Many dots were on Sarah's desk.

Her pen fervently added to the collection, twinkling in the light of the rising sun.

Sarah bit her lip, nearly biting hard enough to break the skin, and raked her fingers through her hair. No. This couldn't be happening. She had read it so many times. She had rehearsed in the park so many times. She had lived it, for God's sake.

Yet here she was, drawing a complete blank halfway into the story. She stared intensely at the last sentence, obsessively racking her brain for the next line. The girl had been hunched over her desk for an hour now, willing herself to remember. Nothing came to mind.

Quietly, she wondered if maybe Jareth had something to do with this. Was he brainwashing her? Could he even do that from… wherever he was?

"Think, Sarah. Think."

Her fingers flexed on her desk in agitation, nails digging into the wooden furniture.

The young woman pictured the book, squeezing her eyes shut. She imagined flicking through the book, reading the text, performing the text. Over and over she went through the story but every single time her memory would grind to a halt at that same stupid moment.

There was nothing.

She jumped up from her seat, her knees nearly buckling after she'd been sitting all night. Sarah turned from the desk and in rage flung the pen across the room. It clacked sharply off her bookshelf and unsatisfyingly landed on her bed.

"Princess?" A voice sounded from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"

Sarah forced herself to take a calming breath, stretching her sore body before she let her father in.

Robert frowned as he saw her, and looked past her into the room. "Sarah, did you pull an all-nighter again? I have told you a thousand times to stop doing that."

"Sorry dad," she mumbled, her body still a little tense with adrenaline. "I guess I lost track of time again."

He sighed and looked at her baggy eyes. "Well, I hope that a full day of work will knock some sense into you, because I seem incapable of doing so."

Sarah winced at that and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry, dad. I will do my best to be more responsible about it."

Nodding, Robert gave her a hug back, before stepping back into the hallway. "Come and have breakfast, Sarah. I'm not letting you skip sleep and breakfast. Karen is making sugar-free pancakes."

"I'm coming." She glanced back over to the notebook on her desk, sitting besides the mountain of work she'd need to be doing today. Sighing, she headed downstairs.

It was doubtful that any inanimate object had ever been this offensive to anyone. Even though it didn't move, smell, make a sound or really did anything at all, it was exasperating. That stupid little notebook was just sitting on her desk, bathing in the artificial light of her desk lamp. It made her fingers itch with the want to throw something at it. Anything. Any object in reach.

That same stupid sentence was still sitting there. A paragraph unfinished. It pissed her off. It had taken her focus off of work, made her cancel a meeting with a friend and plagued her with sleeplessness.

Her chair wailed in agony as Sarah once again threw herself onto it. Her desk no longer had a spot of dots from a blue ball pen but almost formed a complete large blotch of ink.

The ink would come off. Maybe.

Once again the vision of the red leather bound book came to her mind as she stared at the paper blindly. From the start, she again envisioned each and every page. The small tear on page three. The bookmarker permanently stuck on page eight. The page that her father ended their first bedtime reading when she was five. After that she picked it up herself and every single time she read it, she would finish it. The girl thought of the sound the pages made when turned, the soft whisper the leather made if she caressed the leather cover.

She had to remember. She just had to. Her hazel eyes sternly focused on the handwriting, every inch of her being insistent on remembering. Sarah refused to let herself forget. Even after many hours of glaring at the paper, she was not going to relent. Her fingers drummed on her desk and traced the edge of the paper.

Jareth couldn't do this to her. She wouldn't let him do this to her. He had no right. He had no pow-

A dull thud nearly launched Sarah from her chair. Whirling around, she looked behind her to locate whatever had made that sound. "What the f-"

As she looked down her breath caught in her throat. It was hard to tell if the little book on her floor was even real, or if this obsession had now progressed into a stage of hallucinations.

Feeling as if she was dreaming, she slowly inched closer, taking careful steps as if one wrong move would somehow make it disappear. Once close enough, Sarah ever so slowly leaned down, her hand reaching out. As her fingers made contact with smooth leather, her heart leaped with joy. Her hand curled around it and she picked it up, clutching it to her chest with intense happiness. Affectionately, her fingertips caressed the small indentation of letters.

"The Labyrinth"

The young woman held it out in front of her and flipped through the worn pages. Triumphantly she drank in the sight of that one line she had been searching for during the past days. It felt weird to think, but she'd never have thought a bundle of printed papers could give her so much joy.

At the same time, an incredible relief slipped off her shoulders.

It was 0:30 in the morning and all of a sudden, she could feel it. The adrenaline kick she just had was quickly fading, taken over by the exhaustion and mental stress she had endured since the book was taken from her. Turning off the lights, Sarah huddled into her bed, the book tucked safely under her pillow, where it belonged.

Sarah's heart leaped. She jolted awake, laying still in her bed. Something had happened. Something was wrong.

Her skin prickled in a strange sense of anticipation and her ragged breathing made the strands of hair in front of her mouth flutter.

Her room was empty, dark. Besides the crickets chirping outside there were no sounds. Despite that little bit of auditory distraction, her ears were ringing. Moonlight drifted into the room from the window, a yellow glow of the streetlight in the distance winking as the trees in front of it moved gently in the wind.

Briefly, there was a strange sensation in her body. As if she rapidly inhaled, a sense of adrenaline, yet different. It was somehow like teetering in between sleep and consciousness, where your body would jolt in reaction to a brief dream. Then, everything just weirdly seemed to… stop.

She had felt this before…

A dark shape bled out of the shadows into her room. It looked like ink spreading across a sheet of paper. Materializing out of nowhere, yet so defined. Somehow, the figure was too dark. Blacker than anything she'd ever experienced. Sarah was torn whether she should get up to defend herself or remain still, possibly pretending to still be asleep. However, she knew that at this point, with her quickened breathing, she wouldn't fool anyone. Or anything.

As it had fully taken shape, the figure in her room was somehow unmistakable. The silent form was still approaching, ever so slowly, an amulet shimmering faintly even in the low light.

She would have screamed. Hell, she wanted to scream - but nothing would come out. Her entire body had frozen. Sarah parted her lips, her breathing quivering as with every inch of her being, willed herself to sit up. Ever so slowly, she had curled up and propped herself on one hand. He had almost reached her bed, and the young woman was now looking up at him as he towered over her. She could barely see enough in the dim light to make out his features. His expression was frighteningly blank, but she could definitely feel the tension. He leaned close, her ears still deafening her with a panicked ringing in her ears and her racing heartbeat. Frightened, she leaned back a little, but was too scared to make any sudden movements. He followed her, far enough so his hands came to rest on her mattress. His weight trapped her under her blanket and boxed her in.

Sarah's heart raced so violently that she was briefly concerned for actual health issues it might cause. As she steadily stressed the tension on the blanket, her mind raced to find a way to flee. As she moved, the blanket strained, then popped off and settled with a sigh onto her lap. Feeling very self conscious, she pulled the blanket back up to her chin, one hand resting on the book under her pillow.

"How?" His voice was low, threatening and insistent.

The girl searched his face, which remained blank. "H-how…?" She barely recognized the whimper that was her voice.

"How did you do it?" Jareth demanded, his breath touching her cheeks.

Her fingers curled around the book protectively and she brought it to her lap. "I-I don't know wh-"

"Don't," he hissed, "lie to me."

The Goblin King noticed her weight had shifted to one arm underneath the blanket. As he fisted one hand in the blanket he saw fear cross her face. He straightened himself, tugging the blanket off of her. She fished for the blanket and the man spotted the little red book in her grasp.

Fury welled up in his chest. This meek little human girl. This pathetic mortal adolescent. How dare she? How dare this insolent brat… His fingers flexed with barely contained want to wrap around that feeble little neck of hers. Briefly, countless visions of how he could punish her for stealing from a king, flashed in front of his eyes. In his mind he was but a split second removed from possibly doing something he would regret.

From the increasing look of terror in her eyes he realized he was probably showing hints of every single one of them in a short span of time.

Swallowing heavily, he pushed aside the flashes of his darker imaginations and took a calming breath. His hand rose up to briefly hold the amulet draped around his neck before it fell back to his side and he silently casted a spell. Her frantic look around the room told him she'd sensed it.

His lips pressed together and his nostril briefly twitched up as she defensively and subtly inched the book behind her. His eyes flashed back up at hers and he knew that he had seen it.

'"Tell me!" He yelled.

Sarah's ears rang with the sudden volume and she winced violently, covering her ears. Tears pricked in her ears. She wasn't sure what to do, or what to say. She didn't know what he might do if she told him the truth. But then she didn't know what he would do if she lied. With his imposing presence right in front of her, clearly fuming, Sarah suspected lying would definitely be the worse outcome.

"Tell me how you did it," he demanded. His hands still itched with rage.

"I-I… I-I don't know…" The woman squeaked, curling up. His eyes narrowed at her and she scrambled off the other side of her bed, putting some distance in between them while still holding the book. "I swear," she said solemnly, tears brimming in her eyes. "I promise you, it just… it just appeared in my room out of nowhere!"

The Goblin King looked at the girl standing in front of him, studying her face with a frown. She looked positively terrified. Not that he could blame her. She was a young woman, with a stranger walking in on her in the middle of the night while she was asleep. Letting out a deep sigh, averting his eyes from her, he waved his hand. "Sit," he ordered.

Quickly the girl sank down on her bed, looking at him, wide-eyed and nervous. The red book was clutched to her chest.

He took a few more calming breaths, looking off to the side. "May I?" Jareth asked in a strained tone, mentioning next to her. She flicked her eyes to the spot next to her and back up at him nervously, but slowly nodded. "Thank you," the man sighed as he walked around the bed and gracefully sat down next to her. He kept his distance, which seemed to ease her a little. He conjured a crystal and let it drift into the air. It softly glowed, like a candle.

He studied her as he summoned it. Her eyes went wide and he couldn't help but smile a little. Sarah slowly reached out to it, touching it softly with her index finger. The orb slowly drifted into her room and the girl looked at him a little frightened, expecting to get scolded.

Instead, Jareth simply beckoned it closer and it moved to his will. "Sarah," he muttered, regaining her attention with only the occasional side glance. "I want you to tell me that you are speaking the truth."

Sarah nodded fervently, moving to hold the little novel on her lap. Her fingers danced across it nervously. "I am telling the truth. I promise. I was sitting in my room and… well, it almost scared me to death when out of nowhere it just plummeted onto the floor right behind me."

"I need you to understand something," Jareth insisted. "Magic doesn't just happen. It's not a curious little coincidence or a rare phenomenon. Magic needs a source, a purpose." He gestured to the book, which caused her to briefly move it away from him. "That book was safely stored in my private study. The second someone other than me enters it, I will know."

"B-but, I didn't enter it… How could I even -"

"I know you didn't," he pressed. "Because I never sensed someone entering. I need you to tell me. Everything."

"Why?"

He searched her face for a little while, occasionally, she still glanced over to the orb light he had summoned. "Because if you tell me, I might let you keep it."

Her eyes flashed back at him with excitement - but then narrowed. "Might?"

The man sighed, his eyes rolling up to look up at the ceiling. "Fine. I will let you keep it."

With that promise made, she released her iron grip on the novel and moved her eyes to stare at the illuminating orb in front of them. "I have been busy… I was trying to completely copy the story. Every line, every phrase, every adjective. I didn't want to lose a tale that had such a big impact on my life. At first, I spent an entire night. I was dedicated to finishing it in one sitting to make sure I wouldn't somehow forget." Her fingers ran across the side of the book's pages. "I was certain I could do it. I had read the story so many times - I performed it so many times. I've even dreamed of it many times." Sarah looked at him. His expression was mostly blank, but she had his full attention.

She looked away again, looking to her desk. "But… I got stuck. I couldn't do it. I'm sure I wasn't even halfway through - but… just nothing came to mind. I ran into a dead end."

Jareth scoffed at that and she looked at him. She allowed herself a nervous smile. "Pun not intended. Anyways… I got stuck. I kept repeating it, over and over. It was infuriating. I am still not sure why I… Why I just couldn't remember." Sarah put the book aside and pulled up her legs, hugging them to her chest. "I had contemplated if maybe you had done some sick mind trick, or if you had brainwashed me to forget. But I couldn't give up - I wouldn't give up. I kept trying to remember, hoping that suddenly it would come to me. But it didn't. I got stressed and more and more upset every time I tried to write." Turning her head, she rested her cheek on her knees. "Only once did I have such a blackout. Back in my time in the Labyrinth, at the very end." Sarah looked at him, and saw a cold hardness shield his face. While it was subtle, she could imagine that it was a rather sore spot to him. So close to victory, only to have it snagged away.

"Not unlike that moment, on that fateful day, I was just… staring at this notebook. I was so angry, so upset… so sad. I was ready to start stalking you." She blushed, one of his eyebrows arching. "I was considering starting to call for you, maybe even wishing for you, just to get that stupid line on paper. I don't recall ever being that upset." Putting her legs down, she shrugged. "Then suddenly," she continued, her hands raising up in the air. "Boom." Her hands mimicked something falling down. "Something dropped right behind me. It nearly scared me to death. When I turned, it was just… there." Sarah leaned her hands on her knees, glancing at Jareth to see if any of this was landing with him. If any of it made sense at all.

He looked down, his eyes flitting left and right repeatedly in contemplation. A frown formed on his face, a few blonde locks framing around his cheeks. After a few long moments, he looked back at her, his eyes searching hers. "Is there anything else? Anything you are leaving out? Any influences, thoughts… smells? Any strange sensations or instincts going off?" Sarah shook her head and he turned to her further. As his knee very briefly touched her leg he could see her flinch back. "Has anything like this happened before," he questioned, ignoring her quick recoil.

The woman shook her head right away. "Definitely not. Not that I have ever noticed, anyway."

"During the time you attempted to copy the Labyrinth, have you ever tried - and possibly succeeded, connecting with your…" He opened his mouth, then closed it, his head making a strange and somewhat uncomfortable tilt. "Friends." Jareth ground out.

It was Sarah's turn to arch one eyebrow, eyeing him with exasperation. "You have some deep seeded issues with social connections." He gave her an irritated side glance, not planning on taking that bait. "But no, I did not try to connect to my friends. As I had tried it for years without it ever being fruitful, I didn't see the point in a secondary, seemingly impossible task. I might be stubborn, but I'm not a masochist. Why? Do you think they did it?" She prodded, looking at him. "That they snuck into your study and stole it from you, then sent it to me?"

The Goblin King scoffed and looked at her arrogantly. "Absolutely not, they're cowards." She was about to lash at him, but his eyes narrowed in a silent warning. "As I said, I never sensed anyone or anything entering my quarters. No one could pass by my protective ward, especially not your…"

The girl leaned a little closer. "Come on. Say it. I dare you." He looked at her, unimpressed, so she got a little closer still, narrowing her eyes. "Too chicken to pronounce a harmless seven letter word?"

The man narrowed his eyes at her, quietly advising her to tread carefully. The girl didn't seem too intimidated. "So, what do you think happened?"

He sighed, stretching his legs and crossing them at the ankles. "I am not certain, but I do have a theory." Her gaze turned curious. "I have some enemies that I have a feeling could be testing my security. Possibly even my connections. But it doesn't seem possible nor likely that they would attempt this with you as a channel, as no one but me knows about you."

Looking at the book next to her she spoke softly. "Do you suppose the book has any magical properties?" When Sarah didn't get an answer, she looked at him.

Jareth eyed her dryly. "Sarah… It's a book. It's paper, leather… and a little bit of binding material."

The girl blushed and frowned defensively. "Hey, don't be like that! I told you, I don't know anything about magic. For all I know," she flourished with her hands, wiggling her fingers. "Books flip through pages for you."

He laughed again, a rich, low rumble. "You have a very bizarre sense of imagination. And that's coming from a monarch from a magical Labyrinth."

Sarah sputtered. "W-well… I elect to take that as a compliment." The girl blushed and looked away. "So… should I be concerned about other items dropping in on me at random?"

"I hope not," he muttered. "But you might want to keep an umbrella handy."

Sarah snapped her eyes back at him in mild alarm, but then saw a small mischievous smile on his lips. She repressed a smile of her own and narrowed her eyes. "Well, would you look at that? The Goblin King has a sense of humor."

"Hardly." The man watched as she tried her best to hide a yawn, her eyes crinkling and her lips pressing together. "I should go," he insisted. "I have kept you from your night's rest far longer than intended. Besides, I need to make sure my security is still sufficient."

"No, no, it's fine," a loud yawn followed. "I can sleep again tomorrow."

"Nonsense. The skin under your eyes is darker than my wardrobe."

Sarah gasped. "How dare you?!"

He got up and dismissed the crystal floating nearby. "Goodbye, Sarah."

Instinctively, the girl grabbed his wrist as he turned to leave. There was a little jolt in his arm as she touched him. "Wait… Please," she added a few seconds later as the former came out a little demanding. His eyes looked down at her hand on his wrist, then back up at her. Almost like she got burnt, her hand quickly let go of his wrist. "This, uh… is probably a little strange… but do you maybe want to hang out more often?"

"With 'hang out' I presume that you would want to arrange visits more often?" As she nodded he contemplated it for a few seconds.

"You know… like… Friends." She said teasing.

Jareth narrowed his eyes at her, not really appreciating that suddenly it seemed so easy for her to mock him with that. "No." Her face fell. "But as acquaintances, I will consider it." Sarah was visibly pleased, but he kept his expression blank. "I will arrange something for you in the near future, should I decide to humor your request. You will know what when you see it. Now get some sleep, before those bags under your eyes get so big they will catch the wind."

Sarah's mouth dropped and she gasped in genuine shock this time. Right then he left, that weird shift in the air causing her to choke on it. She coughed, covering her mouth with her forearm as she tried to correct the weird moment of suffocation.