Tiddlywinks: Yes, I like my little goblin twins, too, they're very handy as a female supplement to Hoggle/Didymus.

Solea: Well, that was kind of the effect I was aiming for... ;-)

Lady Saffron: Nope, the twins' names are not really important to the story. But there'll be more of the "child to goblin" in later chapters.

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When Sarah woke, it was early morning and Jareth was nowhere to be seen. His cape was still there, however, and in the corner she spotted her bag, that she'd been carrying with her from the castle. There wasn't much left in it, only a few apples, and she took one for herself and saved the other for Jareth. She was so hungry that she felt nauseous, but he couldn't have had much to eat yesterday either.

Outside, the air was cool and clear, and she sat against the tree and re-braided her hair, savoring the experiences of last night, while she waited for him to return to her. She really liked this new Jareth. It was unfortunate that something was wrong with the Labyrinth, but it had certainly brought out the best in him and made it obvious that there was so much more to him that the arrogant king, she had first met. That king would not have let her go, but just taken what he wanted, despite her protest. An excited chill, half fear and half longing, shot through her at the thought of what could very well have happened last night, and her cheeks grew hot. So this was what it was all about. Although she had had no first hand experiences with desire and lust, she had known it must be more than just sloppy teenage kisses and holding hands at the movies. But she had not suspected that the power would be so strong as to force out the admission she had given him yesterday. It was true. How could anyone have lived up to the overpowering presence of the Goblin King and the romantic and sensual encounter with him in the ball room? The way he had sung for her, the way he had danced… Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be the Queen of Goblins after all.

"You're in a good mood this morning!"

At the sound of Jareth's voice, she started and looked up – she had not heard him coming at all.

"Any reason not to be?" she winked at him, and he reached down and scooped her up, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips, that she did not turn away from. He had let down his guard for her and was Jareth, not the Goblin King, and she would not be the one to break their mutual truce.

"No, not really, if you don't count the fact that we're stuck in the forest and my Labyrinth is being overrun by the Bog of Eternal Stench." His voice was teasing, but his eyes were clouded and sad. "I flew out to see our situation, and it could be worse. The walls seem to hold back the Bog for a while, so it hasn't expanded as much as I had feared, but it's still critical, of course. We should get going as soon as possible."

Sarah went in and got the bag and his cape, and she handed it to him along with the apple. "Here, I thought you might be hungry, too?"

He looked at it for a long time before he took it. "Thank you, Sarah. I don't think I remember the last time anyone ever gave me anything," he said in a tight voice and threw the cape around his shoulders. "Are you ready to go?"

Back on the wall, they made good progress and had a nice view of the Labyrinth. While the old forest stretched out to their left, Sarah could see a grey stone maze to the right. The paths down there were narrow and twisted, and it would have taken forever to get through if they'd had to walk down there. The wall wasn't really wide enough for two people to safely walk beside each other, so Sarah followed Jareth and they talked very little on the way. She thought about the Labyrinth and about being Fae and immortal, and one again she tried to feel if she was any different. If the mists were supposed to change her slowly, surely she should soon begin to show signs of the change.

"Jareth, will I look different?"

"What?"

"When I'm Fae?" She quickened her pace to walk as close to him as possible.

He looked back and smiled at her, while he kept walking. "A bit, perhaps. Your skin will be lighter and smoother and your ears and brows a bit pointy. But the main difference will be inside of you."

"Will I be able to make crystals and do magic stuff?"

"No one can tell, yet," he answered patiently. "But most likely, yes. It'll be fun – we'll be owls together and fly across the Labyrinth to oversee it all. And we'll visit the other kingdoms so I can introduce you to everyone."

Sarah felt a little nervous. "And nobody's going to mind that I'm mortal?"

"Well, you won't really be by then, and anyway, they've been nagging at me to get married anyway. My sisters, that is. 'Get a wife and some children of your own' they tell me, every time I bring them a wished-away baby."

"Oh, so that's why you're marrying me," Sarah teased. "You're being bullied into it by your sisters!"

"I assure you, Sarah," he said and shot a meaningful glace back at her. "I am most certainly only getting married because I want to myself!"

She blushed and smiled secretly.

As they walked on for hours, the forest part was replaced by a hedge maze, and later a clay labyrinth, where the walls looked misshapen and curvy, as if they had been cut out by a river flowing through. Sarah was getting tired and her feet hurt, but since Jareth was walking as fast and easily as ever, she ignored her weariness and pressed on, determined not to be a burden for him. The sun was burning from a bright blue sky, and she'd long ago removed her cape as it was far too hot today.

"There!" Jareth stopped and pointed to a green spot ahead – very far ahead. "In the pinewood forest, the magic is still intact, and as soon as we get there, I can get us to the castle." He looked at her, and his face softened. "We'll be there soon, my dear, and then you can rest."

"It's ok, I'll be fine," she replied and measured the distance to the spot he had pointed out. It would take at least half an hour, probably longer to get there, and she sighed inwardly. But at least there would be an end to it soon.

It did take almost an hour, but suddenly it was there, right in front of them, and Jareth smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Jump, Sarah!" he said, and then drew her with him over the edge, although there were at least twenty feet to the ground. Sarah screamed and expected to be crushed when hitting the rocks below, but she and Jareth swirled through the air at a snail's pace, and when they landed they were in the middle of the throne room back at the castle. A handful of goblins were there, and as they spotted their king and Sarah, they started screaming with joy, yelling their names and drawing more goblins to, who all fell on the king and jumped and danced with joy. Sarah couldn't hear a thing or move for the fear of stepping on one of the small goblins.

"Yes, I'm back," Jareth laughed and patted the closest ones on their heads. "Sarah and I are back."

Two familiar goblins came running and practically stepped on the others to get to them, and suddenly Sarah was tightly embraced Fanny and Fenella, who were crying with joy.

"We were so worried," they chirped and huddled closer to her, and Sarah embraced them back.

"Sarah, why don't you take you maids and go get a nice bath and rest awhile," Jareth suggested and smiled warmly at her. "You can join me in the panorama room later for lunch – I'll be there to oversee the Labyrinth situation."

Sarah nodded thankfully, and she and the twins pushed through the growing crowd and headed back for her room.

Much later, a clean and rested Sarah followed a goblin down the hallways of the castle to find the Goblin King. She had dressed in a new green skirt and a white sleeveless top, and the bodice was a darker green and embroidered with silver. Her hair flowed freely down her back almost to her waist, and her sore feet were comfortably clad in small slippers. The long soak in the bathtub had done wonders for her spirit, and it had been really nice to get rid of the last of the smell of the lake waters. Now, all she needed was something to fill her growling stomach.

They walked up a great windy stairway, until at last the goblin pushed open a great door. Behind it was a tower room that was shaped as a perfect circle and where the roof went up in a spire high above them. A perfect row of tall windows with large window sills let the afternoon sun bathe the room in golden light, and provided a breathtaking view of the Labyrinth below them. In the middle of a room was a huge round table and this was entirely covered by a miniature landscape, which Sarah easily recognized as the Labyrinth. There was even a miniature castle in the middle. Jareth stood beside the table and looked frustrated and angry, but he looked up when she entered and his frown decreased slightly. He had also had time to change and was dressed in new black clothes and gloves, and his white-blond hair bristled wild and unruly.

"Hello, Sarah," he said and went to her, closing the door to keep the goblins out. "You look lovely, my dear."

"Thank you," she replied courtly and stared at the table with undisguised curiosity. It looked so real, and she could even see the tiny little houses in the Goblin City. "It's amazing!"

"What, the map? Yes, it's nice, isn't it?" Jareth took her hand and let her to the furthest part of the room, where one of the window sills had been used as a table to give space for large plates of fruit, small pies and sweet-looking cinnamon bread. "I thought you might be hungry, and I'll show you our current situation while we eat."

Sarah had seldom seen a more welcome sight, and as they both dug in and tasted some of each, she sighed in contentment. Jareth smiled slightly and then went to the miniature labyrinth.

"What you see here is an image of my labyrinth as it usually is," he began, and Sarah went to join him, still eating her pie, and marveled at the exquisite details.

"There's the raft maze!" she exclaimed and pointed. "And there's the old forest, so this must be where we walked earlier today?"

"Yes. And over here…," Jareth gestured to a part a good deal away from there,"…is the Bog as it used to be."

Sarah was grateful that the map was not so realistic as to include smells, as she looked at the tiny bubbling Bog surrounded by trees and crumbling stone walls. Then suddenly she realized what he was trying to show her – the small Bog was very far away from the raft maze compared to the size of the Labyrinth, and yet it had reached it tonight. Jareth nodded at she looked up at him in horror.

"Exactly," he said tightly and snapped his fingers, and before her eyes, the Bog grew rapidly in size and suddenly filled almost a third of the map with its ugly brown ooze, claiming the entire border around it and moving slowly towards the middle. A broad colorless rim around it showed where the magic mists had vanished, and Sarah shivered at the horrible sight.

"This is what it looks like now," Jareth continued slowly in a strangled voice and held her gaze with firm eyes. "I have calculated how fast it is moving and I believe we're looking at the undoing of the Labyrinth. In just three days, the mists will be lost in the City and the Castle, and on the morning of the fourth day, the Bog will cover everything!"