Author's Note: Well, and so I'm back! For a while there I thought I would have to start again, but then I decided that that would be ridiculous. So bear with me; I'm going to be working the original beginning and my new stuff together. It should be painless, but let me know if you think I'm slipping up somewhere. Hope you guys like it.

-

"You're getting better, big brother," Jervohl teased, lowering her sword to pull Jareth to his feet. Jareth huffed before deliberately tripping her, smiling in satisfaction to see her sprawled in the dust.

Since that first wakeful morning, he'd taken to joining her by the light of dawn. After a particularly vicious night, he tended to need the distraction and for the past two days he hadn't slept at all well. Sarah still haunted him, rousing his emotions and his blood. Exertion was the only remedy to his restlessness.

He paused for a moment with a slight frown, looking down at the earth as if in thought.

"Jareth? You have to concentrate!" The flat of the blade smacked him hard on his rear and he yelped, spinning around to protect himself.

Jervohl smiled at him and unselfconsciously used her sleeve to wipe her face. "You keep doing that. It won't help you to start dreaming. No opponent will wait while you decide what colour to wear to your next dance."

"Thank you. Need you hit so hard?"

"I did warn you that I was not going to be merciful."

"So you did," Jareth snarked, "Just before I had you flat on your face."

She tossed her head and raised her weapon. "You seem overconfident."

"And you seem arrogant."

Green eyes narrowed. "You haven't had to live by the sword as I have."

The blades clashed and in less than a moment it was over. Jareth stared in amazement from his empty hand to his sword a few feet away to the blade pointing at his heart.

"I win," Jervohl grinned, "Best out of three, then?"

The Goblin King felt himself slump mentally and shook his head. "No. I think you've had quite enough fun for one day."

"Jareth, if you were to actually coordinate your feet and your hands, you would find better balance," Jervohl soothed, "You are simply out of practise."

"Yes. Rumpole would be most distressed." Jareth picked up his sword with the words, finding them strangely bitter on his tongue. The lack of sleep was getting to him and he both longed for and dreaded the peace of loneliness.

"How do you feel?"

"My wrists ache. And my ribs."

She shook a finger at him. "You are severely out of shape. Shame on you!"

"However will I live this down," Jareth griped, "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to get cleaned up for…"

"Jareth!"

The Goblin King turned white and squeezed his eyes shut for a second's contemplation of the beauty of solitude before fixing a smile on his face and turning. "Elban. Beran. How nice of you to grace my…" he looked around, "Backyard. And so early."

The two dismounted from their koerns and Jareth nodded to the goblin grooms to take the animals away and tend to them.

"Jareth." Elban clasped his old friend on the shoulder and forbore to draw him into an embrace. And not just because of the sweat! He knew how much Jareth hated those intimate gestures. It had been quite amusing when they were younger of course, but with his lover there he didn't want to bring up old times. "Beran refused to sleep so we rode all of last night to get here as soon as we could."

"Remind me not to point out that the longest route from Fair Haven to my Castle is not much over four hours. That leaves half the night unaccounted for," Jareth remarked, winking at the smaller male who came to him.

The stockier male offered him a wry grin and bowed. "Good morning, Jareth. We seem to have interrupted you. Forgive the intrusion but Elban hasn't seen you for many weeks now."

Jareth felt his lips twist a little at that. He could well imagine his forest sprite of a friend had dragged the poor dwarf out of bed just passed midnight and forced him to ride to a place Beran did not wish to go, to meet people Beran liked but was not especially friendly with. Which reminded him!

"Elban, I think you should meet someone." He took the fae's hand and drew him to the small enclosure where his sister waited, frozen in apprehension and pride. "I believe the both of you remember Jervohl?"

The sprite stopped dead and turned ashen. "What?" The female drew closer to him, her hair clipped severely off her face. He would not have thought it possible. He had been meaning to tease Jareth about 'playing' with his new lovely lady, but this! "You are playing a trick on me, aren't you? Jareth? Tell me you are."

"Elban. It is good to see you again."

Beran drew closer as well, standing on Jareth's right with mildly shocked eyes. "Ms. Jervohl," he greeted, "You look better than I would expect."

She couldn't help but grin at that arch statement. "Yes. Luckily I wasn't as dead as everyone thought."

"Oh good. That makes it much tidier," Beran agreed, "No hassles with decomposing and such like."

"None at all, Beran." Jervohl sheathed her sword and climbed over the fence, stopping a few steps away from the new guests. Elban clung to Jareth's arm and took a healthy step back. "Elban, I really do exist. I know it is a shock, but you know Jareth's sense of the dramatic. He refused to let me tell anyone until he was ready to announce it. But I am alive."

"I-I…"

Jareth let go of his friend's hand, as the grip got far too tight. He grimaced as he shook the pain from his limb and gestured to Beran. "He is your lover; you hold his hand."

Beran shook his head but took Elban's hand gently. The forest sprite was staring up at the fae female as if she were about to grow two heads and a tail. "Elban, you really need to stop staring. It's quite rude."

The words snapped whatever it was that held Elban frozen and he disentangled his fingers as he walked forward somewhat accusingly. Jervohl's arm felt real; her hair and face too. He rubbed his fingers, not sure whether to feel distaste at the sweat her skin had imparted to his or not. "You feel real. How do we know you are who you say?" he demanded, "You could be anyone."

"Who just happens to look exactly like Jervohl, youngest sister to the Goblin King and daughter to the Lady Pandora?" Jervohl pointed out.

"Glamors."

She took off the ring set with her powerstone and handed it to Jareth. Nothing about her changed. She held her arms out at her sides, looking down at herself with a desperate kind of humour. "Does this convince you?"

"No! No, I won't have this. You have done something! Jervohl never wore her hair like that, or those clothes." Elban knew his voice was rising but he did tend towards the excitable. "She would wear a gown, and she wouldn't…"

"Even I, as I was, never wore a gown to practise my swordskill with. Elban, I know it is hard but I really am alive. I never died. I was captured on a raid in the quarry by Gildred's men and forced to serve him for nineteen and a half years. You have to believe me."

"No! Beran, you can see it, can't you?"

"I see this is a shock," the dwarf said easily.

Jareth came forward and tapped Beran's shoulder. "Take him inside," he whispered, bending down to whisper in his ear, "I told the servants to expect to take you straight to your rooms. Food and drink will be brought there."

"Thank you. Come on, Elban." Beran tugged his lover along to the Castle, still clasping one delicate hand in both his own. "We need to change and eat something. Take a bath and get out of those dusty clothes and you'll feel better, my lovely. Come on."

The two disappeared out of sight and Jareth turned back to his sister with an enquiring look. She met it with a dark one of her own, anger and pain and pride in her green eyes. Without a word she climbed back into the pen and drew her sword. Jareth moved to follow her but she held up a hand.

"Don't even try, Jareth. I won't be responsible for killing someone."

He nodded and turned to leave. The sound of sweeping sharp metal whistled through the air and he ignored it. No doubt she was shadow-duelling. Only he had her ring still in his hand and he wondered whether it would be worth it to interrupt her only to give it back. He decided against it. She needed this time, even if she had to fight thin air instead of a shadow.

Besides, he needed to persuade Elban that he wasn't mad, nor was he trying to send his friend mad. Elban was excitable like that. Thank God, at least Beran was here for this! The last time Elban had been so upset, he'd run into the Labyrinth and disappeared for three days until Jareth found him starving and terrified almost at the other end.

Pandora met him in the entrance hall and caught him before he could excuse himself. "Luka has arrived," she said expressly. Then she looked him up and down and removed her hand from his slightly damp shirt. "Did you fall into a body of water that escaped your notice? You haven't done that since you were six. And you smell."

The Goblin King made a mental note to talk to his mother about mentioning such things. "No, I didn't fall into anything. Jervohl challenged me to a duel."

She smiled mischievously and tilted her head in much the same mocking way he did. "How long did it last?"

"Three minutes," Jareth sighed, "I haven't practised for a while. Jervohl has gotten better, damn her."

Pandora laughed and then caught him again before he could try to pass her. "Please be kind to Luka. I know he is early but he is Toby's lover. For Sarah's sake treat him well." She didn't fail to notice the veil that slipped down over those eyes. She'd seen it happen too many times not to know about it.

"I won't say anything too rude," Jareth promised, "Where is the little rodent?"

"Jareth!"

"Mother, if you are going to try to…"

"Alright, alright! I know- 'behave yourself and stop interfering'. You never listen. You don't have to see him too soon, however; he went up to Toby's room."

The Goblin King smirked and cast an interested eye up the sweeping staircase.

"Do not even think about it," his mother warned, shaking a warning finger in front of his nose, "I knew you would find a way to ruin it."

"Will you desist, woman! I have enough to worry about without you whining in my ear! Elban is… for pity's sake, I forgot. Mother, could you get Toby to keep Luka out of Elban and Beran's way? They both arrived a few minutes ago as well. And you know of their feud, I suppose."

"Merciful love, but what possessed any of these three fools to arrive so early?"

"I don't know. But Elban is running wild again. I told him about Jervohl and he refuses to believe it. Beran has taken him to their rooms for the rest of the morning. I was just on my way to check on them."

"Will they need anything?"

"I sent a message to the kitchens for food and drink to be sent to them. Perhaps you could go and talk to them? Elban will believe you."

The lady nodded and swept away up the stairs. Jareth watched her go with a resigned smile. He hadn't expected her not to get involved; it was asking too much of her. His mother enjoyed life and drama and couldn't stand not to interact with other people. Jervohl had once been much the same. Strong women, the both of them. He only hoped that the week ahead would go as planned. At least, he reminded himself, Serenity was to arrive by nightfall at his express pleas. He would appreciate her assistance, in more ways than one.

A sound of footsteps and he panicked. Quickly ducking behind the drapes that hidhis private staircase at this time of the morning, he hoped to heaven he didn't have to talk to anyone just yet. He just wanted a bath!

"Oh, it's been so long and I missed you so."

"Luke, you only saw me a week ago."

"But it was such a long week! All of seven days, darling."

Darling? Jareth hid a smirk in his sleeve. Of all the nauseating endearments! He wilfully shut his eyes to the fact that he would have called Sarah any endearment under the sun himself.

Apparently Toby thought so too- "Don't call me that, Luka. I've asked you that before."

The smirk swept away. Jareth peeped out. The two were standing in the entrance hall as casual as you please. Or at least, the slender fae with the honey-brown hair and startlingly bright green coat was. Toby was just standing, looking down with a kind of absent-minded amusement, his hands at his side as the shorter man- who really was actually about Jareth's height- babbled on about something.

"Yes, yes, I know," the mortal eventually broke in, smiling ruefully as if he had done this far too many times before to feel any more irritation. "Do you never stop talking?"

"Sometimes," came the arch reply. A body was pressed very close to the tall one. "When I am otherwise occupied."

Blue eyes smiled and Toby put an arm around Luka and drew him out the doorway.

Jareth let out a relieved sigh and then straightened as he saw Jervohl enter. Really, his Castle housed far too many people for his liking. He couldn't even leave the privacy of his personal staircase without running into someone. How Jareth longed for the days when he had walked the Castle without meeting a single soul for hours on end.

His sister stopped hesitantly as if she sensed the pair of eyes on her and then she shook her head with what looked to be disgust, muttering something to herself, and stormed up the stairs.

Jareth rubbed his forehead where a dull ache was making itself known and turned, swiftly making his way up the stairs with the ease of someone who had done it for a lifetime. The ring in his pocket could wait for a while.