Toby, despite a look of slight confusion that twisted his childish features, seemed to accept the idea of the Labyrinth with surprising speed. He gave his older sister a hug and left the room to ponder on his own.

Sarah had no time to waste. She pulled the pendant out from her pocket and slipped it over her head, feeling a tiny yet potent buzz of electricity run through her as she did so. On an impulse, she went to her closet and—by some wonderful fluke—found the old dress that used to transform her into an all-powerful empress who ruled over the little urban park that served as her kingdom.

With only a bit of difficulty—because, sadly, she hadn't grown much these last few years—she donned the dress. Taking a deep breath, and taking hold of the pendant, Sarah whispered the last words she ever thought she'd hear herself utter (but which also brought a smile to her face, for who knew that the foolish words she'd thrown around as a child were actually valid commands of the Powers that Be?), "Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, I wish to find you, do not hide from me!"

In a swirl of color and a familiar scent, Sarah found herself atop the same hill on which she had stood only six short—oh but how long they had been!—months ago. The same hill where she'd stood almost three years ago, trying to convince herself that she was strong enough for the task ahead.

The sight that met Sarah's eyes made the tears flow from their depths as she stared, shocked, at the destruction of what was once one of the most beautiful places she'd ever been. The labyrinth still stood, as Jeanie had said, but it was strewn with debris and looked as though nothing had ever lived there. Beyond it, an immense pile of rubble, decorated here and there with small fires and littered with what only could have been the bodies of unfortunate Goblins, was all that remained of the Goblin City. Jareth's castle, though made of stone, was torn apart and set afire from within.

And before her, leaning heavily against the trunk of a nearby tree, was the sagging, dejected figure of the once mighty Goblin King. His eyes were expressionless, but his beautiful face was streaked with tears. With a hint of surprise in his face—which, Sarah knew, must have been the first sign of emotion among his features in months—Jareth turned to regard her and straightened up a bit, taking his weight from the tree.

"Sarah," was all he could think to say.

"Oh, Jareth. How could you let this happen?" Sarah made no attempt to hide the disgust in her voice, although it was almost completely masked by pained defeat.

Jareth's form sagged a bit more. "Why not? What good did I ever do anyone? Sitting around all day, kicking the Goblins around—" his voice cracked a bit at the mention of his nasty little subjects that had met such an unfortunate end—"and for what? It's all meaningless."

Sarah sighed. "That is so pathetic."

"You're telling me. But I can't control it, any more than I can control anything else."

"God, is everything with you about control?"

Jareth ignored her. "Why are you here?" The question was weak and without vigor.

For the first time, Sarah actually stopped to consider it. "This," she motioned to what remained of Jareth's kingdom, "is a part of me, too. I needed to come if it meant even the possibility of saving it."

Jareth snorted. "Bloody little you can do now." He gestured to the rubble with disgust.

"There must be something—"

"There isn't, aren't you listening? It's gone; the whole thing has been brought to the ground. Merry Christmas."

"So what are you going to do?"

Jareth sighed deeply. "I have no idea. I was considering a change of dimension. One of the little, secluded ones that consist of little but—"

"So that's it?" Sarah was beside herself. "You're just going to abandon everything?"

"In case you've gone blind, let me remind you that there's nothing left to abandon!"

"After everything you've done, everything you are, you don't have the power to restore it?"

Jareth shook his head. "Not on my own."

For a moment, the two locked eyes and Sarah felt something within her give way. Suddenly, blocking out all the horror and contempt that currently coursed through her, she was flooded with sympathy, nostalgic remorse, and something else that was sweeter but only vaguely familiar. It was in this moment that she felt the pain that Jareth was plagued with. He'd just lost everything he ever had and, on one level or another, it was because of her.

She walked slowly toward him as another tear rolled down his cheek. Tenderly, she brushed it away and took her arch nemesis into her arms. Jareth poured his grief into that embrace and Sarah had no idea what to do except to hold on. Upon pulling back, Jareth regarded Sarah with a questioning look.

Sarah stepped back a bit, looking Jareth straight in the eye. "What do you want from me?"

Jareth sighed. "I tried to tell you once. But the words weren't mine. They were saturated in lies and a power-hungry desire to own you. The truth is, I don't want to you fear me. I don't even want you do as I say. I can't offer you your dreams, or anything else except what you see before you. But I want you to love me. And I want you to stay."

The raw honesty of that statement caught something in Sarah's mind as she realized it was the first thing she'd ever heard him say that wasn't coated in his chocolate deception. In spite of herself, she was weakening.

Jareth took Sarah gently by the shoulders and looked into her, through her. He said nothing, but his eyes were pleading with her. All at once, she slipped and lost her footing on the massive, teetering scale of indecision, fell through the air (which smelled of him) and hit rock bottom amid a vast field of deep-rooted trees that bent down, heavily laden with the sweet fruit of surrender.

As his lips met hers, everything that had been cosmically lodged into odd crannies of time and space, clicked into place and the world—all of them—seemed to make sense. Not only that, but they all appeared to unite in their sensibility so that all of existence, centered around two beings intertwined in the end of a long battle, boiled down to a hazy blend of every color, scent, sound, and sensation that had ever brought love to the heart of a dreamer.

Hours later, seated atop the hill, overlooking what had now ceased to be a pile of rubble, and what was now the potential of a great kingdom, the unlikely pair were quiet. The sun was setting over the Labyrinth and everything was bathed in a gold shimmer that cast long shadows over the landscape.

After another moment, Jareth spoke softly. "Sarah…"

"Hmm?" Sarah was dreamy-eyed.

With a sly grin, the Goblin King said, "We'll have to start thinking about an heir."

Sarah patted his hand, "Oh, Jareth, you don't have to worry about that."

"Oh really?" Jareth pulled her to him suggestively. Both laughed, although there was a glimmer of something hungry in the Goblin King's eyes.

"Yes, really." She kissed him. "I think Toby would make a wonderful heir to the Labyrinthian throne, don't you?"

Jareth's face fell and he grumbled something incoherent. Sarah laughed.

"But in all seriousness…" she said.

"I think it can be arranged. I couldn't ask you to stay here while he remains so far away."

Sarah smiled and, leaning into Jareth as he held her, looked out over the land. "We certainly do have our work cut out for us, don't we?"

Jareth nodded in solemn agreement. "Think we're up for it?"

"What's the worst that can happen?"

"Careful, that's the kind of thinking that landed you in this fix three years ago."

Sarah pulled away slightly and took his face in her hands. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

THE END