Title:  Red Diamonds
 
Author: Palla
 
Rating: PG-13
 
Summary: Jareth unwittingly messes with a pair of Aboveground residents when he kidnaps the female and her male companion goes on a journey to rescue her.
 
Keywords:  Jareth, romance, friendship
 
Disclaimers: I do not own the Labyrinth or Jareth.  Heather obviously belongs to me, while Will and Dannos/Dan belong to their real life counterparts.
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Part Three
 
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The hallways were bright with the sunlight that filtered in through the long windows in the walls.  Jareth was both impressed and disgusted by the scene he saw.  It was all too filthy for his tastes, dust and waste all over.  The floors were dirtier here than at his own home where goblins were the housekeepers!  He had not thought it possible that there were worse keepers than goblins, but he had been wrong.  
 
However, other than the poor upkeep, he had to admit that it was a relatively nice place.  The windows let in a wonderful light.  Courtyards were sporadically placed throughout the building; those he found the most pleasing.  Flowers were planted and trees grew high in these places.  Hard to believe that there were any spots of beauty in such an otherwise horrible place.  
 
Jareth was once again proven wrong when he saw what Danny was leading him to.  They had entered one of the courtyards and, sitting at one of the tables, he saw the most beautiful creature he had ever had the good fortune to look upon.  He took no notice of the boy that sat beside her as he took in the finer points of her beauty.
 
She had short blonde hair that shone more brightly than his.  Though she did not look directly at him, he saw that her eyes shifted from sapphire blue to emerald grin.  Shock and something else that was nameless ran through his body, through its entirety.  Never had he seen someone that could equal any of the Fae and Sidhe lovers he'd taken to bed over the centuries.  
 
Jareth hoped largely that, when Danny spoke of bringing someone to the Underground, he had been speaking of this angel.
 
"Jonathan?"  He shook his head when he realized Danny had been calling his alias for a full minute.  "Jonathan, that is Heather."  Danny smirked.  "Like what you see?  Ah, but be careful.  That boy beside her is her boyfriend, what you'd call lover though they have not shared a bed yet."
 
"And to a king this makes what difference?" Jonathan said with much arrogance.  He turned his gaze upon the girl again.  "She is beautiful.  Is this the surprise you intended for me?  If so, I must agree that she is quite a surprise.  I had not thought it possible."
 
".Possible for any woman but Sarah to fill your mind?"
 
The smile dropped from Jonathan's lips.  It was all too true what Danny was saying, but he didn't have to admit it.  Did he?
 
~@~
 
Heather laughed as her boyfriend, Will, recounted to her something that had happened in class.  As she did so, she knew her eyes sparkled with that happiness that had not been visited upon her in such a long time.  With the coming of spring, she had changed and so had everything with her, all of it for the better.  
 
"Will," she whispered, leaning in against his body, breathing in his smell.  She sighed, completely content in that moment just to be near him.
 
He smiled down at her.  "You're beautiful, do you know that?" he whispered against her hair, kissing the top of her head.  She would have replied had she not seen Danny approaching over Will's shoulder.  Smiling, she kissed Will's cheek and sat up.  
 
"Hello, Danny," she greeted, stroking Will's hand with her thumb as she conversed.  Heather had not known Danny for very long, two to three years at most, but he was one of her best friends.  Will had known him since childhood and they were absolute best friends.  
 
She looked to the man standing beside Danny and was hit by a wave of familiarity.  He was.he was unbelievable.  He was too handsome to be so young.  It seemed to her that his handsome appearance was ageless and perhaps it was, for her reminded her of an ageless king from a child's fairy tale.  
 
"This is Jonathan, an old friend of mine," Danny said as he introduced the boy who was more man.  
 
Heather peered up at the man curiously, examining the fine features of his face.  His jaw angular, eyes bright as jewels, he was all too beautiful.  He couldn't be human; it just wasn't possible.  He, he looked like a king.  
 
King of the Goblins to be exact.
 
Her eyes widened as the voice spoke in her head.  No, what is this? She thought to herself.  Am I going crazy?  Just because this man is physically the same as the King of Goblins, does this mean he is?  Am I insane?
 
No, you are not insane, the voice said again.  I am whom you think, but just how much proof do you need to believe that?
 
You, the king, can I see your kingdom?
 
Only if you leave this life and this man and stay with me forever.
 
Heather could not believe what was going on inside her head.  This conversation, there was almost no way it could be happening.  But, if it were.
 
No.
 
~@~
 
That word rang through Jareth's head like an echo in a cavern.  He took a step back, not understanding.  No woman had ever refused him when he had invited her to his castle.  Of course, none of them had been humans from the Aboveground, but that should have made no difference.  Anger began pulsing through his veins, so powerful that his hands started to tremor.
 
No.
 
~@~
 
Danny had chatted amiably with Will for the past few minutes, but halted when he saw how Jareth was acting.  The fine tremor started in his hands and traveled up his body.  Danny knew not the cause of the anger, but he guessed, no, he knew that something had happened between the minds of a king and the girl.
 
And he knew; this was his doing.
 
~@~
 
All time seemed to halt in that moment.  Will was confused.  What was happening?  The boy he knew as Jonathan stepped forward waved his hand around, and that it when the world collapsed.
 
~@~
 
A crystal appeared in Jareth's hand.  So angry, he threw it to the ground in front of Heather.  The orb exploded, covering the girl in a shower of silver glitter.  She screeched as it burned her skin and as it made her vanish, whisking her away to a world she had once admired and now feared.
 
Will! She cried.
 
Jareth turned.
 
"Your woman is now mine," he snarled.  "Save her if you can."  With those words, he returned to the home where he knew he would never venture from again.  The Aboveground was too poisonous and hateful a place where a Fae could lose his temper too quickly.  He conjured another crystal and was gone.
 
Save her, if you can.