Draegon-fire: Of course Sarah wouldn't sleep through when we are dying to see more Jareth in the story... ;-)

Sooo... the dinner was only supposed to be one chapter, but it suddenly grew to two instead. I'll be posting them both now as they belong together, but you'll have to wait a bit longer on the next chapter then... it's still in the making.

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Sarah entered the royal dining room with her head high and as much confidence as she could muster. Fanny and Fenella had searched the wardrobe while Sarah had been sleeping and had presented her with their best choice for the evening, a long emerald-green gown with golden embroideries and, unfortunately, a very low décolletage. She had looked through the wardrobe herself, but though beautiful, all the dresses were hopelessly low-cut and revealing. And they could find no scarves or shawls or anything that could cover her up a bit.

"I bet he did this on purpose," Sarah muttered. In lack of any other covering she decided to let her hair tumble loose around her shoulders, instead of braiding or putting it in a bun like she had gotten used to do in the past few years. Her two helping goblins did what they could to help her, but had no idea of what to do with her hair and makeup, so she took care of that on her own, narrowly saving her hair from being singed with a red-hot curling iron that Fanny had found and helpfully heated in the fireplace.

It was a far cry from what she should have been wearing today, she thought, recalling the short pink summer dress and white jacket she'd chosen for her birthday party. Although it felt like she'd been here a long time, it was still her 21st birthday, and she should have been celebrating it with her friends. She wondered how Jareth could change reality so much that no one would remember her above – that would be an enormous task, wouldn't it? All the little things, like the band and the catering that had been ordered for the party – would they show up to a house and be met with blank stares from her father and Karen? Or would they have forgotten, too? And all her friends – would the gifts they had bought just vanish, or would they wake up and stare at them, wondering who this "Sarah" was that they suddenly had a gift for? And how about school records and her room at the college? The thought of how far her existence really reached was mind-boggling, and she resigned and gave up trying for now. It wouldn't matter if she could make him reverse the spell; only if her option was to escape and if she then had to face the real world without an identity.

The dining room was remarkably clean compared to what she had expected of the castle after the few glimpses she'd had at her last visit. The darkened windows were at least twenty feet above the floor in the high-vaulted room and huge medieval tapestries in bright colours decorated the walls. The huge dining table was of shining mahogany and could seat at least 50 people, but right now it was decked for only two, the Goblin King and her. The room was lit by chandeliers in the ceiling and candelabras on the table, as twilight was approaching.

He was waiting for her there, dressed in tight black breeches and a black poet's shirt, covered by a midnight blue cape. The blue streaks in his hair were very prominent and matched his right eye almost exactly. He approached her and nodded his head as in approval.

"Much better, Sarah dear. I hope you like the dresses I have chosen for you?"

"Oh, you chose them?" Sarah remarked with dripping sarcasm in her voice. "I would never have guessed!"

"They do bring out the best in you," he continued undisturbed and offered her his arm to lead her to the table, and just to show him her confidence she took it lightly and let herself be seated. As he took his place opposite her, he held out a black velvet box to her. "And that dress in particular will match the birthday gift I have for you."

Sarah took it slowly. She knew it must be some kind of jewellery, but as she opened the box, she couldn't help marvelling at the sight of the shining golden necklace inside. Its filigree was as delicate as spider web and from the single emerald teardrop in front, emerald crusted leaves wove halfway up the chain. It was absolutely exquisite and would match her dress perfectly. She closed the box again and looked him squarely in the eyes.

"No, thank you," she said firmly and put it on the table. "I don't take gifts from strangers and trying to bribe me will do you no good."

He narrowed his eyes in anger. "I assure you it was not meant as a bribe, but merely as a token of appreciation for my future wife to emphasize her beauty and status."

"Wife? My dear King of the Goblins," Sarah said with a sigh, "what will it take to make you realize that whatever you say, I do not intend to become Queen of the Goblins?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Well, my dear, whether you intend it or not, it will happen. I know you're missing a party tonight, but I will throw you an even grander one at our wedding. And do call me by my name; after all we are going to be very intimate very soon…"

Sarah flushed and swore inwardly not to use his name, ever, for that particular reason. "Doesn't it matter to you that I don't want you?" she hissed. "You stole my brother, forced me to run your Labyrinth – twice – and to make the choice of staying with you. I have no reason at all to like you or trust you, and any intimacy with you would be pure rape! Is that how you want it?"

"Sarah, I could be cruel, but I'm offering you your dreams instead," Jareth said calmly. "You asked your brother to be taken, and I took him. You offered yourself to me in your noble sacrifice for your brother, and I was very generous to accept it. Many women have done so in the past, but I never took advantage of it before, since I have no need for mortals in the kingdom anyway, and none of the others had the strength needed to be Goblin Queen. I offer you the highest position in the kingdom, second only to myself, and a lifetime of comforts and thrills you couldn't have in your own world."

A row of goblins appeared, carrying trays of delicious looking food. They also brought a jug of dark red liquid, probably berry juice, and Jareth took it and filled both their glasses, while the goblins almost fell on top of each other, trying to put their trays as close to Sarah as possible. They all smiled adoringly at her, and she had to admit that despite their ugliness, they seemed kind of cute when they weren't playing war and pointing spears at you.

"See, even my goblins like you," Jareth commented with a wry smiled. The he grew serious again. "Sarah, the choice is still open, remember that. The rules of the Labyrinth are very strict and cannot be overruled, not even by its King. When you lose a quest, one of you has to stay here, no matter how much time has passed. Despite your protests, you are here willingly, and if you want to leave now that you know my plans, you just tell me. I will send you back and take your brother instead. It is as simple as that. However, you'll have to hurry – after seven days here, the Labyrinth will have claimed you for its own, and you will have been changed too much to ever go back."

"Changed?" Sarah asked frightened. "But wasn't that why we waited until now? So I would not change? What will it change me into?"

"Why, part Fae, of course," he answered calmly. "You will never be true Fae, that would eliminate the whole purpose of having you here, but you will live longer and be able to do a bit of magic."

Sarah was too chocked to speak. She would become Fae in seven… no, six days from now? This was really bad. She no longer had a month to escape, but had to do it in less than a week?

As if the Goblin King could read her mind, he leaned forward, stroking his chin. "If you're having wild dreams about escaping, I will not stop you, but I will come and collect little Toby as soon as you reach the borders of my Kingdom to maintain the balance and harmony in my Labyrinth. So you see, if that's what you want, it is much easier just to ask me to let you go."

Sarah's thoughts whirled in her mind and she felt dizzy with despair. She had no time and no options left. No matter how much she wanted to go home, she couldn't let him take Toby again. It was the same choice she'd faced twice before and the same answer she had to give for the third and final time.

"No, I'll stay," she whispered, averting his eyes and feeling her world crumble as the hopes of escape she had nurtured, passed away.

Jareth took the discarded jewellery box and stood up, coming to stand behind her. She flinched as his hands grazed her shoulders and drew back her hair, and then she felt the cold metal against her skin, as he slowly fastened the chain around her neck. She let it happen, not caring anymore, what did it matter? He would get his will in the end, and right now she couldn't see any way out of it.

"That's better," he said and drew away, eyeing her with a satisfied expression, as he returned to her seat. "You will make a beautiful queen."

A single treacherous tear rolling down Sarah's cheek was the only reply he got.