A/N: Thanks to all me lovely readers and reviewers for their patience! I realize things have been a bit slow, but this should be the last chapter of setup/exposition, and I shall be reordering time very shortly here to speed things along and get to the exciting bits. Oh yes, also, thanks to GenkaiFan for pointing out a chance at humor that I missed! -PC


In the morning, Sarah rose early from the sinfully comfortable bed, and dressed in the clothes she'd worn into the Underground. Somehow, she was unsurprised to see that her garments, hung in the closet overnight, had been thoroughly cleaned and had a faint scent of lemon. This wouldn't be a bad thing to get used to, she mused.

She had just finished dressing when there was a knock on her door, and a guard she didn't recognize poked his head in. "My lady? There are some folk here to see you."

That must be Hoggle and Didymus. "Please send them in." The guard bowed and disappeared.

A moment later, her friends came in, looking relieved. "It is good to find you safe, my lady," Didymus greeted her.

"When we got the King's message, we were a little worried, but since he said he'd seen you…" Hoggle trailed off.

"I'm fine," Sarah reassured them.

"Did His Majesty tell you what you must do for him?" asked Didymus.

At the question, Sarah proceeded to tell them everything that the King had told her. She glossed over the details of her supper with Hamel, so as not to worry her friends, seeing that her talk of the Challenge was already worrying them enough.

"It is certain that you must go alone, my lady?" Didymus asked, when she had finally finished.

"That's what the King said, anyway," she sighed. It almost seems easy, now that I look back on it, but the first time through, I had so much help. I'd give almost anything to have one of them with me this time.

"How much can Hamel change the Labyrinth, anyway?" Hoggle asked. "Maybe I could, uh, tell you a few of the shortcuts…"

Sarah shook her head. "The King said that Hamel would take full control of the Labyrinth. He can completely change it, I guess. The only rules are that it can't be impossible and that he can't kill me."

"I'm sure that's a relief," Hoggle grumbled.

In answer, Sarah's stomach growled, and the three of them laughed. "I'm supposed to eat breakfast with the King," she mentioned.

"We'll go with you, then," Hoggle said. "Maybe he has more for us to do."


Jareth had kept his word, and the spread that covered his small dining table was comprised entirely of human food – eggs, pastries, bacon, sausage, juices, fruit, and a variety of other dishes, which made Sarah's mouth water the moment she saw them.

She clapped her hands in delight. "That's what I call keeping a promise!"

Hoggle and Didymus had hung back near the door, almost shyly. The King gravely inclined his head at them. "My thanks to you both, Heggle – "

" - Hoggle – "

" – and Sir Didymus, for bringing Sarah to me," Jareth finished. "I assure you, when all this…unpleasantness…is over, both of you will be amply rewarded for your help."

Hoggle actually blushed, and Didymus made a bow so low Sarah feared he'd bruise his nose on the floor. "We humbly thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

"Indeed. Now, please excuse us; my Champion and I must consult further."

Still bowing, Didymus backed towards the door, which he promptly banged into. The resulting clang alerted the guards to open it, and he backed out, continuing to bow. Hoggle made a somewhat more dignified exit.

When they were alone, the King gazed at Sarah, his hand resting on the back of his chair, a faint smile on his lips. "Did you sleep well, my Champion?"

She blushed, embarrassed – and then blushed harder, embarrassed about being embarrassed. "Yes, thank you," she mumbled to the floor.

"Please, sit. While we eat, we can discuss one of the things that is most important to make sure you succeed."

"What, my biting wit?" She took a seat, and began filling her plate.

The King sat across from her. "I was thinking more of the help I am allowed to give you. Not – " he held up a hand "- that I am saying you can't do it without, or that you need my help. But I do know Hamel, quite well I think, and I have some idea as to what he might come up with for you to encounter in the Labyrinth. That being the case, hopefully, we can make some parts easier for you."

Sarah nodded as she dug into a casserole of scrambled eggs, cubed potatoes, red peppers, onions, and cheese. It tasted wonderful. "What did you have in mind?"

"Do you remember that peach I gave to Hoggle, for you?"

"All too well," she drawled, sending him a mock glare across the table. Jareth chuckled.

"I see you do. Very well, then: when I crafted that peach, Hamel was much in my thoughts. He was – and most likely, still is – extremely fond of tricks of that nature. You should be prepared for nearly any form of food or drink to be dangerous for you, and so therefore, I would make this my first gift to you."

The King pulled out a small brown leather pouch. The top was a drawstring, and the strings were long enough to easily tie to a belt.

He handed it to Sarah across the table, and she took it, opening the top and peering inside. "There's nothing in here, though…"

"Reach in," he encouraged her. "Pull out the first thing you touch."

Skeptically, she did so, and was surprised when her hand encountered a soft, round object. She pulled it out, and in her hand was a peeled orange, ready to be eaten.

"Try again," the King said. She did, removing a handful of what looked like dried beef jerky.

"Convinced?" he asked, with a hint of a satisfied smirk.

"Yes," she grinned. "One question though – what about water?"

"Tip the pouch above your mouth, and shake it twice."

Following his instructions, Sarah lifted the pouch and shook it, and a thin stream of cool water ran into her mouth. She swallowed, relishing the clean, fresh taste, and realized Jareth hadn't told her how to turn it off.

He seemed to realize the same thing at the same moment. "Shake it again, once, to stop the water."

"All right, that's a really good idea," she admitted, once the pouch was safely closed again and lying on the table.

"I'm glad you think so." Jareth folded his arms across his chest and looked enormously pleased with himself.

"How did you make it, though? You said Hamel had placed limits on your magic…"

"He did, but his spells cannot bind me when I am preparing for the Challenge. Part of the nature of the Challenge is a test of the deposed ruler's abilities, so they must be allowed to demonstrate their full range. And that range, my dear – when it comes to me – is very great, indeed."

This was more like the Jareth she knew. Apparently playing with magic was helping him regain his confidence. And arrogance…but then again, he's almost more fun when he's being an arrogant jerk.

"What did you have in mind for the other two?" she asked, munching on the orange from the pouch.

Jareth took a large bite of a pastry. "You will need some sort of weapon," he mused. "Is there anything that you are comfortable with?"

She shrugged. "I shot a bow in gym class, a few times…"

"Jim class?" The King raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind…" She shook her head. "It'd take too long to explain."

"Very well…in that case, I believe a short sword would serve you best. I will lay some of the usual enchantments on it – I cannot make you invulnerable or invincible, but I can make the sword able to cut through anything, and perhaps there are one or two other spells that might prove useful."

"Whatever you think," she mumbled around a mouthful of bacon.

"The third gift is somewhat more difficult. I cannot enchant anything to show you the best way out of the maze, or to make the trip go faster: seven-league boots or some such. Have you had any thoughts?"

"Not really. I mean…well, I have no idea what's going to be in there, so…"

Jareth frowned, his brow creasing. "Indeed. Hmmm. Perhaps an invisibility charm? That might prove quite useful, especially if Hamel still has the love of monsters he did when we were younger. I will make the charm something easy to wear; a necklace or a bracelet."

Sarah paused to consider. At first glance, her arsenal from Jareth sounded pretty pathetic: a bag of food, a sword, and a necklace. She had a feeling, though, that Jareth was much more limited in what he was allowed to do for her than he was saying, and that these gifts were at the very limit of what he could give. And really, what else would I need?

At that thought, she looked up. "Am I allowed to bring anything else with me into the maze?"

"Within reason, yes, anything you like. What did you have in mind?"

"Some non-magical practical stuff; string, flashlight, marker, those kind of things."

"The judges will need to approve everything before you enter the Labyrinth, but there should be no problem with any of those items."

"Good. Wait – judges? What judges?"

Jareth looked surprised. "Well, of course there will be judges as to whether the Challenge is successfully met. You wouldn't expect Hamel or I to deliver a fair and unbiased opinion, would you?"

"Guess not," she muttered. "So who judges?"

"A committee of three, selected at random from the ruling class. Most, if not all, of them will be present."

"You didn't tell me this was going to be a spectator sport," Sarah grumbled.

'Would it have made a difference if I had?"

"Good point." Sarah finished the last bite of food on her plate and stood up. "I should probably let you work…"

"Indeed. The Challenge is in two days…and I do not want to rush anything. Will you come back this evening, for supper?"

She was startled by the almost plaintive tone to his voice. "Yes, of course."

"Thank you." The King smiled – on another man, she would have sworn he was being shy. "It gets rather…lonely…up here."

Moved to boldness by his admission, she took his hand, squeezing it gently. "I'll be back tonight, I promise. You still have a lot to tell me!"

He laughed at that, and lifted their entwined hands to his lips, kissing hers as before. "Yes, I do. Very well. Until tonight, my Champion."

They gazed at each other for a moment. Very slowly, and very gently, they leaned in towards one another, and the kiss that had been a dream the night before became reality. As before, it was soft and sweet and only lasted a moment…but it was the best kiss of Sarah's life.

When they drew apart, Jareth sighed, and frowned. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to think that I am the one sending you into danger."

"Hey. I said I'd do this, right? The fact that we're – " Oh, dear, and what do I call this, now? " – attracted to one another doesn't change anything. All it does is make me slightly less insane for agreeing to it in the first place."

"You do have a point there, my dear Champion." Absently, he reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I shall see you tonight."

"Yes, you shall."