DISCLAIMER - I don't own Sarah or Jareth or the Labyrinth (unfortunately) they belong to Jim Henson & Co, and I'm definitely not making a profit from this. (Bummer) All other NPC's are a figment of my own imagination.

Chapter 16 – Return

She sat in her sitting room, brooding about Jareth's inexplicable rage, and wondered if it had something to do with her. She had never seen him that angry, and it took her some time before she stopped shaking. Her hand was throbbing, but with nothing to put on the deep cut, it would have to wait for later. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even realise that she had missed dinner and only realised the time when Isenith appeared at her door to find her sitting in the dark

"Excuse me." He said quietly. "King Jareth requests your presence in his study."

"Let me just freshen up and I'll be right there." She said hastily getting up and going into her bathroom. Standing at the washbasin she threw some water over she face and hands, trying to calm her nerves before resolutely walking down the corridors to Jareth's study. She paused outside the door for several seconds, listening to him giving out orders to several goblins that all trooped out, narrowly avoiding mowing Sarah down.

"No need to loiter in the doorway, I'm not going to start shouting again." He said looking up at her from where he leaned on his desk. Sarah nodded and entered his study, not really sure what to do with herself. She finally sat down in her usual chair waiting for him to speak, which he didn't. He turned away from her and stood looking out into the night, Sarah finally realising that he was wearing leather armour beneath his long cloak.

"You're really going to war." She whispered, suddenly very afraid. He turned and looked at her before nodding.

"One day Sarah you will understand. That Tilingdor has even dared step foot in Chayene again speaks of treason against the High King." He said frowning in anger.

"I don't even know where Chayene is." Sarah muttered thinking of the beautiful map that Isenith had been unable to repair.

"The mountains to the south of the Labyrinth mark the borders of Chayene, a beautiful kingdom once allied with the Goblin Realms through blood and marriage. Tilingdor desired the beauty of Chayene and tried to claim it as his own, the price of his invasion was his death, but now his son thinks that Chayene should also belong to him. I will teach him, just as I taught his father." Jareth snarled, slamming his gauntleted fist against the wall.

"I don't want you to go to war. Surely there is another way? Can't you negotiate?"

"I will not negotiate with Tilingdor ever. If your mother hadn't…" He stopped suddenly, a strange look crossing his face.

"My mother?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Nothing, forget I said anything." He sighed again and shook his head.

"Jareth? All those goblins today, they all asked a single request from you, is that what normally happens?"

"Generally. Each year I grant a single request of each of my subjects. Makes them grateful the rest of the year and out of my hair. Why do you ask?"

"Would you grant me a request, even though I'm your slave?" She asked, trying to keep the hope from her voice.

"I would grant any request you asked of me Sarah. You should know that by now, and you are not my slave." He said quietly.

"Would you let me go back? Just for a few days? Just to see James… I promised him that if I could, I would…" She broke off, watching him with an unreadable in his eyes as he gazed at her, almost sadly she thought. "If you won't let me, I'll understand, but I don't want to be here if you're away fighting somewhere…"

"If you wish to visit the Aboveground than I will take you. With a warning however, you have changed, and are no longer completely human, in fact, you are more Fae now than human. This change will make you, aware of the aboveground in ways you have never imagined. I will give you 3 days before I come and collect you, for you will not be able to stand the… noise… for longer than that." He turned away from her and took a small black box from off a shelf before handing it to her. She opened it, gasping as she took out the beautiful silver bracelet, sparkling with gems of every colour. The clasp was made up of an interlocking symbol, identical to Jareth's necklace. "So the Labyrinth can still feel your power." He said shrugging, as she was about to ask him why he had given it to her. She nodded and smiled, delighted as she put the bracelet on and admired it.

"Thank you, its beautiful."

"Are you ready?" He asked walking up to her and holding out his gauntlet-covered hand.

"Now?"

"No time like the present." He said as she put her hand in his and felt the blackness envelope them.

"We are here." He said eventually, waiting for Sarah to open her eyes. "The nausea will disappear in a moment." She nodded and then groaned, holding her head as she looked around the small alleyway he had brought them to.

"Are you sure?"

"Beyond doubt. Mark my warnings well Sarah, you have 3 days, and whatever you do, do not try to get back to the Underground without me, you are not yet strong enough. Your old apartment is just around the corner."

"Thank you." Sarah whispered as she stood on tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek, letting him feel her gratitude and thanks in the contact. She let go of his hand and watched as he stepped backwards and disappeared into nothingness. "Be careful." She whispered as he went.

Turning she picked up her skirts, feeling slightly silly to be dressed the way she was and left the alley, quickly getting her bearings on the main street in the early evening pedestrian traffic. She shook her head as the buzzing in her ears refused to go away and started walking. 4 blocks later she reached the side street of smart townhouses and made her way along them until she got to the right address. She hid a grin as she read the plaque next to the open door and went in. The main reception room was quiet, and cool as Sarah entered, the tapping of keys and the tick of the clock on the wall the only sounds as the blonde receptionist failed to see her enter. Sarah looked around her curiously, wondering what it would have been like if she had stayed and lived here in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She stood and looked out of the window at the quiet street, the sounds of children playing in the park at the bottom reaching her ears, as the myriad of sounds from every direction, all competing in her brain to be recognised and accounted for.

"Karolyn, you'd better cancel that 4:30 tomorrow. Simon's asked for a double slot again." James said rummaging through the file he was carrying as he walked out of his office and into the reception.

"Did you want me to reschedule?" The young girl asked looking up at him from her desk. She frowned in annoyance as he ignored her and continued to stare at the girl stood at the window.

"Sarah?" James whispered dropping his file down on the desk and walking through the chairs hesitantly. Sarah turned and grinned at him.

"Long time no see." She said walking forwards to meet him in the centre of the room, laughing as he looked like he'd just seen a ghost. She gasped as he suddenly swept her off her feet and twirled her around.

"Oh my god!" He crowed laughing as he finally set her down, touching her cheek wonderingly. "You're really here! You've changed though!" He said half dismayed.

"For the better I hope!" Sarah replied smiling. "I got some time off for good behaviour and thought I'd come and see you, hope you don't mind?"

"Do I mind? Are you crazy? Karolyn cancel the rest of my appointments and take the rest of the evening off, I've got some catching up to do!" He laughed turning back to his receptionist who looked completely pissed off as he held Sarah's hand. She glared at Sarah as James lead her out of the reception and up a grand flight of stairs into a large apartment.

"This is ground's for a celebration!" He said chuckling as he sat her down on a large comfortable sofa and headed for the kitchen. "I just can't believe you've come back!" He shouted before returning with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Quickly he popped the cork and poured out the glasses, toasting her as he handed her a glass. "Here's to the return of my favourite and most loved client!" He laughed sitting down next to her and staring. "Wow." Sarah blushed and laughed.

"James! You're making me feel like I'm a different person! I'm still me you know." She said sulkily, taking another sip of her champagne.

"You're you, and yet you're not. You're like a fairytale princess just walked out of a movie set. You're all… sparkly!" James laughed again, touching her arm.

"So tell me, how goes the head shrinking business?" She asked to change the subject and to keep her mind of the incessant noise. She smiled as James slouched back on the sofa next to her and put his feet up.

"Brilliant! I've even got another guy who's interested in taking the spare office downstairs, so that will make 3 of us here. You were way too nice to give me your house you know." He said sighing. "Greivier didn't know what to do with himself when he found out how much you had given him too. I believe he's going to take a trip after Thanksgiving to see the world."

"Thanksgiving? How long away it that?" Sarah asked confused.

"In a couple of months. Sarah you've been gone for 9 months now, that's why I was so shocked to see you standing in my reception!"

"But it's only been 4 months in the underground." Sarah muttered frowning as she looked out of the window into the dusk. "So, have you taken Karolyn out on a date yet?" She asked mischievously, ducking as he swatted at her.

"No. Somehow I've just not had the time and I … never mind. Now you're back I'm going to have even less time! She'll get over it."

"James, I'm not staying forever…" Sarah said turning back to him. "I can't."

"But, why not? You're all better; you could live here… with me! This is still technically your house after all! I'm sure we could sort something out, and you were never declared dead, since they couldn't find you. Why won't you stay?"

"Its not that I don't want to…"

"Is it him? That king you told me about? Is he holding you hostage?"

"NO! It's not like that at all! I've changed… lets not talk about this now, I don't want to argue." She said stopping him before he could interrupt again. "You don't have anything I could change into do you? I feel a bit stupid slouching around in a dress like this…"

"Oh, err, yer! Actually, I've still got some of your old stuff in the spare room. I hope you don't mind." He said, flushing slightly as she looked at him before he lead her up another set of stairs to the spare rooms.

"You can sleep in here, the beds all made up ready, and the room across the hall is where I put all your stuff. Make yourself comfortable, I'm going to start some food, hope you're hungry!" He said leaving her at the top of the stairs. She leaned her head against the door and concentrated on subduing the noise in her head. She finally managed to get it down to a tolerable level before she went in search of something to wear.

She stopped as she opened the door of the spare room. It was filled with cardboard boxes of her things.

"Didn't he throw anything out?" She whispered to herself, a half formed thought fluttering through her head. She opened a box, conveniently labelled clothes and found a large jumper and a pair of tracksuit bottoms. Going into the other room she took off her dress and threw on the tracksuit bottoms, turning as she pulled the jumper over her head she jumped as she saw James stood in the doorway.

"I didn't hear you come up." She said swiftly pulling the jumper over her slip.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know what you preferred, pasta or salad?"

"Oh, either, I don't mind." She said pulling her hair out and twisting it into a knot at the back of her head.

She followed him down the stairs, the scary half formed thoughts following her. She sat down in the lounge and talked to him whilst he cooked, half-heartedly flicking through the millions of TV channels that she hadn't missed. Strange, she thought to herself as James prattled on in the kitchen, how she could live for 25 years in a modern world full of gadgets and gismos and then give it up in a heartbeat for the Underground that seemed permanently locked in the medieval period. But then, this world didn't have very much magic left. It felt old and tainted from the lack of belief. The underground seemed newer, more vibrant and real compared to this.

"Sarah, dinner is ready." James said interrupting her thoughts. She entered the kitchen behind him and gasped as she saw the candlelit dinner laid out on the round table.

"James you shouldn't have!" She exclaimed as he held the chair out for her.

"Only the best for my girl." He said grinning as he poured her some red wine. "Help yourself to the food." He said sitting down himself and piling some of the meal onto his plate.

They sat in companionable silence, enjoying the food whilst Sarah's mind privately raced through all the different possibilities for James to have kept everything she had ever owned. Finally she had to ask, just for her peace of mind.

"James how come you didn't throw all that crap out upstairs?"

"I knew you'd come back." He shrugged not looking at her. "I didn't see the point of throwing your things out when you would have needed them, and it's a good job I didn't." He said pointing at her clothes.

"You had a feeling?" She asked sceptically.

"Yer, you know. Just one of those things." He said sheepishly as she stood up and began clearing the table.

She was filling the dishwasher up when he took hold of her hand pulling her into and embrace. "You're so intoxicating." He whispered holding her tight.

"James." Sarah said pulling away from him confused. "Look, I hate to break up the party, but I'm exhausted. I think I've just experienced 2 lots of sunsets in one day. Do you mind if I go to bed early?"

She nodded as he shook his head and let her pass. "I'll see you in the morning." She said yawning and walking up the stairs.

"Good night Sarah."

She lay in the cold bed for hours until finally the house was silent, as silent as it possibly could be she amended since the noises in her head hadn't abated one decibel. She was confused and concerned about James's behaviour towards her, since she had never seen him as anything but a friend and her therapist. It worried her more that he didn't seem to think that his actions were wrong. She sighed and rolled over again, feeling the boxes in the other room calling her, tempting her with a life she had all but forgotten. She ignored them and concentrated on breathing slowly, feeling mentally for the soft pulse of the Labyrinths beating magical flux. It felt harder in some ways than it normally did, tense and poised for action. She guessed that it must be Jareth's own emotions touching the Labyrinth, making it feel so different, like a hunter waiting for the right moment to strike and attack the hunted. Across town a fire engines siren broke out, along with several cars honking. In the next road a cat meowed outside a closed door and a dog barked endlessly whilst its owners argued over the sounds of the TV. Everyday life went on around her, and yet she no longer belonged to any of it.

Grumbling to herself she got up and threw on the tracksuit bottoms and jumper before making her way quietly to the spare room and flicking on the light. She winced in the sudden glare before sitting down on a handy stool to begin rummaging through the boxes. She dismissed all the clothes boxes, placing them all in a pile by the door; tomorrow she would take them down to the local charity shop. Two boxes of toys went on top since neither she nor James would ever have use of them. She sat down and carefully went through a box of china ornaments, finally deciding that they too should go. She spent a long time flipping through hundreds of photographs in a small box and put it finally to one side, to perhaps take back with her to the Labyrinth. She only had a few photos in her small shoebox, and they were getting grubby and torn.

She trawled her way heartlessly though several more boxes of just junk from around her parent's house before finding a box filled with her father's things from his office in the den. She stopped and began to flick though the packages of letter and old bills, stopping when she noticed the ancient chess set at the bottom. She carefully took it out and opened the lid, running her finger across the wooden pieces and noting that there was a single black pawn missing from the set. She was about to close it again when she noticed a corner of writing paper sticking out from under the cardboard that held the pieces in place and pulled it out, careful not to rip the thin envelope and paper within. She sat down on the floor with a thud as she recognised her mother's handwriting on the envelope and quickly took the letter out to read it.

Much of the letter was faded, and some of the first bit looked as though water had been spilt on it, making the writing illegible.

"I don't believe them when they say there's nothing wrong with her. I won't believe them. If you had seen the man that I saw looking over her crib in the ward you would believe me too. She's not ours. Whoever that man was, he changed our daughter for this girl. I don't recognise her, and she doesn't recognise me, when she cries, it's not me she's looking for. I refuse to believe that stupid doctor when he says that children's ears are often pointy. None of the other children in here have point ears! Call me paranoid, call me psychotic, and tell me I have postnatal depression but this child next to me in the crib is not mine... and I won't call her Elizabeth, you'll have to give her a different name, and find somebody else to look after her."

The tirade about swapped babies and a strange man dressed in black continued for several more lines until her mother had either given up or had gone on to something else. The paper held a faint medicinal smell and Sarah could still make out the inscription of the hospital where she had been born at the bottom of the page.

"Shayene is FORBIDDEN to all! Now and forever until its heir returns to take back what is rightfully hers!" Jareth's angry voice cut through Sarah's tears like a knife.

"I will not negotiate with Tilingdor ever. If your mother hadn't…"

"If my mother hadn't what? Damn you, why do you never tell me what I need to know?" She wept stuffing the letter back in its envelope and back into the chess box. "If I didn't belong to my mother, who did I belong to? Where am I from? Why are you the only person who can tell me?" She whispered. Finally she put the chess box with the photographs as things to keep before turning off the light and creeping back to her bed.