Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or anything associated with it.

A/N: Hello, peoples! Did ya miss me? C'mon, you know ya did! Well, here's chapter three for ya! Sorry it took so long. But first, a big Hell Bunny shout-out to notwritten for sending in an answer to my question about the Greek Lemon Rice Soup! Thanx! Now, enjoy!

Back to You

Chapter Three: Tears of Joy (Part One)

Annabel stared at the spot where the Goblin King had just been.

Okay, she thought, There is definitely something weird going on here…I mean, other than the fact that I'm actually here, in the Underground; that the Underground is a real place.

"I'll never understand why he makes such a show of entering and leaving a place when humans are present," said Valetra, shaking her head.

She's right, Annabel thought with amusement. His attitude alone should be enough to impress them.

"Well," said Valetra, turning to look at Annabel, "We had best get a move on."

Annabel sighed, "Why won't anybody tell me what's going on?"

Turning, Valetra said, "You should not worry yourself about these things. They will all be explained eventually. Until then, I suggest that you turn your attention to getting a bath and a change of clothes.

Annabel looked down at herself and saw that she was still wearing her pajamas.

Well duh, she thought. It's not like I had the chance to take a bath or change my clothes this morning.

"Come along, then," Valetra said, turning and walking down the hallway. "Your room is this way." (A/N: Sorry that I keep changing between "rooms" and "room"…I'll just stick with "room"…for now)

Annabel followed, sighing deeply.

I wonder where His High and Mightiness went. He's probably off bugging the crap out of some people…Poor bastards.

Valetra led Annabel down the hallway, up a flight of stairs, and down another hallway.

How much longer is this going to take? she wondered irritably. I swear we've been walking through this hallway for over ten minutes. How far away can this room be, anyway?

Just when Annabel was about to scream with impatience, Valetra stopped dead in her tracks, and Annabel barely kept herself from bumping into the goblin. She watched in silence as Valetra reached into her pocket and withdrew a key. She then unlocked the door and held it open, motioning for Annabel to enter the room.

"Thank you," Annabel said awkwardly, and stepped through the doorway.

XxXxXxX

About fifteen minutes later, Annabel stepped out of the bathroom clothed in a white dressing gown and toweling her hair dry. She had thought about taking her time with her bath, but she hadn't wanted to be rude to Valetra by keeping her waiting. For some strange reason, Annabel liked the goblin woman.

Weird, thought Annabel. I only met hr half an hour ago. I mean, I know I usually make friends quickly and easily, but these aren't exactly normal circumstances…Then again, when have I ever been the definition of normal? There have been times when I should have been named the poster child for 'unusual'. Maybe even weird. I mean, who else goes to play in their back yard when they're four years old and winds up running back inside, telling their mom they saw faeries playing next to the tulips? Wait…I'm doing it again, aren't I? I swear, I couldn't control the thoughts in my head if my life depended on it.

Annabel was brought back to reality when the sound of Valetra asking her a question reached her ears.

Annabel blinked. "What?"

Valetra looked at her, an eyebrow quirked, "I was just wondering if you found everything in order."

"In order for what?"

"For your bath. Did you have any trouble finding the things that you needed?"

Annabel smiled, "No, I didn't have any trouble. Thank you for asking."

At least one person in this place doesn't have an ego big enough to choke an elephant, she thought gratefully.

As if reading Annabel's thoughts, Valetra looked at her and said, "He's really not as bad as he seems. You just have to get to know him. He hasn't always been like this. Believe it or not, there was a time when he was really a very likeable person. He just hasn't been the same since she left…"

"Since who left?" Annabel asked with a questioning look.

Valetra gazed at the girl a moment before answering, "His wife."

Annabel was more than a little surprised by Valetra's answer.

He doesn't exactly strike me as the type of man who would get married.

"What was the queen like?" she asked Valetra suddenly.

Valetra's eyes softened, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards in a small smile. "She was wonderful. One of the nicest people I've ever met. She was kind and gentle, and very beautiful. Not to say that she didn't have a temper. Quite the opposite, actually. She was feisty, and she could be quite stubborn at times. Everybody loved her. Nobody more so than the king."

"What happened to make her leave?" Annabel asked her.

A sad look crossed Valetra's face, and Annabel mentally kicked herself for not thinking before she spoke. From the way she had been talking, Valetra must have been close to the queen.

"I'm sorry," Annabel said quickly. "I really didn't mean to- "

"It's alright," Valetra interrupted her. She took a breath and looked at Annabel. "One day, years ago, Their Majesties received a message saying that the queen's younger brother was severely ill and there was a possibility that he would die. The queen was terrified for her brother's life, and she decided right then and there to go back to her home and try to save her brother. His Majesty agreed, but he was unable to go with her. She left to go to her brother that very same day."

"What happened?" Annabel asked when Valetra didn't continue. "Was her brother okay after she got there?"

"Nobody knows," Valetra told her. Her eyes were filled with pain and great sorrow as the words left her mouth, and Annabel could swear that she sa the faint glimmer of tears in the eyes of the gobliness. "She never returned, and we never received word of her from her family."

Annabel's eyes widened. "But how – what could have happened? Couldn't she have used her powers to get back here if something had gone wrong?"

Valetra continued to look at Annabel, her gaze intense and unwavering, "Again, nobody knows."

"No wonder he seemed so cold-hearted," Annabel whispered softly.

"As I told you earlier," Valetra said, her expression softening, "His Majesty was not always this way."

XxXxXxX

"Valetra?" came Annabel's questioning voice. It had been about ten minutes since Valetra had told her about the Goblin Queen's unexplained disappearance, and Annabel had finally decided to ask the gobliness the question that had been utmost in her mind since she had arrived in the Underground.

"Yes?"

Annabel took a breath, then let it out slowly, "How does the Goblin King know my mother?"

Valetra studied Annabel's face, seeming for all the world like she was looking for something. Finally, when Annabel was sure she would not receive an answer, Valetra sighed. "It's really not my place to answer that question. You should really wait until His Majesty returns, and then ask him."

"But I already asked him, and he refused to answer me!" Annabel cried, exasperated.

Valetra's brow rose, "Did he say that he refused to answer?"

"Well, no, but- "

"Then you don't actually know that he won't give you an answer."

"But he- "

"He didn't refuse to answer you. He simply evaded your question." Valetra smiled faintly. "He does that from time to time. But that doesn't mean that he won't give you an answer."

Annabel looked hopeful, "Do you really think he'll tell me?"

"Probably," Valetra told her. Then, realizing what the girl was thinking, she said, "I can take you back to the throne room to see if he'll give you an answer. But don't be surprised if he evades your question again. He's…fickle that way." (A/N: "Fickle"? I am such a loser.)

"I'm willing to take that chance."

Valetra gave Annabel a doubtful look.

"Really," Annabel said. "I am."

"Alright. But try not to let him get to you this time, okay?"

Annabel smiled at her newfound companion, "You got it."

XxXxXxX

(A/N: Previously…) Grasping her shoulders, he moved her away from him. Ignoring her look of surprise, he said, "We need to go."

He grasped her hand and created a crystal with his other hand. There was a brief pause, and then he smashed the crystal in front of them, transporting them directly to the castle beyond the Goblin City.

XxXxXxX

(A/N: Presently…) Sarah was completely in shock, and only one thought was running through her mind: It's him!

It's really him! Sarah thought joyfully, tears running down her face. It's really Jareth! He's here, with me! I can't believe it! I'm finally with Jareth again, and we're home! I'm finally home…

Jareth looked down at the woman in his arms. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, and her face was buried against his shoulder. Her sobs were muffled, but he could feel her entire body shaking.

"Sarah," he said, loosening his hold on her and forcing her to look at him.

"It's you," she whispered, the tears glistening like diamonds on her cheeks. "It's really you! You're here…with me." Her voice left her, and all she could do was look at Jareth, her tears still flowing.

Jareth had to check the urge to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be alright; that she didn't need to cry anymore.

"Sarah," he said sharply, the harshness of his voice making her start. A concerned look crossed her face.

"Jareth, what's wrong?" She raised her hand and placed her palm on his right cheek. She searched his eyes for some kind of answer.

Her touch stung him almost as much as her words did.

"How dare you ask me such a question?" he asked her, his voice an icy whisper. Her brows furrowed, but he continued before she could interrupt. "How could you do this to me?"

"Jareth, what are you talk- "

"How could you do this to me!" he exploded. His heart was in agony, and he used that pain to fuel his anger. Because if he couldn't find a was to take his mind off of the pain, it would crush him.

"Jareth! What are you talking about!"

"HER!" he yelled at Sarah. "The girl! Your daughter!" This last word he uttered in a deadly whisper.

A bewildered look crossed Sarah's face, "Annabel?"

"yes."

"I don't understand. What does Annabel have to do with any of this? I mean, I know she wished herself to the Underground, but I don't see why that should make you angry!"

"Angry." Jareth spit the word out as if it were poison. "Oh no, Sarah. I am far beyond angry. After all, anger isn't a strong enough emotion for a man who has just found out that his wife has had another man's child."

Sarah stared at the man in front of her, incredulous, "What?"

"How could you, Sarah? How could you do this to me? I gave you everything! My heart, my soul, my body…my love." The pain was evident in his voice.

"Jareth, what the hell do you mean 'another man's child'?"

He chuckled softly, a low and dangerous sound.

"Still acting the part of the persecuted innocent? My lovely Sarah," he stepped so close to her that they were almost, but not quite, touching, "You should know better."

He looked directly into her eyes, and it seemed as if his gaze bore right through her, into her very soul. Sarah saw the coldness of his eyes and tried to suppress a shiver, but didn't quite succeed. Something flashed behind Jareth's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that she couldn't be sure she had actually seen anything. He continued to gaze into her eyes, searching.

Jareth's gaze narrowed, "I can't very well allow you to throw away all that has been given to you and let you remain unpunished for it, can I?"

Tears started to form in Sarah's eyes, "Jareth…"

Jareth took a step back from Sarah, giving her a hard look.

"As punishment for your transgression, your daughter will be forced to travel the Labyrinth."

Sarah's eyes grew very wide, and she became very pale.

Jareth continued, "She will be given the same time limit that you were given, but her journey will be much more…ah, how should I put this?" He feigned contemplation, "Perilous."

The word hung between them, spreading a cold silence throughout the room.

Sarah's brain screamed at her to stop him, to explain the situation to him and make him understand what was really going on, but she couldn't move. She stood there, frozen to the spot, staring at her husband.

At that moment the doors to the throne room opened, and Annabel and Valetra walked in, only to be frozen on the spot by the sight of the scene laid out before them.

"Mom?" Annabel whispered, not trusting her own eyes. When Sarah continued to stare at Jareth, Annabel's protective instincts went into overdrive.

"What the hell did you do to her!" she yelled, rounding on Jareth. When he didn't answer her, giving her a stony look instead, she became furious.

"Answer me! What the hell have you done to her!"

Jareth glared at her, impassive. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth," he told her quietly. "I suggest you hurry."

He turned his hand elegantly, and a crystal appeared within the grasp of his fingers.

"No!" cried Sarah, finally breaking out of her stupor.

But it was too late. As Sarah looked on helplessly, Jareth threw the crystal directly at Annabel. It burst into a huge cloud of glitter the moment it would have struck her. Completely surrounded by the stuff, Annabel only had a moment to look at her mother, and then she disappeared.

XxXxXxX

Too late, Sarah had realized what Jareth was about to do. She could only stand by, helpless, as the crystal that Jareth had thrown at Annabel exploded, engulfing the girl in a shimmering cloud of black and purple glitter. Then her daughter was gone.

Sarah waited a few moments, trying to calmly take in everything that had just happended. And then she lost it.

"What the HELL did you just do!" she screamed, rounding on Jareth.

His first mistake was letting an arrogant smirk cross his face. His second mistake was deciding to answer her question. Because he should have known that it wasn't a question that should be answered.

"Now, Sarah, I've already told you that, as your punishment, your daughter has to run the Labyrinth."

If Jareth hadn't known better, he would have said that Sarah was trying to kill him by looking at him.

"You!" Sarah looked for all the world as if she were about to murder the Goblin King.

Jareth gave Sarah and inquisitive look, one of his eyebrows raised in a question. Sighing, Jareth said, "Sarah, you will simply have to resign yourself to the fact that, because of your transgressions, your daughter has to- "

"Annabel is as much your daughter as she is mine!"

Jareth's mind froze the instant Sarah's words reached his ears. It's impossible, he thought, unbelieving. She would have told me if she was pregnant. Unless…

"What exactly are you saying?" he asked her, not even bothering to mask the doubt that was evident in his voice.

"I'm saying," Sarah told him with a flare of irritation, "That Annabel is your daughter. You are her father, Jareth."

A/N: Hey, all! Well, there you have it…the third chapter of Back to You! I'm really sorry it took so long to get it done. The Hell Bunnies had to hold me at knife-point last night to get me to finish writing it…They can be very persuasive. (shudder!) Anyways…Thanks again to notwritten for sending in an answer to the question I asked at the end of last chapter!

On another note…I've started a Labyrinth fanfiction group on Yahoo! I've put the link on my profile page, but I'll write it here anyway:

http/groups. Not very many people have joined so far, and I'm getting kind of nervous. So…if any of you wanna be nice to me and join, it would be much appreciated! You don't even have to be a fanfic writer to join! Now, review! (Pwease?)

Much Love!

Aubrey