Author's Note: The story does indeed seem to be writing itself so far, which is a pleasant surprise. I have a rough idea of how it will turn out, but mostly I plan ahead only by a chapter or so. By the time one chapter is posted, the next is usually already underway. By this means, I hope to be able to maintain this unusual habit (for me) of regular updates.

Angelwingz202, earlier you asked if Sarah's illness really was the tea, or a vine-related issue. While nothing can be ruled out, I think it's safe to say that this particular scene is what it seems-- Hoggle is an excellent cook, but perhaps not the greatest gardener or botanist.

For the most part, I haven't been addressing individual comments per the custom here, but I've read and appreciated them all. It was good to know that the previous chapter wasn't too confusing in regards to perspective, and good to get some feedback about what I've written. If there are any questions, I'll try my best to answer them. Oh, and bonus points for recognizing the not-so-subtle literary reference.

Chapter Five: As the World Falls Down

Sarah landed on the floor with a crash, bringing down a tangle of purple silk with her. She was in a strange room with a ceiling painted to look like the night sky. Pulling herself up on the canopied bed, she noticed dozens of candles burned to their very end until they were little more than puddles of wax. On the floor was a moss green carpet woven with tiny wildflowers like a medieval tapestry, and in one corner of the room was a giant wardrobe.

She went to it curiously and tugged it open. It was filled with row upon row of beautiful gowns in every color Sarah could imagine. They looked like they'd been there for quite some time, even though they had never been worn. She took down a silvery blue one and held it up against her body... too small, but only just. Looking around her to make sure no one was watching, she reached in and felt for the back of the wardrobe, wondering if there would be a snowy wood and a single glowing lamp-post beyond. There was nothing but the hard wood backing, and Sarah chuckled nervously. In a place like this, you never knew what could happen. But sometimes stories were just that... stories. Then her hand brushed up against something that felt oddly familiar. She pulled it toward her to better see it.

It was a white and silver ballgown with full sleeves and a delicate twisting pattern embroidered on the bodice in gold thread. It couldn't be... and yet, there was no mistaking it. Every detail was just as she remembered-- the sleeves that skimmed her shoulders, and the way it gathered in at her waist. Jareth had lain his hand in the curve of her back, holding her tight to him as they spun across the ballroom floor, and... Sarah dropped the gown as if it burned her fingers. Looking around the room once more, she rolled up the white ballgown and thrust it deep to the back of the wardrobe. When a tentative knock sounded on the chamber door, she jumped and hastily shut the door.

"Your Majesty?" A voice cautiously inquired from the hall.

"Sir Didymus!" Sarah cried, rushing to unbolt the door. "And Hoggle, there are you are!"

The dwarf and the fox nearly fell into the room, then seized Sarah in a fierce embrace.

"My lady, you are alive! I knew his Majesty would--"

"Sarah, please forgive me, I never meant--"

"Hush, don't both of you talk at once!" Sarah laughed. "Hoggle, there is nothing to forgive. I know you would never knowingly hurt me."

The little man turned aside brushed a tear from his eye with his sleeve quickly, wanting no one to see.

"I just never would've forgiven myself if anything had happened to you, that's all. And I thought Ludo would tear me to pieces."

"Is Ludo all right?"

"Same as ever, my lady. I will send him word of your recovery posthaste." Sir Didymus bowed low and cleared his throat to hide the emotion in his voice. "It will cheer him mightily. With thy permission, my lady, I will withdraw. Ambrosius!"

"No, wait!" Sarah grabbed the little knight before he could scurry away. "I need both of you to help me. I need to know what happened."

"You don't remember?" Hoggle sounded genuinely surprised, but flustered, too.

"Only bits and pieces. At Ludo's cave, I think I fainted. I remember you calling my name... but then it all goes black. I have these strange fragments running through my head, but they're like dreams. They make no sense."

"You were gravely ill, my lady." Sir Didymus shook his head sadly. "When you collapsed, nothing could revive you."

"We were afraid you would die, Sarah." The dwarf shuffled his feet, looking wretched and guilty. "We... That is to say, you summoned the Goblin King, and he brought you here."

Sarah paled and sat down on the bed. She looked at the chair drawn up beside it. On the chair was a pair of sleek black leather gloves. "I was here? With him?"

Hoggle squirmed away from Sarah's accusing stare. "It was the only way, Sarah. I wouldn't have done it otherwise..."

"I know." Sarah drew in a shuddering sigh. "Where is he now?"

Hoggle shrugged in bewilderment. "We begged him to save you, but I wasn't sure he'd agree. Then he kicked us out and locked the door, and that's the last we saw of him."

"I don't remember..."

"We couldn't hear a sound from the hall all night. Only Didymus dared to knock just now because he heard a crashing noise from inside the chamber."

"That was me, falling off the bed. But no one else was here at all."

"His Majesty must have left. But he healed thee, my lady." Sir Didymus smiled in relief, touching Sarah's shoulder as if he wanted to reassure himself that she was really there.

"Yes, but I can't have been here the whole time. I was at home again, I remember..." Sarah paused, searching through her scrambled memories of dinner, then the dream of that lonely landscape and the river. As before, there was something nagging her, something she should know. She kicked the bed in frustration. "I don't know what I remember."

"It doesn't matter." Hoggle tugged her sleeve. "You're well, and we can get out of here before he gets back!"

"We can't do that!" Sarah twisted free. She thought of the wardrobe full of dresses, and the familiar white ballgown. "I... I can't explain why, Hoggle, but I need to see him."

"But he might not want to see you. He was so angry last night, he barely wanted to look at you at all." The dwarf shuddered at the memory of it.

"Then why did he help me?"

"Search me. You don't question the motives of a king, that's what I've learned. Especially not Jareth, and not now. Just thank your lucky stars he did what he did, and let's get out of here!"

Sarah shook her head firmly. "I'm sorry, Hoggle. I won't go until I've seen him."

"Friend Hoggle, it is only meet that the lady should thank her rescuer." said Sir Didymus encouragingly.

Hoggle groaned. "He doesn't want thanks. What he wants is revenge! He'll have all three of us hanging upside down over the Bog of Eternal Stench before you can blink."

"No..." said Sarah slowly. "I don't think that will happen."

"Fine reassurance that is." grumbled the little man. "We'll rule as the royal crowned heads of the kingdom of Stench together."

"You can't go up there. Nobody goes up there!"

The goblin was emphatic, his eyes startled and round. His small horned helmet sat askew on his head, and he was lugging a sackful of what looked like burnt-out candle stubs. They stood before a set of silvery wooden doors, lit on either side with torches burning brightly. Carved into them were the spreading branches of a forest holding up a night sky of diamond stars embedded in the wood. The goblin stood protectively before the doors, but cowered under the three friends' sharp gazes.

"But these are His Majesty's rooms?" Sir Didymus inquired politely.

"They're his private rooms. No one's ever allowed up, everyone knows that."

"You heard him." Hoggle coughed nervously and tugged at his jewel belt. "No use invading his privacy and all that."

"That's not good enough." Sarah crossed her arms across her chest with a stubborn set of her chin that Hoggle recognized. "He may not want to see anyone, but he'll have to see me."

"It is as my lady commands." Sir Didymus pushed aside the protesting goblin and started for the doors.

Sarah grabbed him. "Wait... I need you and Hoggle to stay here. I have to do this alone."

Reluctant as he was to enter the Goblin King's chambers, Hoggle liked this even less. "I don't think that's a good idea at all. There's no telling what would happen if you went up there by yourself."

"Yet you two left me alone with him last night." Sarah pointed out. "If he'd meant to harm me, he would have done it then."

"I am sure His Majesty means no harm, my lady." avowed Sir Didymus loyally. "But still, perhaps if one of us were to accompany thee to make an introduction..."

"I insist. I won't be long, and you two can wait for me."

"As you wish." The little knight was resigned.

"Do be careful, Sarah." said Hoggle urgently. "Don't make him any angrier than he already is."

Sarah nodded and took a deep breath before raising her hand to the door. There was no handle and no bell to ring, so she simply put a hand on its carved surface, polished smooth with age. The doors swung open to reveal a winding staircase. She looked back at her friends. Sir Didymus waved his staff encouragingly, while Hoggle merely looked ill.

"He'll blast you to smithereens. Don't say I didn't warn you!" squeaked the goblin, scuttling away with his bag.

Sarah was a little afraid when the doors swung noiselessly shut behind her, but she started up the stairs. They too, were polished smooth and the middle of each step was slightly concave, as if people had passed this way for so long they'd worn a hollow in each one. Skimming one hand along the wall for balance, Sarah began to climb. The way was lit with candles, each held in an ivory sconce the shape of a graceful hand. There was no sound except her footsteps, and Sarah alternated between watching her step and craning her neck to see if she'd reached the top of the stairs. On the seventh step, she froze in her tracks. There was a spot of blood on the stone. It was not an old stain, but neither was it newly shed. Sarah couldn't bring herself to touch it, but now she took the stairs two at a time.

At the top of the stairs was a smaller set of doors, and they burst open before Sarah could even reach them. She stepped into a high-ceilinged chamber, the walls lined with books and other curios. But it was the large wooden desk in the center of the room that drew her attention, and the man sitting behind it. Sarah's breath caught in her throat. Far from being ill or wounded, the Goblin King lounged easily in his chair, the sleeve of his heavy silk robe pushed up over a pale wrist. He set the book down and took up a pair of leather gloves from a desk drawer, tugging them on slowly. The light from the fireplace behind him glinted off his silver-blond hair.

"Hello, Sarah. I'm afraid you have me at quite the disadvantage." His smile was slow and easy, eyebrow arching as he took in her disheveled appearance. "I did not expect you in my private chambers."

"I..." Sarah was at a loss for words. Now that she was here before him, she didn't know quite what to expect. But she hadn't expected this.

He rose somewhat stiffly, folding his robe around him. It was a deep crimson with intricate gold stitching running down the front, its length falling just past his knees. Sarah could see he still wore breeches underneath, but his boots had been exchanged for ones in a softer leather. Jareth leaned casually against the edge of his desk, as if fully aware of her scrutiny. Sarah blushed fiercely, and her next words came out in a rush.

"I want to thank you for what you did. For saving me."

Jareth laughed shortly. "Save you? Hardly, my dear Sarah. No doubt you would have pulled through on your own without my interference."

Sarah hadn't expected this, either. "But... Hoggle said I nearly died."

"He would say that, wouldn't he? Wretched thing." The Goblin King examined the bookshelves and took down a trio of rings made of a translucent green stone. He twirled them idly, linking and unlinking them in the air with a pass of his hand. "He was convinced he'd killed you with that vile tea of his."

"If I wasn't going to die, then why did you bring me here?" Sarah eyed him warily.

"Your friends were most... persistent." Jareth was at her side before she realized it, cupping her chin with his hand, his eyes gazing deeply into her own as a grim smile played across his face. "And I do not deny there is a certain satisfaction to having the one who destroyed my Labyrinth under my power again."

Author's Note: Ordinarily I wouldn't end a chapter in the middle of a scene, but it seemed like a good stopping place. If anyone is particularly anxious, then rest assured that the next chapter (entitled My Beloved Enemy, if anyone wants to know) is well underway.

Comments/reviews are welcome.