Author's Note: Thank you, faithful reviewrs! Ok, so this time, there will actually be an entirely new character. In all honesty, he was inspired by Nugrey's Pivot story. Hope you don't mind if I take a spin on your idea, Nugrey, but they say that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Dreamcatcher

A beautiful white body moved beneath me, sleek and warm. Vibrant green countryside passed in a blur, and I felt the smooth rhythm of hooves gather in speed. I had no saddle and no fear as the creature ran and ran, silky white mane slipping through my fingers. With a whinny, my partner tossed his head and I caught the flash of a pearly white horn as he turned to cast a questioning look at me. With a laugh, I leaned forward, encouraging him to continue. The muscles in the unicorn's back tensed as he prepared to leap across a small stream. We left the ground for a breathless moment before I slipped and landed in a pile of freshly cut grass. The unicorn bent his head to push my shoulder with his nose. Lying on my back, I gently stroked his thick pink lips and brushed at the loose white hairs that caught on his whiskers. A glassy blue eye fixed on me.

You are amazing, Mia.

The voice came from everywhere, but for some reason didn't startle me. "Hmm?" I questioned.

The unicorn folded his legs to bed down next to me.

You continued, even without dreams, to make a fairly decent life for yourself. Many simply give up and waste away.

I smiled up at the cloudless sky. "I had friends and family that kept me going."

And you are fortunate for such. But do not think only with your head.

"What do you mean?"

My unworldly friend stretched his nose out to touch my face.

You converted to logic. But passion cannot be ruled by reason. Remember that.

My heart began to pound. Sitting up in the grass, I looked at what I thought had been part of my new-found imagination. The creature calmly looked back, eyes keenly intelligent.

"Who are you?"

The dream faded away. I became aware of a fierce pain in my neck, and gingerly rolled from my side onto my back, and remembered that I had fallen asleep on Sarah William's couch. My eyes popped open and sought out the two figures on the nearby sofa-chair and floor, wrapped in blankets. We had been up till the early hours of the morning talking about what had possibly been going on. Sarah had been reasonably distressed that her suitor had gone and dragged two childhood acquaintances into her situation. As she had put it,

"We weren't even really friends. I knew Jess better than either of you, so why isn't she here?"

Wincing, I sat up on the couch and rubbed the soreness from my neck. Tip-toeing out of the living room, I sought out the bathroom. When I emerged, Kay was just waking.

"Hey." I greeted softly. "You sleep okay?"

She nodded, but didn't say anything in return. I pointed over my shoulder. "Bathroom's back there."

She yawned and rubbed her eyes while passing me. Sarah was still asleep, a slight frown between her brows. It hadn't been the best of evenings for any of us, all the explanations, the story checks, and trading experiences. Jareth had been coming back off and on again over the last two years. The last one, under my advice of being honest, he had been a bit of a juvenile, showing up in her mirror, stating, "I love you" and expecting it all to be perfect.

How very like him. I mused.

Sarah, needless to say, had been rather insulted, and told him off. I couldn't help smiling at the thought. No wonder he was so mad when he came to see me. And then I turned around and told him off too.

We also figured out that Sarah lived a whole state away. It was good that I had the next two days off. Perhaps I could stretch my leave for another two… just in case. With a small groan, I stretched, rising up onto the balls of my feet, raising my arms up, and listening to my shoulders pop. The sound woke my new/old friend.

"Morning! Are you hungry?"

I smiled and looked at my watch. "Well, more like, afternoon, but sure, I'm starved!"

She blinked. "What time is it?"

"Twelve-thirty, and we must have been up till three."

With a shadow of a frown, Sarah gathered the blankets and dumped them on the couch. "I'll fix something to eat. If you want, I have extra towels and stuff in the closet upstairs. Feel free to take a shower and clean up."

"Are you okay with sharing deodorant and such?"

Kay spoke up behind me. "Well we're all girls here, so I'm fine with it."

Sarah smiled. "We'll go shopping after we eat."

There was a period of domestic chaos as the three of us tried to put together a meal. Sarah's parents were on vacation, taking Toby with them. Over sandwiches and cans of soda, we silently regarded one another. Kay finally gave in,

"So, Jareth wants Mia to help him win you over."

Sarah's green eyes fixed on me, and I picked at the crust on my bread. "Well, he wanted my advice. Then he got the idea that I was some expert, when I've never even really had a boyfriend."

"What did you tell him?" Her voice was dry.

"I said that women didn't like to be taken for granted – that love is built on respect, honesty, trust, and patience."

Sarah sniffed. "All of those that he is not."

"But I don't think he knew to even try. I mean, he's a king! He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

"But that's the problem. He wants to rule me, and I won't let him."

I stared at Sarah for a moment and realized that they were very much alike. Sarah was proud, independent, and free spirited. Jareth was exactly the same way, save for his magic. If opposites attracted, then it was no wonder that they kept pushing each other away. But perhaps…

"Could you just try?"

"Try what?"

"Try to give him a chance to prove himself to you? Let him take you out on a date, no strings attached?"

She smiled without humor. "There are always strings attached with the goblin king."

"But he seemed genuine; he just doesn't know how to act around you. And I don't think you do either. But perhaps if you can find a neutral ground… start on the same level, you can work it out."

"Such as where?"

I looked at Kay, who shook her head. "Um, I dunno."

"The dream world is an equal setting for human and non-human." A voice spoke from nowhere.

We all jumped, Kay standing so quickly that her chair fell over.

"Reactions to my appearance will never cease to entertain me." The voice came again.

"You haven't appeared yet." Kay growled.

"Oh, forgive me," In the middle of the kitchen table appeared a figure dressed in a white pants, shirt, and pale blue vest, with midnight black hair that fell boyishly over impossibly blue eyes. He was almost human, except for a pale golden star that marked his forehead and pointed ears. The kitchen light made him look like a pop star as he stretched himself out on one hip and elbow, facing me, along the length of the table and introduced himself. "I am Alucinor, a dream gatherer."

Something about his eyes made me feel like I'd known him before, but most definitely would have remembered someone with his looks. He caught my confused stare, and returned it with a slightly wistful smile. Sitting up abruptly, the newcomer turned his attention to Kay.

"Ah, the fortunate one – you were very lucky not to have lost your talent to the king."

Kay raised an eyebrow. "Dream gatherer?"

"The Underground thrives on dreams. Humans create them, use them, remember them, but do not hold on to them. I take them and supply them to my king." He pulled out a bag and opened it. Inside were a couple dozen marbles, all different colors. He lifted one of vivid orange, and held it out to Kay. "This was your latest creation, and I must say, you are quite inventive."

Kay reached out to take it, but Alucinor drew it back. "Ah, no touching, or I lose my dream. I have a quota to fill."

He turned to Sarah, frowning. "And you had some delightful dreams, before I was forced to take all of them from you. That crystal shined so brightly when I presented it to His Majesty."

Sarah's mouth was open in shock. "You – you took my dreams?"

Alucinor dropped the orange marble back into his bag and tucked it into his vest. "Well, the king gives me the authority and power to. I can't run around taking everyone's dreams on a whim."

His eyes danced over to me, before returning to Sarah. This time I remembered. "You were there last night."

He hesitated.

"You spoke to me, you said -"

He held up his hand and spoke to Sarah. "You want to stand on equal ground with King Jareth. If he agrees, I can take you and him to a dreamscape for a night."

Sarah buried her face in her hands and moaned, "I don't know!"

Alucinor gracefully leapt off of the table, hardly making a sound when he touched the floor, and knelt in front of her. Drawing her hands down, his voice was warm and soothing, "Sarah, lady, I have known the king for some time now, and never have I seen him act the way he has over you. He is strange, he is powerful, but he does care about you."

Sarah tried to smile. "Yet the Labyrinth stands between us."

"But if it didn't?"

"Then I might try."

He grinned, looked very much like a little boy. I interrupted by blurting, "You were the unicorn!" A blush immediately took over my face.

"Yes I was. And I must say that that was a most delightful dream of yours."

I grabbed at the bits of new information. "You took Sarah's dreams; does that mean that you took mine as well?"

His face fell. "I only did my duty. But neither crystals went to the Underground – King Jareth kept them personally. Which is why he was able to give them back."

"But why would he do that? He didn't know that he would need them."

He shrugged, "Whatever is put in, can be taken out. Just because you do not have dreams, does not mean that they are not formed by thought." His face was suddenly very close, eyes diving deep into mine. "I have watched your dreams for a long time."

My own stubbornness rose and I didn't look away even though embarrassment at what he may have seen had me clenching the seat of my chair. I wasn't naïve. I knew that some thoughts were less than pure, and vented themselves in various ways. Alucinor's implications made me more uncomfortable than I thought possible. When his eyes dipped to my mouth, they left no doubt as to what he was thinking. My anger spiked and I pushed my chair away from him.

Sarah sighed from behind his shoulder. "I guess it's only fair that I give him a chance. Considering all the trouble he's caused with bringing you here, the least I can do is try."

I stood and began gathering the leftovers of lunch.

Author's Note: So let me know what you think of this new development! Do you like Alucinor? I was going to name him Morpheus, the god of dreams, but there was too much of a Matrix overlay for me to take him seriously.