Masquerade

Author's Note: You may want to review chapters 1 and 11 (Signs, What Signs?) because there are some references to those chapters. I am also raising the rating to Tfor this chapter, just for safety. There are some mild sexual undertones.

"Music, I hear music."

Sam slowly came to and found herself sitting at an elegantly, decorated table. Well, actually, draped over an elegantly, decorated table. She raised her head from the arm that had been cradling it and winced at the bright lights of the large room. She felt like someone had put her head through the spin cycle. The pain was gradually subsiding, however, as she listened to the beginning of a beautiful ballad. One that seemed familiar somehow.

"What's the matter love, one to many glasses of champagne?"

Sam raised her eyes to find a man wearing a weird, kind of gothic looking mask. What she found even more astonishing was his attire. His clothes made him look like he had stepped out of the eighteenth century. "Oh, my God, I am back," Sam silently, mused.

Before Sam could say anything to the man he was whisked away by a woman in a peacock mask. Sam looked around and realized she was in an immense ballroom. There was a beautiful chandelier and brilliant staircases. There was wall to wall people, all wearing masks. Well, all accept for one.

"Sarah? Very, young Sarah! I wonder how many boxes of saran wrap the seamstress had to go through to make that dress?"

Sam jumped as she heard the obnoxious laugh from one of the female dancers. It was then that Sam was snapped back to reality. She had been heading in Sarah's direction so, she made a quick U turn to avoid being seen. The lyrics of the song had started and it stopped her dead in her tracks. Jareth?

She looked to her right and directly into a mirror. She too was dressed up, in a gold, empire waist gown. Her hair was up in a french twist with a decorative comb inserted. She looked past her reflection and saw Sarah. She looked like she was searching for something or someone. When she saw Sarah looking her way she ducked behind a heavyset man flirting with the woman who had the obnoxious laugh. Acting as casual as possible she peered around him and saw Jareth.

"Oh my god. His streaks look better than mine, and his are blue."

Sam realized with a start that she had spoken out loud. The couple looked at her strangely and left hanging on each other. Sam started to move, losing sight of Jareth. Sam started listening to the lyrics more closely.

As the pain sweeps through

makes no sense for you

every thrill is gone

wasn't too much fun at all

but I'll be there for you

as the world falls down

Sam caught sight of Jareth again, laughing sardonically at something one of his companions said. She glanced over at Sarah who hadn't seen him. "Okay, this is really turning into a game of cat and mouse."

falling, as the world is falling down

Sam noticed the lingering gaze Jareth gave Sarah. Was he hiding something too?

"He is looking at her as if she were something to eat. Like cake. Chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. Oh, that's sounds good. Woe, girl. Get your mind back on track."

I'll paint you mornings of gold

I'll spin you valentine evenings

though were stranger till now

were choosing the path

between the stars

"Woe, I can feel the sexual tension even from here. The look they are giving each other is giving me chills."

Sam stood in awe as she watched Jareth striding towards Sarah, his eyes never leaving hers. His arm circled her waist and they glided across the floor. Sam blinked and saw a sudden change. Sarah was no longer her teenage self, but her present, adult self. Before she could fully comprehend what she was seeing, someone grabbed Sam from behind.

"Hello, angel. You want to dance?"

"Steven, what are you doing here?"

"I don't know, what do you think?"

"Go away Steve," Sam said, pushing him away.

"Well, I see you haven't changed much, Sam. You are as distant as you were when we were going out."

"Well, the fact that I caught you making out with my cousin might have had something to do with that."

"Oh, she was just a fling. She meant nothing to me. I just figured she would put out faster than you would."

"Listen, you, egotistical, self centered, masagonistic, worm. You are damn lucky you even got half a chance with me. When we broke up it was your loss, not mine.

You may have been a Don Juan in high school, but at least when I find the one, it will be special. And I won't be fifty, single, balding, with my gut hanging out, searching through the personal ads."

Sam about to turn around made a last retort. "And by the way, your hair sucks."

Steven's mouth dropped open and he glared at her. "That was harsh!"

Sam's eyes were full of mocking regret as she replied, "Good."

She turned around and walked off, knowing without having to turn around that he was gone. Sam became aware that a different song was playing and spotted Jareth and Sarah still dancing. Something was not right. The atmosphere was not longer mocking or intimidating, everything seemed so peaceful. The dancers were now quietly respectful and Jareth and Sarah seemed content in each other's arms. So, what was wrong?

She felt another hand on her shoulder and she whirled around.

"Jareth? How?"

She turned away from him to find the ballroom empty and lifeless, the only two bodies occupying it were her's and Jareth's.

"Miss Williams, what a pleasant surprise," he said, sardonically.

"How, where, why, help me out here."

"At a loss for words, Miss Williams. Well there's a first time for everything."

Sam, noticed his revert back to her formal name. She wondered why. Ignoring his sarcasm for the first time, she responded:

"What did I just see, Jareth? Besides the obvious ads for Glad and Clairol."

Jareth smirked and said sarcastically, "Ah, how I have missed that dry wit. Remember Miss Williams, in this place you have to ask the right questions."

"Don't play games with me, Jareth. Ah, hell look at who I am talking to. What happened to Sarah and me back in my room?"

"A blast of energy pulled you apart and knocked you out," Jareth said, with a board expression.

Ignoring the urge to slap him Sam asked, "Where did the energy come from?"

Sam paced, awaiting his answer. She stopped in front of a mirror, noticing she was back in her casual clothes. She looked at Jareth standing behind her.

"Why ask a casual observer when one of the sources is right in front of you?"

"No way, are you saying that Sarah and I caused that surge," Sam said. She looked back at her reflection, as if seeing herself for the first time. Jareth came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Sam jumped, coming out of her daze.

"Samantha, you know the answer to that. Don't give me that look. You are fully aware of the strong bond you and your sister share. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen quite the same connection that you two have. You and Sarah have some telepathicability. That's why you know what she is feeling before she speaks a word. That is why she can feel your pain even when you aren't together."

Sam looked at him in wonder. For the first time she saw emotion in his eyes, even when he had been comforting she hadn't seen quite the starkness in them.

"So, the power surge happened because you had just experienced an extreme, emotional outburst. It was like your minds and bodies were put into overdrive. I had nothing to do with it."

Jareth stopped speaking and Sam finally turned around to look at him.

"What I just saw was Sarah's dream, wasn't it?"

Jareth didn't answer, only nodded his head in affirmation. His eyes, once emotional, were now blank.

"And," Sam continued, circling him, "I think that it was a memory involving a certain trek she went on to save her brother."

Jareth stood before her, looking as calm and cool as a king. But, Sam knew better.

"What I saw, only confirms my suspicions. You were in love with her, and I don't know if Sarah was then, but she's in love with you now."

"God, you and my sister," he replied, his tone rough.

"You have a sister. Wow, that's not something I expected."

"Believe it or not, I do have family."

"What's she like?"

"Irritating, spunky, a loud mouth, and arrogant."

"Arrogant, I could never imagine that in this family," Sam replied with a smart smile.

Jareth couldn't help but smile, and said, "But, underneath that hard shell their is a soft spot. She wouldn't admit it herself, because of our culture. She is actually very loving, warm, and understanding. She is also very loyal to her family and our world. In a small way, you remind me of her."

"Jareth, you are going to make me cry," Sam replied, teasingly.

Jareth gave a small smile in return, but said nothing. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed and then Sam, of course, broke it.

"Jareth, why did you help me?"

"Our world was dying Miss Williams. I needed your dreams to save it," Jareth snapped his mouth shut, as if he had revealed something he shouldn't. Back to his cold, arrogant demeanor, he tried to recover by acting unfazed. This didn't go unnoticed by Sam.

"Was that the only reas... wait a minute, why did you need my dreams?"

"I think you have used up your limit of questions."

"Damn it, Jareth. What are you hiding?" Impulsively she grabbed his hand, which was amazingly, ungloved. She observed the long, slender fingers, absently caressing them. Jareth pulled his fingers away slowly and backed up.

Sam spoke quietly. "Sarah and I aren't the only ones with the connection, are we?"

He didn't answer, but for the first time his eyes answered her clearly.

Jareth finally spoke, his voice as steady and controlled as a king. "From the moment Sarah and Toby entered my world, the three of us shared a bond. One that couldn't be broken, even after they left. And the Labyrinth's energy never completely left them. When you were born, it was as if, you had been touched by my world. Ironically, you had never been there. You shared an intense, spiritual bond with your siblings, especially with Sarah. That bond enabled you to call on me."

Jareth approached her and stood before her. "The moment I met you, the bond we all shared was complete."

"That would explain why my intuition has gone up several notches the past few weeks. I was feeling everyone else's feelings, subconsciously... Thank you, Jareth."

Jareth looked at her in confusion as she continued.

"You may not have changed me, that was my role. But, you pointed me in the right direction. You made me realize I wasn't alone. You showed me the treasures I forgot I had. My family, my friends, and my talents. You also introduced me to a knew one, you."

Sam gave him a warm hug which Jareth, shockingly returned. Sam pulled away and said. "Don't think that people won't accept you because of your inner demons, Jareth. They are what make you who you are and that's not a bad thing. After all, people like bad boys who are good."

"Well, I had better not catch you with one of those boys."

"Between you, my father, and my brother, I'm never going to get a guy."

Jareth laughed. "It's been... interesting, Sam. I have come to tolerate you. I don't know what I'll do when my sleep isn't interrupted by your loud mouth anymore."

"Jareth, you're talking as if we are never going to see each other again."

Jareth's eyes softened which scared Sam more than comforted. Rubbing his hand on the side of her arm he said, "You don't need me anymore Sam. You have your family, you have Cindy, and you have your own inner peace. I have no doubts that you will persevere. But, don't worry, I will always be watching," he finished in a deep, quiet voice. Jareth smiled as he put something around Sam's neck.

"Don't you worry, Goblin King. We will meet again."

Jareth began to fade from her sight. "Good-bye, Jareth," Sam's voice cracked as the world around her disappeared.

Sam awoke to darkness, realizing the storm must have caused a power outage.

"Sarah, are you awake. Sarah, where are you?"

"Sam," Sarah crawled her way over to the sound of her sister's voice. When she had a hold of her arm she said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam whispered, trying to hide the emotion in her voice.

"You saw it didn't you," Sarah said, her voice just as quiet as Sam's.

"Yes."

"You were right Sam. I just didn't want to admit it."

"You should do something about it Sarah," Sam replied, the room getting lighter as the clouds started to depart.

"No, I can't. It's too late now."

"It's never too late, Sarah."

Sarah was about to reply when, "Raugh!" The door flew open and the girls screamed.

"Yes, I got you. I am the king of practical jokes." Toby shined the flashlight on his sisters. When he saw his sister's disheveled appearances, Toby crouched by them.

"Woe, are you two okay?" Toby thought back to that dreaded feeling he had earlier. Maybe he shouldn't have ignored it.

"We're okay," Sarah answered first.

"No thanks to you, jerk," Sam piped up.

"Oh, I am sorry I scared my wittle sister."

Sam and Sarah looked up as a dark figure came up behind Toby.

"Toby," the girls said together, clearly terrified.

Toby turned around and saw a man in a long trench coat. His face unidentifiable because of the dark room. He had something hard and long in his hand and he was swinging right toward Toby. Once again, Toby got down on his knees and screamed like a girl. Conveniently, at that moment, the lights came back on. The man in the large trench coat, holding a baseball bat, was their father. He started to laugh and said, "Now who is the king of practical jokes?"

"Dad, you, you, you're good pops." A look of ridiculous pride washed over Toby face.

"Robert, really, you're as bad as the kids," Karen walked in the room, shaking her head at the image of her family before her.

"Karen, you are just mad because you didn't think of it first." Robert Williams replied, putting an arm around his wife's shoulder.

"Wait a minute, it's only nine o'clock. What are you doing back so soon," Sam piped up, standing up from her sitting position with Sarah.

"Well, we old folks missed the kids," Robert replied, smiling.

Everyone laughed and started to make their way downstairs.

Sam dragged behind and Sarah stopped at the door. "Are you coming Sam?"

"Yeah, I will be right there."

Sarah nodded and left the room. When Toby had entered the room moments before, Sam had noticed something cool and hard laying below her collar bone. Sam pulled the chain and what was attached to it out from under her shirt. She studied the necklace and smiled in understanding. At the bottom of the chain hung a silver, crescent moon with three stars surrounding it. She held it up to the light and it sparkled.

Putting the necklace back under her shirt she walked swiftly to the door and went downstairs to join her family.

Ripper101, Willow-Sama, Demonic Symphony- Thank you so much for the reviews. They really help me to keep going.