Disclaimer: All I own is my guitar, three chords, and the truth. Everything else belongs to Bill Gates.
Jareth glared at the crystal in frustration, finally flinging it against the side of a bookshelf. The crystal shattered into thousands of glittering shards and joined the pile of such debris already littering the library floor. "Would you mind not doing that?" Giles pleaded. "Someone has to clean that up you know."
Jareth glanced at Giles menacingly, and with an exasperated wave of his hand the glass shards were gone. "Hey, can you teach me that?" Xander asked. "Or at least come help me clean my room later?" Jareth growled and summoned yet another crystal.
He had been in this light forsaken world for over an hour now, and he was still no closer to finding Sarah. He had summoned crystal after crystal, but all remained dark, keeping their cursed secrets well hidden. It was obvious that this Bothis creature had somehow blocked Sarah from his sight, and yet he continued to summon crystals in the vain hope that one would give some glimmer of a hint as to where to begin looking for her.
This newest crystal was as useless as the last, and Jareth angrily threw it as well. To his chagrin the Slayer reached out and caught it in mid-flight. "Look, Mr. Goblin King, I know you're worried about Sarah..."
"I am not worried!" Jareth interrupted just a little too quickly. "I'm merely unaccustomed to waiting."
"Uh huh." Buffy said, "Whatever you call it, I understand how you feel. But destroying the library isn't going to help us find her any faster."
Jareth began pacing. "At least I'm trying to find her!" he snarled. "I don't see any of you doing anything."
Giles put a reassuring hand on the Goblin King's shoulder. "As we've already explained, Jenny is out searching for her as we speak. He needs a place that is sacred to the Gypsies, and Jenny knows where they are. It's only a matter of time before she finds which one he's taken her to."
Jareth's eyes narrowed. "Forgive me if I have less faith in your dead lover than you do." He sneered. He felt a stab of regret at his sharp words when he saw the pain that flashed in the other man's eyes. He made no apologies, however, but sulked into the nearest chair.
Willow sought frantically for a way to dispel some of the tension, and decided that asking questions was the best way to go about it. "So how did Sarah get all of this Magic? Did she just pick it up while she was in your world?"
Jareth hesitated. "Yes, I suppose that's what happened.
"You suppose?" Buffy said. "How can someone carry off so much of your magic and you don't even know how she got it?"
"I think I know how." Said Cordelia, who had been flipping through the red bound book. In an overly dramatic voice she began reading "For what no one knew was that the King of the Goblins was in love with the girl, and had given her certain powers." She looked up and smiled brightly. "She had your magic because you gave it to her!"
Buffy turned to the Goblin King, her eyes wide. "Oh my god, you're in love with her! You're old enough to be her…her…" she fumbled for a word that meant something older than ancient.
Jareth, knowing it was pointless to deny it any longer, decided his best bet was to go on the offensive. He stood quickly, towering over the Slayer, and sneered. "You of all people have no right to lecture me on the nature of May/December romances." Buffy glared at him, daring him to more.
"It's not the same." She argued. "Sarah was only fifteen when you met her!"
Jareth's eyes narrowed. Did she really want to provoke him this far? Very well then. "And if I'm not mistaken, you were merely sixteen when you let a vampire take the bloom from your tree." Buffy's eyes widened in horror. In a menacingly quiet voice he added, "At least I'm warm and old."
A feral growl escaped Buffy's lips and she lunged at the Goblin King. If she had had a stake, she would have plunged it into his heart. As it was she threw all of her strength against him, attempting to wrestle him to the ground. He made an elegant motion with his hand and she was peeled off of him, suspended in midair. His face was a study in fury, and Giles knew it was time to step in before things went too far.
He grabbed the Goblin King's arm and stepped in front of him. Their eyes met and Giles pleaded with him silently. When he finally spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. "I know what it is to worry about someone you love." He said, "I know what you're feeling right now."
Jareth searched Giles' eyes for signs of duplicity, but found only a kindred spirit. This man did know how he felt, perhaps all to well. There was a bond between the Watcher and his Slayer, as is always the case, but Jareth thought perhaps this bond went deeper. He saw in Giles' eyes that he had an inordinate fondness for his slayer that bordered on love. Letting her risk her life every night must be torture for him.
He nodded his silent understanding and slowly lowered Buffy to the ground. "My apologies, Miss Summers." He said. "I should not have spoken so…bluntly." His apology was addressed to Buffy, but his eyes never left Giles. Buffy looked from the Goblin King to her Watcher, and nodded.
"It's okay." She said, "Maybe I was a little rude too. Friends?" She smiled brightly and stuck out a hand. Jareth looked at it curiously, and to her surprise he drew it to his lips and kissed it gently.
"I sincerely hope so." He said, and flashed a brilliant smile in return.
Suddenly the library doors burst open and the closest thing to a goblin Jareth had ever seen in the Aboveground bounded through. He was a stumpy little bald man with big ears and an unpleasant face, with a voice to match. "Mr. Giles!" Principle Schneider bellowed. "I hope you have a good excuse for having all these children here after hours."
Before anyone could answer he discovered Jareth, and his mouth opened wide in indignation. "What in God's name are you supposed to be?" he demanded. He turned once again to Giles, but pointed to Jareth wildly as he spoke. "What kind of a freak show do you think I'm running here, Mr. Giles? How dare you bring some leotard wearing gender bender into my school!"
"I suggest you watch your tone, sir." Jareth growled. "And curb your tongue before you find yourself somewhere distinctly unpleasant."
Schneider spun around to face Jareth. "Is that a threat?" he screamed. "Are you threatening me in my own school? Because I know the mayor! I can have you deported. I can have both of you deported!" he said, his finger wagging back and forth between Giles and Jareth.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Jareth said, and threw a crystal at the ugly little man. Without thinking Schneider caught the crystal and immediately disappeared.
"Oh my god!" Willow said, "What did you do to him?"
"Exactly what I said I would do. I sent him someplace unpleasant." Jareth turned and sat back down in his chair, muttering to himself, "Leotards indeed. Call them breeches or pants or leggings or anything but leotards! And I should think they make it perfectly clear what my gender is!"
Willow and Xander and even Oz giggled at the sulking Goblin King and Giles shot them a disapproving glare. Jareth didn't notice. He summoned another crystal and was trying once again to find Sarah. "Come on, love, where are you?" he said under his breath.
"She's in a clearing in the woods behind the cemetery." An unfamiliar female voice said, and Jareth looked up to find himself face to face with a ghost. "Come on!" she said, "We have to hurry. It will be dark soon."
A/N: I may not be able to update for a few days, my work schedule is gonna be screwy for a while. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I always wanted to do something nasty to Principle Schneider, and this was my chance. I hope you Buffy fans found it as satisfying as I did.
I got a lot of reviews, and I appreciate them all!
Midnight Lady, I'm very sorry that my use of the word 'tights' in chapter five detracted from your enjoyment of the story. Please provide me with a list of words you find offensive and I will attempt to avoid them in future stories.
Solea, Yes I know the naked ritual is trite and cliché, but it wouldn't be a Buffy fic without a little cliché. I hope the other elements make up for this shortcoming in your eyes.
AngelWing, I would consider it a great honor if my little fic were to cause you to become addicted to Buffy.
Everyone else, Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart I thank you. Please continue to review, and know that your kind words are the inspiration I need to sit down and write.
