The next day she was of mixed feelings, on the up side she was getting a new wardrobe and even better a say in what it would look like. On the down side none of it would be modern in the slightest, these women made her look agreeable. At least she only had to wait a few days before she got her first dress. Presently she was sporting a skirt she had worked on mixed with the upper portion of one of her old dresses. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she smiled, she looked like she had gone goth, a little old to go goth at that. How long had she been here?

"Something wrong Sarah mine?" Turning she glanced at Jareth, adjusting her top, it was little more than a loose corset mostly black with dark purple ribbon.

"How long have I been here?" Her voice was soft, she had forced herself not to think about it, some part of her didn't wan to know, but she did. She wasn't aware of the picture she created for the King. Tall, curved, pale, and vulnerable.

"I have a surprise for you." She frowned slightly at his aversion to answering her question but didn't back away when he moved to her side. Cautiously she watched as he produced a cloth and then placed it over her eyes. She brought her hands to her face, adjusting the cloth so that it didn't bother her nose. When his hands engulfed hers she stilled. "Trust me Sarah, trust me in this." She let him bring her hands to her sides; she let him guide her out of the room. Oddly she wasn't frightened; she knew there was a time. Not long ago she wouldn't have trusted him to be on the same continent let alone holding her close as she was blindly led to an unknown destination. When had she let him past her outermost guards and taken comfort in his presence?

Maybe it was because she had only him for company so often, maybe it was because he forced her to stay close to him every night, and the fact that he hadn't touched her in any way that she objected to in a long while. He hadn't thrown it in her face in a long time that he ruled over her. She was generally given leave to do as she wished. Unless there was the occasional runner she could visit others in the Labyrinth, if she was working in the kitchens it was because she chose to.

Or maybe he was just growing on her, much like the few friends she had grown with. Aside from Mick, it had been through others that she made friends. She wasn't shy, it was just, she didn't interact well with others. Her friendships with Hoggle and the others was miraculous as far as she was concerned. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"You've taken points from Mick, same answer and all." She felt the hands on her arms tighten for a moment before continuing in the gently push he was using to lead her away. "Do I at least get a hint?"

"This is a reward." She turned slightly, blindfold and all, to look where she guessed his face was.

"Reward? For what?"

The innocent tone she used, it made him wonder. "Your party Sarah, when was the last gift you received before that?" She stopped moving, he didn't push her to resume movement. He wanted an answer, and even though her could force it from her it would betray whatever trust she had for him. He knew there was a little, to have allowed him to take her sight and lead her took trust, but it was not complete trust. He hadn't earned that, trust like love was not something that could be taken, it had to be earned, one way or another.

"Umm my last present." Her words were slow, she was thinking hard over it. "Mick sent me a metal token he got in Little Tokyo." Her hand went to her neck and revealed a disk with a chain strung through the center. "I think it's a yen. A type of money, coin, thing, never mind." She dropped the coin and he watched it fall between the curves of her breasts. He'd never been envious of a simple token, but he'd give quite a bit to be where the metal disk was at this moment. "I think I was fifteen then." For the first time he truly noticed how it was not wealth and power that caught her attention. Oh she would look, but she was more interested in the meaning behind things. Such a simple gift was thought of fondly and kept close to her heart. She took delight in the slightest things. It should have made her easy to please, in truth it made it harder, but he was pretty sure he had found something that would bring a smile to her face. A true one and one thanks to him.

Once they were outside he placed his hands over her ears, he didn't want her to hear the change. Murmuring his spell he brought them to the aboveground, gently he brought her out of the alley way and into the sun. Gently he undid the knot to the scarf he had placed over her eyes.

"I-I-I'm in, you brought me, why-huh?" He smiled softly at her. Producing a mortal form of money he gave her a wallet. She looked from it to him.

"Look inside Sarah." She did, and found it filled with money, most likely more than she had ever held in her short life. He was old, he had taken interest in things from the Aboveground, he knew how to play the financial market. It was a child's game to him.

"I see you wishing for your mortal toys, be here at seven tonight, I give you until then to buy whatever you wish. Place your purchases in your satchel." At her side appeared what looked to be a velvet bag. A fashionable version of what he saw most her age packing on their backs. "Whatever you put in there, the overflow shall be delivered to our room." She nodded still looking from her provided purse to his face.

"Shopping spree?" Her voice was weak but a smile was slowly breaking across her face.

"Be here at seven Sarah, I trust you to be here." She nodded. He stepped back to leave but her hand touching his stalled him.

"Jareth? Thank you, for this and for not, for not saying I was yours." It was on the tip of his tongue to argue her statement, but she spoke. "For not telling me I'm an object." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, then quickly ducked into the nearest store. He was torn between shock and satisfaction. Satisfaction at how she had taken to his gift for her. Shock at what she had said; was that how she thought of it? Did she think he took her for a possession? Yes she was his, but it was in an all consuming sense. If he thought of her as only an object he would have cared for only her flesh, nothing beyond that and not for very long. 'Perhaps I best start showing her that, I do not see her as a toy. She is Sarah.' Stepping into the shadows he vanished. He had meetings scheduled for all day; a foolish runner was making his way through the Labyrinth. He wouldn't force Sarah to stay in the castle; he didn't trust certain nobles to keep their hands off his subjects. This would also make her happy. Something she hadn't been enough of in her life.

Look he can be sweet. Don't you all envy her? A bottomless bag to stuff purchases in, and an infinite supply of money. I wish I had that. Oh well. Looky an update!! Now if only I had more time in the world.

BUM