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.

Jealousy

"Jareth, are you busy?" Sarah asked, pacing the crimson study impatiently.
"Why?"
"Because I have to go back to check that Flicken is OK, and I promised James."
"Can't it wait?"
"No! I promised! Two weeks for us is months for them, and you refuse to let me use my magic, so you are going to have to take me." Sarah said stopping her pacing so she could stamp her foot in anger.
"I'm sure if they have waited for weeks, then they can wait a few more, then you can go on your own." Jareth sighed, throwing his quill back into the inkwell, threatening to spatter Sarah's cream gown with ink stains.
"Jareth!"

"Alright, alright. Enough woman or you'll give me a headache with your incessant complaining. I should have just married Elindah, at least I could have gagged her without fear of repercussions." That remark earned him a glare as he walked around his desk and caught his offended wife in his arms, preventing any rib jabbing as he captured her hands with his own and kissed her.

Sarah opened her eyes and blushed as she realised that Jareth had taken them through the veils right into James's sitting room where he, the girl they had rescued and Karolyn stood open mouthed as they appeared from nowhere. Sarah glared at Jareth as he let her go, ignoring his smirk as he turned away and leant seemingly bored, looking out of the window down onto the dusty street.
"Sarah." James said cautiously, watching Jareth out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey." Sarah said awkwardly, not sure of what reaction she was going to get.
"You really are real." Flicken said staring at Sarah, and then at Jareth, breaking the silence.
"Yes. Sorry about whisking you away like that the other day and then dumping you here."
"Gosh. I thought these two were insane when they kept telling me that you were real."

"If you didn't think we were real, then why did you ask for the child to be taken?" Jareth asked, hiking up an eyebrow at the girl as she sat on the sofa looking at him blankly.
"I don't know. I never even knew I'd remembered the story my gramps told me until there wasn't anything I could do…" She looked away from his intense stare and blushed. "Is she… will she be OK?"
"The child is no longer a concern of yours." Jareth said looking back out of the window.
"Jareth." Sarah frowned. "She is safe, she will be well looked after and loved, I promise." Sarah said touching the girl on her shoulder, sending out soothing thoughts automatically, easing Flickens memories of the child that was no longer hers.
"Have you thought about where you want to go? What you want to do with yourself?"

"It's a little early for things like that don't you think Sarah?" James asked sighing.
"Unless you want her to stay here, things are going to have to be arranged surely?" Sarah asked looking at James in confusion.
"All in hand. Karolyn's apartment down town is free now so Flick is going to move in there for a few months."
"Oh, that's great!" Sarah said smiling in relief that she hadn't dumped an unknown onto his lap.
"Are we done here?" Jareth asked casually swatting a fly out of the window.
"In a minute. Look, if you're bored come back in a few hours. I'm sure James isn't going to throw me out of the window yet.
"There's no point anyhow, she can fly." James said walking into the kitchen. Jareth snorted and disappeared in a huff.
"Men." Sarah muttered under her breath and got a sympathetic look from Karolyn and Flicken.

"I really appreciate your help Karolyn." Sarah said turning to the woman. "And I'm really glad that you and James have got together."
"Oh, we haven't. I'm going out with Chris his partner." Karolyn said dismissively. "Better all round really." She said looking pointedly at Flicken who was flicking through the TV channels.
"Oh, I see." Sarah said grinning. "So long as you're all happy. I'm sorry if I caused any problems between you."
"Not really, just made me see that James wasn't really my type."
"Not that you gave Chris a choice." James said snidely as he walked back into the sitting room bearing a tray of drinks and nibbles.
"Sometimes its better that way. Men never know what they want until they don't have it anymore." Flicken said helping herself to a drink and a handful of crisps. "I can't help wondering if.."
"No! Don't even go there. No wondering, no curiosity, and definitely no dropping by to see if the silly prick is ok." James said shaking a crisp at Flicken who rolled her eyes.

"Dare I ask how long I've been away this time?" Sarah asked flopping down into a chair.
"Urm 5, no 6 weeks now." Karolyn said putting a music channel on the TV.
"God I wish I could keep track, Its crazy trying to do anything."
"How so?" Flicken asked turning her attention away from James.
"Well, its only been two weeks back in the Underground for me since I left you here."

"Does that mean we're all getting older, and you're not?!" Karolyn asked in disgust.
"Fae don't age until they want to." Sarah said apologetically.
"But weren't you human before?" Flicken asked.
"It's a very long and complicated story." Sarah sighed playing with her gleaming bracelet.
"Well go on then!" James sighed throwing a peanut at her. "Its about time we got an explanation." He said ducking as she threw the peanut back at him.
An hour later they all sat in silence, digesting the wild story Sarah had faithfully told them.
"Why isn't Elindah dead yet? Surely if the King is so powerful then he could just ...?" James asked wigging his hands.

"Because that would break the balance." Jareth sighed getting up from where he had been lounging on the floor in the corner behind them.
"Must you do that all the time?" Karolyn asked pointing at his sudden appearance.
"I find it highly irritating to have my name thrown around like it belonged to a commoner, so I came to find the one daring to use it so glibly." Jareth said narrowing his eyes at Sarah. "I should have known it would have been my wife." He sighed stalking like a cat to the window.
"I see what you mean." Karolyn said to Sarah who laughed.
"If you're done with this social meeting?" Jareth asked holding his hand out.
"Thanks for having me guys. Speak to you soon!" Sarah said grinning as she stood up and was immediately pulled into the veils by Jareth.

"Well that was a bit rude." She said as she staggered into him with the force of their passing.
"Not as rude as you have been for ignoring me all afternoon." Jareth said.
"Oh Jareth. This morning you didn't want to talk to me, and then when I visit friends you complain that I don't talk to you. There is such a thing as being a hypocrite you know." She said shaking her head as he lead her to the dining room where Theo and Lucia said already eating.
"I'm not a hypocrite. I am a King. I can change my mind when and where I like." Sarah snorted and winked at Theo who handed her half a glass of wine.

"Only half a glass?" She asked looking at the wine to see where the rest had gone.
"Half a glass. Not enough to harm the baby." Lucia nodded as she piled a huge amount of fresh vegetables onto Sarah's plate.
"Babies." Jareth amended smirking at Theo and Lucia's surprised faces.
"Instead you want me to grow to twice the size I am now by eating enough to feed a small country." She sighed looking with distaste at the mound of food.
"Eat, it will do you good. You pick like a bird sometimes Selindé, it will do you no good to complain, I will just start making you eat more during the day." Lucia said ending the argument.

"Augh, I don't think I can move." Sarah groaned an hour later as everybody but her rose to leave the table.
"Very well, we'll see you here tomorrow night." Theo laughed waving as he disappeared.
"I'm going to end up looking like a beached whale!" Sarah complained as Jareth hauled her to her feet.
"You'll survive." Lucia said wishing them goodnight.

"I feel sick." Sarah wailed as Jareth pulled her up the main staircase.
"If you're going to complain like this for the next 7 months then I'm going to find you a comfortable Oubliette for the duration." Jareth said as he closed the door to his rooms behind them, pulling his boots off at the same time.
"You could make me feel better…" Sarah said climbing into his lap as he sank down on the edge of their bed.
"I could, but would you make it worth my while, and would the effect last?" Sarah laughed and climbed off him.
"I'm not sure on either count, but I could try." She said slipping out of her dress and taking off her jewellery in front of the dresser. She sat down and combed through her hair as Jareth lounged on the bed and watched her, fascinated.

"Let me share her." The Labyrinth said in the silence.
"No." Jareth replied, trying to block out the voice in his head.
"She should complete both of us. Its not fair."
"You're telling me its not fair?" Jareth snorted in his mind.
"Well it isn't. I let you bring her back for both of us."
"You never stipulated that I would have to share. I have given you everything since I was old enough to know who and what you are and you share her dreams, and power."
"I didn't realize I needed to stipulate anything. If I had known I would have done. You never had a problem with any of the other women you have bedded over the years."
"She is different. You also did not have a choice about bringing her back. I would have done it with or without your permission."

"I would have killed her, then you would have known what it was like for me, to be alone for eternity."
"I have already experienced that, now sod off and leave me alone."
"I will make you share her. If you do not do this with me asking politely, I will take her for myself." Jareth caught a vision half formed of himself as the Labyrinth took on shape. He banished the image with a flick of his hand and ground his teeth.
"I will not share her with you, and you will not take her without my permission."
"You can't stop me." The Labyrinth said defiantly into his ear.
"Damnit enough! I will not let you have her!" Jareth bellowed aloud, slamming his fist against the wooden bedpost making Sarah jump.

"Jareth, what's wrong?" She asked getting up and wrapping her arms around his warm body.
"I will not share you with it." Jareth said holding her to him fiercely.
"The Labyrinth?" Sarah asked confused as she ran a hand through his soft hair, soothing him.
"It can not share you. You are mine." He sighed burying his head in her shoulder. "I waited Selindé, I waited so long for you to come back to me."
"Oh Jareth." Sarah whispered kissing his anger away, pulling him into the bed with her. "I am yours. Would it be so terrible just once to let it do as it asks? Though I'm not sure how that would work…" She said frowning as he glared at her.
"I will not." He refused flatly.
"Not even just once?" The Labyrinth asked in his head, pleadingly.

"No."
"Jareth, tell me what would happen if you didn't?" Sarah asked placing soft kisses across his jaw line.
"I will not let it take you." He said sulking.
"I don't want you to fight. I would rather do as it asks once then it will be over and done with. It doesn't mean I'll love you any less. I couldn't." Sarah said sighing as Jareth caressed her softly.
"I will have no control over what it does to you." He whispered looking at her with an ache in his heart that another would touch her like he touched her.
"Then make it promise not to hurt me." She said sadly.

"I will not hurt you Selindé." The Labyrinth said in her own mind.
"Just once, then never again. You have to promise."
"I promise."

"Jareth." Sarah said making him look at her. "I love you." She whispered kissing him deeply. When she opened her eyes the body lying in the bed next to her looked the same, but it belonged to another creature entirely. Its eyes, instead of mismatched pale blue and green, shone only with a golden glow. It waved its hand and the beautiful bedroom disappeared, leaving them lying on a soft bed of moss, surrounded by stars and sky and a thousand mirrors in its own prison.

"Make love to me Selindé." The Labyrinth pleaded as it kissed Sarah with a desperate need. When their frantic lovemaking was over, Sarah turned away from the creature feeling strange as it drew away from her. When she looked up again Jareth's body was gone leaving only the Labyrinth in its self imposed prison of mirrors and darkness.
"Thank you." The Labyrinth whispered.
"Now I understand why he loves you the way he does."

Sarah nodded silently. In the blink of an eye she was returned to Jareth's bed. She spent some time brushing her teeth and washing herself before drawing on a soft robe and walking out the rooms with nowhere particular in mind.

Taking refuge in the dimly lit and towering library she climbed up the winding stair cases until she found a small niche with a comfortable chair and chose a book at random, letting her mind slip away into a blissful nothingness between the books pages. The candle next to her eventually flickered and died before she noticed and replaced it with a fresh stick.

Muttering under her breath, she waved her hand in the darkness, waiting for the candle to replace itself. Sighing when she realised she still could not perform any magic, the block Jareth had placed on her was still there.
The candle suddenly sparked afresh, its burnt out wick rebuilding itself as several other candles around her lit themselves at the same time.
"You will hurt your eyes reading in the dark like this." Jareth said walking up to her, sitting down at her feet like she was the Queen and he a page.
"I wasn't really reading." Sarah sighed, closing the book and replacing it on a shelf in reaching distance.
"Forgive me." He whispered as Sarah leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around his neck hiding her face on his shoulder.
"It is done, I don't want to talk about it." Sarah said kissing his exposed neck.

"Come, you are exhausted, and you are meant to be resting." Jareth said pulling her to her feet and taking them back to their bed. She lay next to him for some time, listening to his quiet breathing, feeling strangely secure and safe again in his arms, even though the same arms and body several hours ago had caused her so much unknown apprehension.
"Sleep Selindé." Jareth said sleepily as she turned to watch the moons dipping low towards the horizon and the false dawn.