out a great deal. Enjoy everyone! Caution: this chapter holds mild violence, not as bad as the second and fourth chapter though. *evil grin* have fun reading! And don't forget to review! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 8 Not Again

Sarah looked up at Jareth as she watched him try to keep a neutral face. "Please, Jareth, I no longer have a life here: My family is gone; I quit my job; I have not a single reason to go on living in this world. And if you won't take me there freely," she poked him in the chest, "then I'll wish myself away and then you will have no choice but to take me to the Underground." She paused and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, Goblin King? What will it be?" She tapped her foot impatiently.

Jareth stood up and pulled her to her feet and looked her in the eyes. "You are certain that you want this?" She nodded. "You know you may probably never return here?" At her second nod he smiled: "Then I will happily accept. Close your eyes, my dear."

She closed her eyes and mumbled, "I'm not your dear."

Jareth laughed and spoke her unspoken words: "Not yet."

Sarah felt a slight dizziness and when she opened her eyes she saw she was in the throne room, which was surprisingly devoid of goblins. There was a man leaning against the throne tapping his foot angrily as if he had been waiting a long time.

"By the Underground, Jareth! It is about time you showed back up," He looked at Sarah. "Ah, but this must be the beautiful Sarah." He bowed.

Sarah blushed as she studied him. He was tall, not nearly as tall as Jareth, but tall none-the-less. He had long brown hair tied back and was dressed in a similar, archaic style of dress as Jareth. He wore tight black breeches and a black poet's shirt. He tugged on his sleeves as if to straighten them but the ministrations had little effect.

Jareth smiled, "Ah Balfour. It is good to see you too." He laughed, and then turned serious as he realized Balfour was not laughing or smiling. "My friend, what has you in such a foul mood?"

Balfour looked at Sarah and hesitated. "There . . . there has been a murder."

Sarah gripped Jareth's hand harder. *I thought I got away from all this shit!*

Jareth looked down at her. He knew that she was trying to distance herself from this kind of thing. He quickly called out for a servant then said to Sarah. "You have nothing to be concerned about, Sarah. I will and must handle this; you do not need to." He paused as a woman dressed in a simple dress came through the door. "This is Meru, she will show you to your room and get you anything you need. She will be your personal maid. Now I must go, but I will be back in time for dinner. Will you join me Lady Sarah?"

Sarah flushed a bit from being called a lady. It sounded so formal, but she nodded. "I would love to. Thank you."

"Very well. I will see you then, Sarah." With that he vanished, along with Balfour. She turned to Meru, who curtsied.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Sarah." She smiled, her hazel eyes shining with intelligence. She began to walk with Sarah to show her where her room was.

"Finally? What's that supposed to mean? How do you know about me?" Sarah asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

Meru chuckled slightly. "Oh, my dear, everyone knows of you. You were the only one to ever beat the Labyrinth. And not to mention, his Majesty has been wearing the floor of the throne room from all his pacing and . . . Oh, I've said too much, please do not mind the ramblings of this old woman."

Sarah looked at her as they continued to walk. "No, please...Do tell me. Why was he pacing?" She was digging to see if she could get more information out of the woman; it was the instinct of the cop and Medical Examiner within her.

"Oh! Here we are! This is your room, my dear. I will come get you when it is time for dinner." With that, the older woman hurried back down the hall.

"Okay . . ." Sarah shrugged and went into the room which was pronounced hers. She stopped in the doorway. She has never seen anything so beautiful! The, she assumed, king sized bed was covered in . . . *Is that silk?* She crossed the room and ran her hand over the dark blue sheets. It was silk! There was a huge armoire which she opened to see several dresses. She pulled out a garnet one and went to the full-length mirror. She held it up to her and looked in the mirror and the dress looked to be her size! She smiled and pictured herself wearing the low cut dress. *Jareth will fall over himself if he sees this on me.* She put the dress back and went to the window doors. She opened the doors that lead to the small balcony and her breath caught. There, in the light of the moon, was the most exquisite garden. She breathed in the night air with a smile. She closed her eyes and let the night breeze flow around her. After about forty minutes standing out on the balcony, she went to find the bathroom and found a large tub with steaming water waiting for her. She smiled to herself and undressed. She let out a soft sigh as she sunk into the tub.

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(Meanwhile)

Jareth and Balfour appeared at the crime scene. They were in the woods just outside and west of the labyrinth. Chunks of body, arms, legs, heads, and so on, were strewn all over the trees and ground. Only one was alive. Barely. Jareth took the sight in and went to kneel by the survivor.

One of the goblin's arms was torn off. He held it clutched to him as if it were something precious. And indeed it was! His eyes were unfocused until he heard Jareth's voice.

"What had happened?" Jareth demanded.

The little goblin's body trembled. "W . . . well, your Majesty," he stuttered, "Linko, he . . . he went crazy. Crazy." His eyes widened. "He go to and come back from up there," he pointed up, "and . . ."

"He what?!" Jareth interrupted and grabbed the front of the rag, or what passed for a shirt, of the goblin, heedless of his injuries. "Are you telling me he has been to the Aboveground?!" He yelled, and the goblin nodded his head vigorously. "How many times?" The goblin held up three fingers, too scared to talk. Jareth dropped him and spoke to himself. "If he has killed anyone up there . . ." he trailed off.

"Yo . . . your Ma . . . Majesty?" The goblin piped up.

"Yes?"

"He has." The goblin looked down, becoming completely afraid. But not of what just happened to him, oh no, but of the Goblin King who now radiated with anger.

"He bragged about it . . . before . . ." he looked around him as if to say, 'before this.' "He showed us . . . s . . .so much blood . . .everywhere . . .walls, bathing sink . . . everywhere . . . chewed some of them up, he did." He looked back down.

Jareth's brows furrowed. What the goblin described sounded familiar. His eyes widened when he realized . . . the scene when he first spied in on Sarah . . . that was not a human killer.

But a goblin gone rouge.