AN: Well, another chapter up. Sorry, this one is a bit short since conflicts with a professor through an online course has made me stay away from my computer. The rest of the chapters will be longer though. So, read, enjoy, and please review. Oh, and thanks for sticking around with me!

Sarah awoke to the sound of goblins. They had laid out her breakfast on a small table in the corner, and left promptly. She slid out of her bed and grabbed her robe.

"Jareth must have gotten bored with me already." Sarah said as she sat down to have a peaceful breakfast by herself. As she ate, she pondered about what she would do for the rest of the day. While she liked her chambers, she had nothing to keep her busy here. Actually, she had never had much of a hobby except for acting, and that seemed out of place now.

A picture of her friends popped into her mind and Sarah knew what she could do. Her anticipation was overwhelming and her breakfast was finished quickly. After that was taken care of, Sarah washed up and walked over to her closet.

While riffling through the hanging dresses, Sarah found a surprise. Her jeans were hanging with the shirt that she had been wearing two days ago. A smile crossed her lips, knowing that she had won that battle. But even though her jeans were readily available, she picked out a simple dress and slipped into it.

After fetching a pair of shoes, Sarah faced her fear, and left her room. The castle gave her a disquiet feeling, but she had to find Jareth. She found her way to the throne room easily from when she was, and in no time, she could hear the sound of goblins.

Sarah's entrance into the throne room was unnoticed until she let out a gasp. Jareth sat in his throne, one leg slung over the arm, with a child in his lap. He looked up at her and smiled. "Why, hello, Sarah. Come to join me?"

"Where did you get that child?" Sarah asked, approaching the throne with rage.

"Oh, this?" Jareth asked, lifting the baby up to show her. "Well, it turns out, some nasty little boy wished away his brother. Horrible thing, eh?"

"How could you?" Sarah asked, astonished that he would keep this way of life up.

"Oh, come Sarah!" Jareth scolded. "Do you really believe that I do this because I want to? This is my duty."

"If you don't like it, then stop." Sarah retorted.

"Well, when you put it that way, maybe I do enjoy this." Jareth laughed, and tossed the baby to a goblin. He laughed when Sarah gasped at his handling of the child and rose from his throne. "Now, what brings you here? I thought you'd be playing with your costumes or something."

"You know very well that I got rid of them." Sarah stated. He did not acknowledge her words as he approached her, so she decided to continue. "I wanted to see my friends."

"If you wanted to see your friends, then why did you come to me?" Jareth said with some disdain.

"Well, I was...I just..." Sarah stuttered at his obvious question.

"You were what? Asking for my permission?" Jareth scoffed at her. "Now I thought you didn't want to live under my rule."

"I don't." Sarah stated, trying to fix what she had done. "I mean, I just wanted to know where they were."

"And why would I know that?" Jareth asked sarcastically. "I don't keep tabs on everyone in the Underground."

"But you have your crystals. You watched every one of my moves when I was in the Labyrinth!" Sarah said, exasperated with his lackadaisical manner.

"Yes, Sarah, but I wanted to know what happened to you. You were quite interesting to watch." Jareth replied with a smile. Sarah knew that she would not get any farther with him on this subject, so she turned to leave. "Wait, Sarah."

Sarah turned around and saw the Goblin King throw her a crystal. She caught it easily in her outstretched hands and looked up at Jareth with confusion and distrust. "What is this for?"

"It's a present." Jareth said, returning to his throne. "You may take that crystal and use it to find your friends. It will show you through the Labyrinth."

"Really?" Sarah asked, surprised but his sudden bout of kindness. "Thank you, Jareth."

"You're welcome." Jareth replied, as he rolled his eyes and slouched in his throne. "But be sure to come back to my castle before nightfall."

"Why before nightfall?" Sarah asked, curious of his only rule. She was not soothed by the malicious twinkle in Jareth's mismatched eyes as he answered her.

"Because, Sarah," Jareth said through a twisted smirk, "You don't want to be in the Labyrinth when it gets dark."