Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, the Fireys, or any other creature and being from the movie Labyrinth. "sobs"

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews and suggestions. The story is kind of stalling on me but I am trying to kick-start my brain again. Happy reading and please review. "Hands out peach cobbler to my reviewers"

Chapter 6 The Surprise

Kara had just finished brushing Sarah's hair when a knock came on the door. She opened it and curtsied, "Good morning my Lord."

"Good morning Kara. Is Lady Sarah ready to go?" he asked looking in the room for her.

"Yes I'm ready to go," Sarah responded, walking slowly to him. "So where are you taking me?" she asked.

Jareth stared at Sarah, taking in her figure. She had on a simple cotton dress the color of soft sunlight. He exhaled as she looked at him expectantly.

Jareth arched an eyebrow at her, "It is a surprise," he replied, holding his arm out for her to take. "But first let's have breakfast. You need your strength."

She pouted for a second before taking his arm. He laughed at the look on her face, "Now now, no pouting. You will like this, I promise."

They walked down to the dining hall and sat for breakfast. Sarah looked around the huge room taking in her surroundings. A smile lit her face as she looked out the gigantic windows giving her a view of the Labyrinth. Before she could continue her inspection a handsome dark-haired Fae came strolling in. He was wearing the same types of garments that Jareth wore except he had on a leather breast plate, a flowing crimson cape, and a sword clipped to his side.

"Sarah I would like you to meet Jacen. He is the captain of my guards here at the castle."

Jacen bowed to her and grasped her hand, placing a gentle kiss on it. "It is my pleasure to finally meet you Lady Sarah. If you shall ever need anything," he leaned toward her to whisper, "like kicking a certain Goblin King's butt, call me and I will do what I can," he said, winking at her.

Sarah laughed at the young man standing before her. He was very charming but funny. Jareth glared at them, making Sarah laugh even harder.

"Jacen why don't you go and see if the bog is overflowing?" Jareth remarked, scowling.

Jacen laughed as he took a seat. "I doubt that or Sir Didymus would be rushing in here smelling like the bog after he had attempted to attack it for trespassing on his home."

That broke Jareth's mood as he started to laugh, causing Sarah to look at him. She thought he looked even more handsome when he laughed. She joined in and soon they all were having images of a disgruntled Sir Didymus covered in bog muck swimming in their minds. They were interrupted when a goblin came out carrying a tray laden with food.

Breakfast went quickly as Jareth and Jacen bantered back and forth while Sarah watched them. She liked this side of Jareth that she was seeing. He was still as arrogant as can be but there was a lighter side to him. Finally finishing their meal Jareth stood up and approached her. He held out his hand and helped her to stand.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" he asked, smiling mischievously at her.

Sarah arched an eyebrow at him. "You're having too much fun keeping me in suspense," her eyes narrowed at him. "Of course I'm ready!" she bit out impatiently.

Jareth smirked at her. "Close your eyes," he whispered.

Sarah looked up at him for a brief moment and then complied. She felt a dizziness sweep through her but was over after she registered the feeling.

"You can open your eyes now," he whispered in her ear.

Sarah shuddered at the tingling sensation that traveled down her neck from his breath. She opened her eyes and gasped at what was surrounding her. They were at the edge of a forest that surrounded a large crystal blue lake. There were flowers growing along the borders of the lake that filled the air with a bouquet of scents.

Before Sarah could say anything Jareth whispered again in her ear, "Look over there," he waved to their right. "Be very quiet, they frighten very easily."

Sarah looked over to where he pointed. At first she didn't see anything then a flash of white caught her eye. To her astonishment two adult unicorns and a baby came prancing out of the trees. The male turned and stared at them for a moment, sniffing the air while the others went to the lake to drink. Finally after a moment he snorted and trotted over to quench his thirst.

"They are so beautiful! I didn't know they even existed!" Sarah exclaimed breathlessly, placing her hand on his arm.

Jareth was mildly surprised when Sarah had reached out and touched his arm when the unicorns came out of the woods. He watched her as she gazed at the creatures. His heart swelled at the effect his surprise had on her.

"Will they let me approach them?" she asked, looking up at him with child-like excitement.

"It is almost impossible to approach a unicorn. They are a very nervous creature Sarah. But you can try if you want, they will not hurt you," he replied, smiling at her.

Sarah looked back at the unicorns. The little one was dancing around chasing colorful butterflies. She laughed as she slowly made her way to them. The male unicorn watched as she approached and gave a snort of warning.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sarah whispered, holding her hands out.

To Sarah's and Jareth's surprise the unicorn approached her and sniffed her hand. It snorted briefly and nudged her, giving Sarah a chance to rub it's nose. Sarah let out a peal of laughter as the little one started dancing around them. She reached out and stroked the mane of the male, marveling at the silkiness of his hair.

Jareth stood back and watched in amazement as the unicorns let Sarah touch them. In all of his life he has never heard of anyone being able to do such a thing. He gazed at Sarah and saw that she had a power that enabled her to make friends easily. Suddenly the frolicking baby unicorn bumped into Sarah causing her to fall.

Sarah felt her legs give out when the little one bumped her. Landing on her rear she looked up in surprise then started laughing. Jareth came running up and looked down at her. "Are you alright Sarah?" he asked, concern in his eyes.

"Yes I'm fine," she said, waving her hand. The baby came up to her and nudged her chin, seeing if she was alright. Sarah laughed, "Yes little one, I am fine thank you."

Jareth looked at her quizically. Sarah saw his expression, "I just answered her question. I can hear their thoughts," she replied, puzzlement filling her face. "How is that possible Jareth?"

Jareth was looking in amazement as the female unicorn came up and nudged him. He reached out and gently patted the creature on the nose. Sarah giggled at the look on Jareth's face.

"I've never ever heard of this before!" he exclaimed. "I know unicorns have a powerful magic of their own. Many beings had tried to harness this magic by capturing and killing them, that is why unicorns would never let anyone approach them. I don't know how you're able to communicate with them or how we are able to touch them."

He sat down next to Sarah and gazed at her. "What are they saying about me?" he asked, curious.

Sarah looked up at the male unicorn, a look of concentration on her face. "He is not fearful of you anymore," she looked at him, "but they are fearful of your goblins," she said, chuckling. "I don't blame him at all on that one. The goblins are kind of scary."

Jareth laughed, looking up at the creature. "Yes they can be frightening," his face suddenly going cold, "but so can I when the need arises," he said, his voice turning a little menacing.

Sarah glared at him, "Stop trying to scare them! That's mean!" she exclaimed, swatting his arm.

Jareth smirked at her, "I wasn't trying to scare them, I was just meerly stating a fact," he replied. "What are their names?"

Sarah focused back on the unicorn. "He is called Grazer," she pointed at the female unicorn,"that is Starlight, and this rambunctious little one is called Dancer," she smiled, "a fitting name if you ask me," she said, laughing as the little one jumped around them in excitement.

Sarah's face fell when Grazer nodded his head at her. "It was nice meeting you too Grazer," she replied to his silent statement. Jareth stood and helped Sarah to her feet. They waved their goodbyes to the unicorns and watched as they entered the woods and disappeared.

Sarah sighed, leaning into Jareth's side. She suddenly felt very tired but was still excited by the events. Jareth wrapped his arm around her waist and held her to him. He could feel her exhaustion so he waved his hand and conjured a blanket, some food, and drink. "Would you like to have lunch here?" he asked.

She looked up at him and nodded, "Yes I can use something to eat. I'm suddenly famished," she replied as her stomach gave a low grumble.

Jareth smiled at her stomach's protests and helped her sit on the blanket. They ate quietly letting the events of the day sink in. Jareth watched Sarah with hooded eyes, seeing the melancholy expression on her face. Finally curiousity got the best of him.

"What is the matter Sarah?"

Sarah came out of her thoughts with a jolt. "Huh? Oh! Nothing..." she said, waving her hand.

Jareth arched an eyebrow, "Nothing?"

Sarah sighed knowing he wasn't going to let it go. "I was just thinking about home and Toby," she smiled, "he would've loved to have seen the unicorns," she said, sadness lacing her voice.

Jareth scooted over to sit next to her. Reaching out he took her hand, "I can call him tonight to let him know you're doing alright and to see about having him visit," he soothed.

Sarah nodded, "I would like to talk to him, but I don't know about bringing him here..." she hesitated.

A pained expression flitted across Jareth's face before his cold mask replaced it. Sarah noticed this and cringed at her stupidity. "I'm sorry Jareth. We did agree to start over and I'm letting the old feelings take over again," she sighed.

"I understand that it is not easy," he replied cooly, still feeling the hurt her words had caused. He reprimanded himself for letting his feelings get away from him. Standing up he started walking towards the lake. He needed to get his emotions under control. He didn't like anyone to see him weak.

Sarah wanted to kick herself for hurting him. She was grateful to him for saving her life, but those old feelings just kept getting in the way. She sighed, watching him stare out over the crystal lake. Her eyes snapped to the woods to her left as she sensed something not right. A feeling of pain burst through her mind as she tried to concentrate on what it could be. Standing on wobbly legs she slowly made her way towards the source.

Peering in the woods the feeling became stronger, making her hesitate for a brief moment. Looking back at Jareth she noticed he was still staring out at the lake. She turned back to the woods and started to slowly approach the area where the feeling came from. Suddenly something pounced on her back making her scream as she fell to the ground.

*******

Jareth let his eyes wander over the serene landscape before him. His anger started to flare up as her words played over in his head. He still had to gain her complete trust. He thought he had already made it clear to her that he meant no harm to her. He rubbed his temple trying to reel in his anger. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a scream.

Turning abruptly around he noticed that Sarah was not on the blanket. His eyes roamed the area looking for any sign of where she could have gone. He ran into the woods searching. Hearing voices nearby he spotted her and stood in the shadows watching the scene unfold before him.

*******

Sarah landed on her stomach with a grunt. A red shaggy arm was wrapped around her throat as she tried to get up.

"Her head won't come off!" she heard the creature say. Sarah felt a sudden pooling of pressure in the pit of her stomach as anger welled up inside of her. Pushing up with her arms she bellowed: "Get off of me!"

To her surprise the creature flew through the air, losing it's head on impact with a tree. She stood up and glared at the Fireys coming into view. Sarah saw that one of the Fireys had a fairy in it's hands.

"What were you doing to that fairy?" she asked, standing up straight and raising her chin.

"We were just seeing if her head comes off like ours," one creature replied, suddenly quaking under Sarah's stare. They saw the power coming from her and to Sarah's surprise they fell to their knees, releasing the fairy who darted towards her. Sarah saw the fairy coming at her and tried to duck but the little creature was quicker and flew right into a pocket in her dress, seeking shelter from the Fireys. She stared back at the still- kneeling Fireys.

Deciding to take advantage of the situation she spoke to them, "I do not want to see you trying to take other creatures heads off anymore. It's not nice and guess what? Heads just don't come off of others like they do for you!" she said with annoyance.

"Yes my Lady, anything you ask of us we will do," one Firey replied, bowing low to her.

"What is your name and why are you bowing to me?" Sarah asked, confused at the Fireys' actions.

"My name is Spatch and we're showing respect to you, my Lady," he said as he stayed in a low bow.

"Well you can stop it now. Get up and go about your ways. Just be nice to the other creatures about you," she said, not sure of what to make of this.

They scrambled to their feet and waved to her as they made their way through the woods. Sarah sighed in relief and looked down at the fairy who peeked out from her pocket. Feeling suddenly weak and exhausted she started to sway.

Jareth was at her side in a second after the Fireys had vanished. He was angry with her for wandering off but pushed it aside when he saw the condition Sarah was in. She collapsed into his arms when she saw him. Teleporting them back to her room he gently laid her on the bed.

Alenda appeared and examined her quickly. "She's just exhausted. Let her sleep now, she will be fine tomorrow," she said, looking curiously up at Jareth. "She used magic didn't she?"

Jareth nodded his head as he gazed down at Sarah. "Yes, she used it to stop some Fireys from torturing that little fairy," he said, pointing at Sarah's pocket.

Alenda looked over Jareth's shoulder and laughed when she saw a little head peeking out from the pocket.

"Well, it looks like you are going to have some explaining to do when she awakens. You do need to tell her Jareth."

"Yes I know!" he sighed irritably. "Her magic is giving her the ability to talk to the creatures," he glanced up at Alenda. "You would have been amazed to see the unicorns, Alenda. They came right up to her and let her touch them," he said, awe covering his face.

Alenda smiled, "Her magic is going to be strong," she paused, looking up at Jareth, "very strong."

Jareth stared down at Sarah and thought about that. He had to teach her soon how to control it so that it doesn't get away from her. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "Rest well my Love," he whispered.

*******

A/N: ARGH! I am sitting here trying to get the next chapter going but I am really stumped. I tried to get an outline typed up but it is not an easy task for me. Let's just say this: I know how the story is going to end but here's the magic question: How the heck am I going to get there? LOL I will figure it out.....Please be patient with me. Thank you.

Cherokeelady