Hey guys, I'm sorry this took so long to put up. I've really slowed down with my writing, but I got such a positive response with this story, I knew you guys deserved a new chapter, so I wrote one. Enjoy. JuliaBlu

Chapter 3- Charming by Nature

Her heart was thudding so fast. She watched through the water as the figure stepped closer. She was a frozen, helpless statue. "Don't come nearer!" she said, tight-lipped.

The figure put its hand on her shoulder. She screamed and spun around at the leathery touch.

"Sarah!"

She blinked. "Hoggle?" There before her was the little man she hadn't seen in a decade. "It's really you?" His height was the same, maybe a bit shorter, and his bushy eyebrows, presently raised at her in question, had grayed, she noted.

"I can't believe this… Sarah? It's been years." He poked her leg. "It's great to see you! I still have your plastic bracelet!" He shook his wrist, and the jewels jangled jocundly as he began laughing and crying at once. "You really came back."

She smiled at him, feeling awkward. Hoggle's expression suddenly became grave. "Oh… but, Sarah, what are you doing in Jareth's garden?"

Sarah blushed. "I guess… it's obvious, isn't it Hoggle?"

Hoggle shook his head fervently and looked up to the window where Jareth had been minutes before. "No, Sarah, no, no, no. You can't…"

"Can't you just be happy that I've returned and not worry about the reason?" She reached forward and gave him a hug. He wasn't moved. She smiled weakly, trying to let him see that she was fine, when in fact her head was spinning with troubles.

Hoggle was not convinced. He pulled away and said, "Don't get yourself involved with Jareth! He may be enticing, lull you into his secure network, make false promises, but it's all for his own gain. He's just charming by nature, Sarah, but don't be fooled. Believe me. I should have never been his accomplice."

"Hoggle, we've been through this before. But… I'm older now. You can't understand what went on between Jareth and I before. The meaning of it."

"Are you an idiot, Sarah!" Hoggle screamed. "He kidnapped your brother, made you go through a perilous journey, a journey where you could have died! He didn't care. He just wanted your brother, and wanted to abandon you, leave you mindless, waltzing through a dream…"

"He did care! He loved me, Hoggle, and he still does. He wasn't going to let anything harm me. The fact is, I was too young then to understand. There were too many things in the way of our love, Toby for one, but now—"

"He was going to trap you inside a world where you would forget everything! You call that love?"

Sarah sat up from her seat by the pond. Her heart ached as she remembered the masquerade. "A world," she thought, "where it would be just us."

"Hoggle—that was the past, and there's where I have to leave it. We… we love each other."

Hoggle began to walk away. "You can't be with him. He's trying to enslave everyone and everything and conquer the Underground." He chuckled bitterly. "Why, with you by his side, he'll just be one step closer to utter domination of this world. You'll be his Goblin Queen and he'll procreate, carrying on the evil legacy that's ensnaring us all. That's what he really cares about, Sarah."

Sarah said nothing. Was Hoggle right? This was so confusing. She knew Jareth must be confused, too. Was love strong enough to keep them together? Or was she chasing a dream?

"Why are YOU here?" she asked suddenly in her fury.

Hoggle was quiet. "It's strange. Perhaps my feet stumbled this way because I was meant to run into you… to warn you," he said earnestly, his eyes shining, "to STAY AWAY from JARETH!"

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Toby made his way. He approached the towering, rustic orange gates just as his sister did long ago, except this time there was no one to guide him. He went in, wondering why the world was so silent, so nostalgic…

"I feel like I've been here," he said. "And… I wonder where Sarah's gone. I feel like she's here, too."

"Yes, Toby…" He jumped up at the willowy, echoing voice speaking to him from thin air. But then he looked at the crystal in his hand and realized.

"Holy cow!" he screeched. "You're talking?"

"Toby," said a voice from the clear crystal, "you must go to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth and save your sister. She is trapped by the Goblin King. You must go quickly, Toby! YOU MUST HURRY!"

He was so spooked already that he felt obliged to obey the ominous commands. He scrambled down the rigid, narrow path, wondering what would come next.

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As the silhouette of Hoggle disappeared into night, Jareth asked lazily, "Did you enjoy some relaxing, tantalizing fresh air?"

Startled, she turned her face up the window to find he was standing next to her. "I guess. Did you…"

"See Hoggle? Yes, unfortunately."

"He's my friend," she said defensively. "He was just trying to…"

"Ward you away from me? Yes. I think most people try to do that. They misunderstand me so."

She looked at him sadly. She wasn't sure how to feel, as she cared for the both of them very much. He opened his arms. "Come."

She returned his hug and then found they were going back to his room together in a sort of instant teleportation.

"Sarah, I'm sorry about… the past. I think we both agree that you were just too young. It was not the season for our love to blossom."

He spun her and then she let go of his hand and let her arm fall like a wilting flower at her side. Reservedly, she sat down on his bed, contemplating what Hoggle had said.

"Are you… trying to extend your reign beyond the Goblin City?" she asked timidly.

"Well, it'd be nice. I mean—"

"Because maybe you shouldn't. Unless, of course, you did it peacefully—"

"Sarah," he said, placing his hand over her lips. "My only priority right now is you."

"Convince me that you're telling the truth."

Jareth was beginning to feel glum. In truth, he had been meditating on plans of conquest. But he didn't want her to worry about that right now.

"Convince me," she added, "that you're not hurting people… or enslaving them."

"Of course not!" he said angrily. "Sarah, ever since you left, I've done… nothing." He choked off the last word despairingly. "Nothing! My whole world was shattered at your rejection. I've tried making something of my life, but I couldn't start over." Sarah felt so sorry for him. He was almost going to cry. "I've only hoped you would come back to me, and now that you're here, I can't lose you again."

Sarah came forward and embraced him. Yes, they were both confused about what was right and wrong. Sarah had gone through the perils of heartbreak in the mortal world, and was opening her arms to its possibilities again, and to a past that could become a permanent part of her future. Meanwhile, Jareth was struggling with his morality and condition against Sarah's opinions. While he wanted to please her and love her, he didn't know how to resolve his inner goals of being a King without upsetting her. But now, he seemed to have made his mind up about one thing…

"Sarah, I'm willing to be a better person for your sake. As long as we can live peacefully, that's all that really matters." He smiled at her devilishly. Why had she fallen for him? Such a sensual creature, with unique, vortex eyes. She laid on her back on the comforting white bed. He leaned forward, caressing her face with his hand.

"How I've wanted you… for so long." He smiled sweetly.

A tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm just happy to be here with you."

Instead of worrying, they reached for each other.

As he leaned forward, and they kissed a long, sweet, exciting kiss, Sarah thought, "Hoggle's right. He is charming by nature."

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Toby stopped in his tracks and stared into the crystal. He saw the Goblin King with his sister. "That weirdo's trying to rape Sarah!" he said incredulously. "I've got to save her!" The image blurred as he put it in his pocket as he ran farther down the path, his heart swelling with anger.