hey, guys. Sorry about the stuff up last chapter, but I got a little side tracked.

Morrigana- HERE! BY NEXT YEAR! HERE YOU GO! ANOTHER CHAPTER! SOON ENOUGH? Gods, this coming from the chick who left ALL OF US in the loop with her Buffy story! Geez, I'm joking! It's that sick, Australian sense of humour- don't get used to it.

atsuibelulah- It was over 1000 words! What more could you want? Ok- trick question…

Wickedgame- Yeah- Sarah needs to have a weakness. She can't be perfect. I don't like needles either- but I can stand them. I won't tell you what I DO have a phobia of- but it's small, ugly, scary, hums, has a long nose and sucks blood. Try and guess.

Nyllewell- THANYOU! THANYOU FOR KILLING SARAH! YOU ROCK! I only wish I could do it too, but I can't as this is a J/S fic… DAMN YOU ANGEL OF SPACE FOR FORCING ME TO WRITE THIS J/S FIC!

Anyway- back to my normal attempt at sanity.

MistySatinDream- um- I am here. I'm happy that I still have readers like you- UNLIKE ALL YOUFAITHLESS READERS! REVIEW ALREADY! Erm.. sorry. Wow… my style rocks (you aren't the only one to think so- my friend Jaqui likes my writing so much she wants a story starring her for her birthday!).

Mord-Sith Raal- You are too busy to sign in but you AREN'T too busy to review? Whoa- head rush… eee…NO! NO PICKLES! NO LIGHT BULBS! NOTHING!

Gabriel- Um, Lady? What are you yelling about?

Lady- They're poking me with pickles.

Chapter Thirteen

Dinner Date

( Cha, guys I KNOW how many fanfic chapters are called this but I didn't know about that when I wrote this story. SO THERE!)

Sarah and Jareth appeared in a room with a dining table.

The room looked as if you shouted at one end, a person at the other end wouldn't even hear the echoes. To say it was huge would be a profound understatement.

The dining table looked as if it could be used as a runway for small aircraft. There were two places set at the far end of the table.

'Um… Wow…' said Sarah as she let go of Jareth. She gazed wondrously around the room.

Jareth grinned. 'This way.' He led her to the head of the table.

Sarah took off his cloak and gave it back to him, then allowed herself to be seated to the right of the head place.

Jareth pushed in her chair in a friendly manner then hung his cloak over the back of the head chair- obviously having the authority to do so as the head of the table was his permanent setting, being a king. He then sat at his place and turned to Sarah, his expression asking her what she thought of the dinning hall.

Before Sarah could utter so much as a single word, the double doors burst open and Gwyn strode purposefully into the room.

'Good,' she said crisply as she reached Jareth and Sarah. 'I thought I felt you arrive.' She put a large jar of balm and a fancy bottle filled with blue liquid in front of Sarah. 'These are for you. Just a little of the balm at a time. A teaspoon of the potion after meals, undiluted.'

Sarah nodded, feeling terrible about the way she had acted before when presented with the idea of surgical stitches, but not about to apologise in front of Jareth. She was still as stubborn as always.

Gwyn pulled out, from thin air, it seemed, a parchment scroll and gave it to Jareth. 'And this is for you. It outlines everything that I looked at and the treatment that I have prescribed.'

'Thankyou Gwyn,' said Jareth as he took the scroll. 'That will be all.'

Gwyn nodded and left the dinning hall.

Jareth clapped his hands and a door to the side of the table that Sarah had overlooked opened and in walked a maid. She had a strange walk- as though she were floating instead of walking. Her skin had a dull blue hue and her hair was like spun platinum- whiter even that Jareth's. She was wheeling in a covered tray and had successfully diverted Sarah's attention from the parchment that Gwyn had just dropped to Jareth, which she had just been eyeing curiously.

Instead, Sarah felt her jaw drop several degrees. The maid was obviously not fey- and definitely not human, for that matter. She must be a water nymph! thought Sarah excitedly. Then she realised that her mouth was open, so closed it quickly and smiled sweetly at the nymph.

Jareth nodded to the maid as she curtseyed to him, saying 'Your Majesty'. He moved his scroll out of the way and she set a food-laden plate down in front of him.

'Thankyou, Vapora.'

Vapora smiled and put a plate down in front of Sarah.

'Thankyou,' said Sarah softly.

Vapora looked at her in awe and a small amount of fear, then practically flew out the door from whence she had come.

'Well… That was…Strange- not to criticise your staff, or anything,' murmured Sarah.

'Yes,' agreed Jareth, his brows knit together. He waved his hand and two goblets appeared, one beside his plate and the other beside Sarah's. 'Peach wine?' he offered grandly.

Sarah blushed. 'I… don't drink wine…'

Jareth shrugged his shoulders. 'Well, there goes my brilliant plan to get you drunk and have my way with you,' he said theatrically.

Sarah giggled. 'You have a very strange sense of humour, Jareth.'

Jareth grinned. 'But what would you like instead?'

Sarah blushed harder. 'I wouldn't say 'no' to some hot chocolate.'

Jareth raised an eyebrow and waved his hand again. Both goblets filled themselves with hot chocolate and steam hissed from the rims.

'Don't mind if I do,' said Jareth and he picked up his goblet, blew on it and took a sip.

Sarah felt her blush recede and drank some of her own chocolate. It was delicious; very chocolaty, not too sugary and not too creamy. It was just the right temperature; just hot enough to warm her throat without scalding it.

'Mmmm,' murmured Sarah, closing her eyes to better savour the taste.

Jareth grinned again, watching her enjoying herself. After a moment, he turned his gaze instead upon his dinner plate.

Sarah opened her eyes and sighed contentedly. It had been years since she had had a good hot chocolate. Karen didn't believe in candy, so the last time Sarah had enjoyed hot chocolate was with her mother, Linda, before she had run off with her Broadway co-star, Jeremy, and died in a head on car collision.

Sarah tried not to think of her family and she looked at her dinner.

The plate was white china with gold details. But on top of the plate was a strange and vibrantly colourful variety of what appeared to be vegetables and a collection of meat.

Sarah gingerly picked up her fork (just another of the many things that seemed to appear from nowhere in this place) and prodded a kaleidoscopically coloured vegetable shaped very much like a small carrot. She put it into her mouth, chewed and swallowed it. It tasted… different to say the least.

Sarah tried a blue vegetable, finding it not displeasing.

'What do you think?' asked Jareth, referring to the food.

Sarah looked up at him, seeing his knowing smirk and realising the test behind the casual words. 'Well, none of it seems to have been grown in the Bog of Eternal Stench.'

Jareth grinned. 'That's good news.' He started picking at his vegetables.

'Um… Jareth.'

'Hmm?' said Jareth, not looking up from his plate.

'About my friends… I… I don't ant them to know I'm here… Not yet.'

Jareth looked up at Sarah incredulously. 'Come again?'

'I will see them eventually, I just don't want them to see me like this… my face…' her voice broke and she stoped before she could start crying again.

Jareth leaned over and covered her hand with his. Sarah didn't look up as he spoke to her. 'It's alright, I understand. They won't get anywhere near you for as long as you wish it.'

Sarah nodded. 'I think I'll go to bed now. Could you please show me the way?'

Jareth took back his hand and in an instant Sarah had returned to her chambers, leaving her dinner practically untouched.