"My father, my father, and dost thou not hear

The words that the Erl-King now breathes in mine ear? –"

"Be calm, dearest child, 'tis thy fancy deceives;

'Tis the sad wind that sighs through the withering leaves."

-Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Benaroya Concert Hall: The Dreamworld

Sarah had just finished rehearsing for her solo playing Erlkönig by Franz Schubert, a particularly difficult piece. Ben came with her to rehearse at the concert hall, her son running around exploring the place.

"Did you have fun today?" She asked Ben.

"Yeah!" He skipped beside her, his little hat coming off his head. Sarah paused their walk to put it back on her very wiggly son.

I really should have taken the car instead of walking, she thought. The temperature had dropped quite quickly, leaving both mother and son cold.

"The lady showed me the lights," Ben chattered away. "It was so cool!"

"I'm so glad you had fun, it's nice making new friends, isn't it?" Sarah squeezed his little hand that were now covered with mittens. She wished she had remembered to bring her own.

They were almost home, just a few blocks away. Not far. Not far at all.

At least, that's what Sarah kept chanting to herself.

She could not shake off the long-lasting feeling of impending doom surrounding her, suffocating her senses.

"Mommy, look at the moon!" Ben let go of her hand temporarily, pointing at the celestial object glowing serenely. "It's glowing!"

Indeed it was.

When did it get dark so quickly?

"Ben, come here please," she beckoned him over when she would normally let him walk next to her.

Something told her that she needed to be home.

Now.

The older she got, the more she followed her gut when something told her that something was wrong. She scooped her son up, holding him tightly and safely in her arms. To help with keeping him warm, she wrapped her scarf around him, the scarf acting as a tiny blanket on his small body.

"Mommy, he's beautiful…"

The hairs on the back of her neck stood.

She shook her head, the familiar feeling of everything dancing under a spell trying to take her over. Something push onto her mind, trying to pry that memory from a peach from so long ago to the present, but she pushed it back.

"Do you see him, Mommy? The crown on his head!"

The melodic element in his voice caused fear to strike deep within her whole body, more than anything in her life. And that was saying something, considering everything she had been through…

"It's just the mist, honey," she replied. Normally, she would encourage his active imagination, but this was not the time to do so. She needed him calm, needed him safe and unworried.

It could not be a coincidence that the lyrics from Erlkonig danced in her mind. She could feel rather than hear the Erlking's soothing and seductive lines, the galloping of the piano rising in a faster tempo, trying to outrun the seductive King of the Gob-

No, don't think of his name, Sarah. She told herself. To say his name, even in your mind, that could invite him in.

"You have no power over me," she breathed, the condensation from her breath came out in wisps. "You will leave at once."

She could feel the unearthly powers receding for a moment, granting her a moment's peace.

But, as she learned in her youth, do not take anything for granted.

As quickly as the powers receded, it came back at full force, nearly knocking her over.

Was it her imagination, or were the leafless trees moving closer to her?

She jogged.

"Mommy! He's whispering in my ear!" Ben struggled but she held him in an iron grasp, as heavy as he was. His voice started to betray a bit of fear.

"Don't worry, Ben. It's just the wind in the trees. I'm here, and we'll be home soon." She kissed his cheek. She needed a rational explanation, any explanation that pertained to this world, a world rooted in reality and reason, not one of magic.

Ben whimpered, shuddering in her arms. "Mommy..."

Sarah's feet rose from a skittering pianissimo to a pounding forte, the crescendo of each collision to the earth pounding into her ears as the jog turned into a full run.

Sarah ran as fast as she could. She was no runner, she always hated doing so. She could feel the stitch on her side aching, the salty taste in her mouth, but she kept on going.

"My kingdom as great," she said to the wind. "You have no power over us."

She could have sworn that she heard someone laugh.

Just over the horizon, their home came into view. Sarah had never seen a more beautiful sight

"Mommy! He's hurting me! The King is hurting me!" Ben thrashed, his screams carried by the wind. He beat his fists against her, not knowing what he was doing. "STOP IT!"

The time for earthly rationale was over. She had to accept that this was magic intruding in her life.

Sarah, terror overwhelming her senses, relied on her feet to keep going. To keep pushing her forward to the end of the long run.

An eternity passed. She found herself collapsing on the driveway. She couldn't feel her limbs, the numbness taking over a long time ago.

"We're home, Ben," she sighed with relief. "We're safe."

Her eyes dropped down to her shoulder, where only her scarf lay.

Ben was gone.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City: The Waking World

Sarah woke up screaming. She instantly went to check on Ben in the other room-

-only to find his bed empty, the blankets slashed. "Ben! Oh my god, Ben." She dissolved into tears, wildly grabbing blankets and the lamp "BEN! Someone help!"

Jareth appeared in the room instantly. "Sarah!"

She turned, seeing him in the shadows. At this angle, his eyes seem to have a sinister glow, piercing her. The memory of her dream came crashing in at full force.

"No, it's not true," she said to herself out loud. "You would never do that to Ben."

"Do what?" Jareth moved from the shadows. "Sarah?"

Sarah fell to her knees, an uncontrollable urge to vomit hitting her. "He's gone! Ben's gone!"

The dream had felt so real. She hadn't played Erlkönig in years, but the lyrics and the notes came so easily to her. At the time of playing the piece, she had wondered vaguely if it was related to the Goblin King, and it seemed to be invading her mind again. She normally would have dismissed it as a nightmare.

But what about Ben?

Jareth approached Ben's bed, seeing the jagged, horrendous slashes. He made a crystal, speaking to it. "Samuel, wake up! Now!"

"Sire?" Samuel said groggily, clearly shaken by the loud demand.

"Put the entire castle on lockdown! But do not let anyone outside of it know, just refuse their entrance. I want a record of who has been in and out in the past thirteen hours!"

"Yes, Sire," Samuel said. "On it.

Jareth turned, finding a very pale Sarah, hugging herself. "Sarah?"

"Cold," was all she managed to get out. Her mind was still going, but her body slowed down significantly, not responding to the commands from her brain. She seemed to be in a trance, almost like she was asleep.

He came to stand closer to her, creating a crystal. His blue eyes were glowing in stark contrast to the shadows that engulfed him. It would have been enough to make Sarah run if it weren't for the fact that she felt rooted in her place, unable to even move her eyes away.

"I command you to leave her this instance," he ordered.

Sarah felt the cold latching onto her even tighter.

"This is your last warning." Jareth's teeth gnashed together and his nostrils flared in a barely controlled rage. "Leave her be."

Sarah shuddered, her whole body convulsing out of control. A deep, deathly voice emanated from her lips. "I will do as I please."

The Goblin King pulled Sarah to the floor, steadying her as she kept on shuddering. "She is my Champion. She is under my jurisdiction, my protection."

Sarah felt her mouth open again. "You have no power over her, remember?"

The Goblin King said something harsh in a foreign language that sounded a bit like swearing. Holding Sarah's head on his knee, he held the crystal up once more. "I give you one last chance. Leave her."

Sarah let out a scream as the cold penetrated her mind, claiming the last part of her.

Jareth didn't even hesitate. He pushed the glowing crystal into her left side where her heart was.

The heat from the crystal burned Sarah. It felt like someone poured boiling water on her chest, shocking her and sending her pain to the deepest parts of hell.

Her eyes slowly opened what felt like a century later, her chest still in pain but not unbearably so.

"Sarah, please say something."

She turned to the voice, registering now that she was sprawled across the Goblin King's lap. She quickly tried to sit up but found that she was hit with a wave of dizziness when she did so.

"Slowly," he said lowly. One of his hands was on her back, gently easing her up into a sitting position.

Sarah was still wary of him, the very real dream's laugh echoing in her head. "What was that?"

"I don't know," he said. Never had Sarah seen him look so frightened. So unsure of himself.

She was still in his lap, but made no effort to move. Not when his soothing hand rubbing her back was the only reason she wasn't going insane right now. She stopped breathing. "Toby!"

"He's fine," Jareth promised her. "He is safe in my study for now, I told him to wait for us."

She slumped back in relief. Almost. She wouldn't be completely okay until she saw her brother in person. She looked back at Jareth her eyes burning from the tears. "Ben must be so scared, so lonely and cold. Oh my god, I don't know what I would do without him. I can't lose him. He was my reason for living when I didn't want to."

His eyes were intense but not unkind. "I promise to do all that I can to bring Ben back to you, to bring both of you back here safe and sound as you are right now. I give you my word." He held her to his chest, letting her know that he meant every word.

Something hummed in the air when he said that. Something permanent. She knew that it was because he made a promise as the words of a fae was binding.

He held his hand to her. "I swear upon my honor, my crown, and my own head that you are safe with me. I will not allow harm to come upon you."

She believed his every word, but even if she didn't, she had to hope. Had to believe that he was okay. Otherwise, she couldn't go on in life.

She placed her hand in his.

"What the fuck?"

Sarah couldn't agree more. "Yeah, I know."

Toby eyed her carefully. "So… are you going to tell Jareth about that nightmare?"

Sarah chewed the bottom of her lip. "I don't know. He's kind of running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It's just a nightmare, what could it do?"

It felt so real, the way she had imagined the sinister king descending upon her and Ben. In her dream, she couldn't remember anything from the past few months. As if she hadn't reunited with Jareth and gotten to know him. Was it a warning? Could Jareth really have ulterior motives for getting to know her now?

She shook her head, ashamed at the direction her spiraling took her. No, that couldn't be why. When he saved her from whatever it was that made her cold and swore to bring Ben back, she could feel it in her heart that he would put his own life on the line to save Ben.

She touched her lips, still recalling the kiss from yesterday. They didn't have a chance to speak on it, coming back to the castle quite late. He had promised to see her again, and she told him that she was looking forward to it.

The fact that a nightmare made her question his motives, even for a fleeting moment, was unacceptable.

Toby lowered his voice, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes. "You don't think that he had anything to do with Ben missing, do you?"

"No," she said, her voice a little shaky. "I know so."

He raised an eyebrow. "But you can't help but wonder? You don't sound like you're sure. Is there something you're not telling me?"

He didn't think that Jareth would do anything, but he didn't like the way his sister was shaking like a leaf. He could have chalked it up to worrying about Ben but he could tell this was something more.

"Do you blame me for having a moment of weakness?" Sarah's voice rose to a higher pitch, making her instantly regret it. "It felt so real. And Ben trusts Jareth immensely. It's just paranoia, but the truth is, I don't think he would do something like that. There's that residual fear from when I first came here when I was 16, where I was tricked into eating that peach and trapped in that crystal dream. Of course, there was nothing that nefarious about it, I would have just been returned home at the end of the time limit. I trust him, and I know he's going to help. I'm just scared."

The more she rambled, the less things made sense. Anxiety gripped at her stomach of the uncertainty of what was going on. She didn't even know if Ben was alive, or where he was.

Something about this dream was different, she could feel it in her bones. They weren't like the dreams she had when Ethan died. Last night's dream was much more evil, more sinister. More terrifying.

It felt like a warning, especially with Ben being carted off right when she woke. And, if Jareth had been giving her good dreams, why did they stop? Why was she having nightmares now?

"Hey, hey," Toby said, pushing her to a chair. "He's going to be fine. He will. And like you said, Jareth is going to help."

"That's what you said when Ethan died," Sarah whispered, her eyes red and blotchy with more fear than there should ever be in a person. "I should have woken up, I can't believe I wasn't there for Ben."

Toby made a fist, his nails digging into the palm of his hand. He had been trying to be optimistic but Sarah was making it incredibly difficult to. "I'm worried too, you know? He's my nephew."

Sarah nodded, hugging herself, rocking to try to self-soothe. "I know."

"How could the castle have been breached?!" Jareth demanded Arthur, the captain of the guard.

Arthur did not react much, as part of his training as a knight in His Majesty's army. He hardly ever showed fear even if he felt it. But now, he was definitely showing it as Jareth shouted at his face. "I don't know, Your Majesty."

Jareth snarled, standing tall with intimidation. "I want whoever is going in and out of the castle to be tracked meticulously. I also don't want this to be leaked out to anyone, just in case the intruder is trying to find news on what's happening."

Arthur bowed. "Yes, Sire."

Jareth pointed at the door. "Get out of my sight."

Arthur wisely left without a word. Jareth knew that it couldn't have been Arthur's fault, for whoever snuck in the castle had probably done so magically, without even his own detection. But situations like this made him furious regardless.

How could this have happened? And why to Benjamin? Why was Benjamin taken and not Sarah or Toby? He didn't know who to trust, telling only very few of his staff what had actually happened.

He made his way back to his study where Sarah and Toby left their breakfasts uneaten. He couldn't blame them, not when he couldn't stomach the idea of food either. Just yesterday he and Sarah had kissed and held hands, with hope in their eyes. He looked at her, her eyes swollen and blotchy from the tears.

He had promised that this place was safe, that they would never be harmed while he was there. He failed Sarah, failed Benjamin, an innocent child.

"Did you find anything?" Toby asked him.

Jareth shook his head, wishing he had better news to share with them. "No. I have talked to the Captain of the Guard, Lorraine, and Samuel. Besides you two, only Lorraine and Samuel know that Benjamin is missing. Everyone else knows the castle has been breached but that's all. My suggestion to the both of you is to hide, so that it seems that we know for sure that the only people who are aware of him missing is someone who's responsible for this whole mess."

"What are we going to tell Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus?" Toby asked, looking at his sister, whose eyes were glassed over.

Jareth took off his gloves. "Nothing. Tell them nothing and they won't have anyone to share this with."

"Who would they tell?" Sarah spoke for the first time since Jareth came in. "They wouldn't betray me." She sounded almost offended at the thought.

"I'm not insinuating that," Jareth treaded carefully, trying to keep his temper in check. "But whoever took Benjamin is either a traitor or incredibly powerful. They may have the means to torture your friends, to read them well and extract information without them even uttering a word. Let's not put them in that position."

Normally, Sarah would have felt embarrassed, but right now, she was just sad. "Yeah, that sound like a good idea."

Jareth nodded solemnly. "I will work on finding him. You two stay on this floor. No one is permitted to the residence halls except us, Samuel, and Lorraine."

"I need to do something." Sarah stood, looking a bit shaky but sure in her conviction. "I can't just sit around and not do anything when Ben is out there."

"I'm sorry, Sarah," Jareth tried to say as gently as he could. "But there is nothing you can do."

"What are you going to do then? Let me help with that," she pleaded.

"I'm going to examine the bedsheets for traces of magic," Jareth explained carefully. "I don't think there's anything you can do to help with that. I need my concentration as well."

Toby put a hand on Sarah's shoulder to stop her from talking. "Okay, you go do that. Will you keep us updated?"

"Of course. If you need anything, please, do not hesitate to tell me, Lorraine, or Samuel. Benjamin is my priority right now."

"What about your kingly duties?" Sarah asked.

Jareth waved it away. "They can be put aside since they are not emergencies. Besides, Benjamin is my guest, as are you two. That takes precedence."

When Sarah and Toby said nothing else, he left. Toby raised an eyebrow at his sister. "You didn't tell him about your dream."

"What's the point?" Sarah shot back. "It was just a nightmare. It didn't mean anything."

"So it doesn't have anything to do with not trusting Jareth?" Toby probed. He trusted Jareth, and he was sure Sarah did too, for the most part. But something about her dream unnerved her more than it should. And he wanted to know why.

Sarah walked to the door. "I'm going to go for a walk around the hallway."

Jareth threw a crystal against the wall in frustration, creating a loud booming sound that reverberated throughout the study. Whatever was masking the identifying residue magic on Benjamin's sheets was incredibly strong. All he could detect was Sarah's magic all over it, which would make sense as she had sat atop Benjamin's bed.

He slumped backwards, his hands on his desk as he looked up at the ceiling. He couldn't push Sarah's grieving face out of his mind.

Back on Thanksgiving Day, when she said that she was not easy to love, he saw his own sadness reflected in her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to replace her grief with happiness. And there was nothing more he could do to bring that smile back to her.

Or could he?

He already gave her permission to use his music room, but maybe that wasn't enough. After all, she was thrusted back into this world, lost and alone. And, he wasn't exactly the warmest of hosts either.

The way she talked about her late husband tore at his heart. Her sorrowful countenance. Her lonely tears. And still, through all of that, she reached out to him. To tell him that she appreciated that he was appreciated. That she wanted to be his friend.

If he experienced the same thing as she, Jareth knew that he would have closed his heart and withered away forever. He would not have had the strength to ever open to anyone else ever again. Especially not after what he had suffered in his long life.

Because of Sarah, he felt compelled to do something for someone else for the hell of it for the first time in a long time. Not because he felt pity. Not out of duty. Not because they were family or his subjects. Not because it was the right thing to do. Not because he would feel guilty if he didn't.

Just because he wanted to.

That was how he found himself Aboveground.

He transported inside her house, finding that everything appeared as it was when they had left. This was going to be a quick visit, in and out. That was all.

He walked down the hallway, past family photos framed on the walls. Curiosity told him to take a look at the photos he had yet to see, but a sixth sense told him to keep walking.

He kept walking. He knew better than to ignore that sixth sense.

Reaching the master bedroom at the end, he found some clothes strewn about, a mix of adult clothing and a child's, as Benjamin had been sleeping in Sarah's room every once in a while, something he had noticed when he was in her room last.

As much as he enjoyed his privacy, it occurred to Jareth that deep inside, he wished that his younger self had felt safe enough to curl up in bed with his parents. His parents loved him, there was no question about that. But, sleeping in the same bed as parents was not something nobility did.

On the bed, he found a toy bear. The nightstand had a recent photo of Sarah and Benjamin, smiling as she pushed him on a swing.

Jareth tucked the bear under his arm, getting ready to retrieve the photograph.

The sixth sense crawled all over his scalp, telling him that there was danger.

He whipped around, finding his free hand wrapped around a throat. Without skipping a beat, he threw the creature into the wall to snap its neck.

All over the room, creatures emerged from the shadows. Each of them had totally black eyes and rows upon rows of teeth, each hand adorned with hooks. He had never seen anything compare to these horrifying demons from the depths of darkness.

Jareth, still holding the bear in one arm, lifted up the corpse of the one that he had just killed, crimson blood oozing from one of the collar bones protruding out. "You will leave me, or suffer the same fate as this member of your kind."

The creatures hesitated for a moment, which gave Jareth more than enough time to produce a fire crystal. "I will not ask you again."

One of them hissed at him. "You have hurt one of us. And so, we will take our revenge, Goblin King."

Jareth's eyes glowed, his lips curled into a sadistic smile. "I have done nothing wrong but kill the one went after me, and I did so in self defense." He shook the corpse for emphasis, using it again as a warning.

"No, not her." The voice was so callous, so unconcerned for one of their own. "Your magic has caused pain upon our Master. We take revenge upon his name."

Jareth didn't even react. To react was to waste valuable time.

He attacked.

He threw the fire crystal at them, setting a group on fire. Setting the toy bear on the bed, he summoned two more crystals, one on each hand, transforming them into swords.

The Goblin King slashed each of them left and right. Some even above and below as they came after him. They wailed in pain, cursing his name and praising their Master in their last breaths. He kicked one away from him as he was busy killing another, making sure to watch his back and drop kick another one of them out of the window.

He did not enjoy taking a life, but being in the middle of a battle like this gave him a surge of thrills that filled his blood. Especially when the creatures he killed were ones of evil, of being so wasted that they were more like puppets than living creatures.

Jareth bellowed, feeling one of their hooked claws dig into his face and down to his neck. The venom burned into his skin, each movement amplifying the excruciating agony. He snapped the neck of the one that clawed him, slowed down slightly as he reacted to the pain.

Strike after strike, and he had killed them all. All along the room was carnage of the demons. Jareth wiped his swords clean, tossing them into the air, the weapons disappearing.

He created another crystal, encasing one of the dead in it then shrinking it down to fit the palm of his hand. He groaned, exhausted from the energy it took to do so.

He waved the carnage away, sending them to a place where they could wither away in a place where it would remain untouched unless he commanded it. Taking the bear and the photograph once more, he faded away to the Underground.

"All right! I'm coming!" Sorceress Mara yelled, her makeup only half done. "Who in the world is up so damn early?"

The knocking was absolutely obnoxious and she worried that she was going to have to replace her door at the sheer force of said knocks. Mara yanked the door open, not expecting to be face-to-face with the King himself.

His hair had blood in it. His clothes torn and bruises on his forearms. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just fought for his life.

"Your Majesty?" Mara blinked, forgetting to curtsey as she took in his tattered state as he was holding a crystal as if it weighed as much as a person.

"Took you long enough," he grumbled, stalking over to her experiment room.

"What happened? You look horrible." She stared in shock and concern at the long scratches down his cheek.

Jareth growled at her. "Says the person with only one eyebrow on her face."

He may be the king, but she did not appreciate the insult. "You interrupted my makeup routine!"

Jareth ignored her. He waved away the potions off the table and to the floor.

"Hey, are you crazy?!" Mara shrieked. "I was reorganizing my potions and now I have to redo it, thanks to you! And what happened to your face?"

Jareth made a face between amusement and scandal as he turned to her. "'Hey?' 'Crazy?' Hogbrain is right, you must be spending quite a bit of time with Wished-Away humans to pick up on Aboveground terminology."

He turned back to the table and threw the crystal on it, transforming it back into some kind of slimy, probably dead creature.

Mara, wide-eyed, walked around the table. "What is this?"

"You tell me. I was attacked out of nowhere by it when I went Above." He gestured to the dead creature that he plopped on her table. "It is all yours, Sorceress."

"You can't just waltz into my home and dispose a corpse on my table like that!" She pinched her nose, trying to avoid the smell.

"I am sure that you've had more corpses on that table than I've had people in my bed," Jareth said dryly.

"Ha ha, very funny." Mara rolled her eyes at the exaggeration. "You make me sound like a necromancer and not a scholar who occasionally does investigative work. At least tell me why you've brought this creature here and you've come to find it."

"I told you, I was attacked. It was sudden and out of nowhere."

"Are you not going to tell me any more information? Like where you were attacked?"

"Do you really need any more than that?"

She threw her hand up, slapping her own forehead in a melodramatic fashion. "Sire, I am assuming that you want to know what this creature is and why it attacked you, yes?"

"Your assumption is correct." His face was passive and looking bored.

"Then I should know as much as I can."

"Just identify this creature and tell me all you can about it." He walked to her front door. "When you have come to a conclusion, come up to the castle and you can talk to me about it. I'm going to see my healer."

Mara put her back against the wall, sliding down in frustration. "That ornery king! Thinking that he can just give me a corpse and examine it at his bidding!"

She slowly got up after a while of complaining to herself. "Fine. I'll examine it. The sooner I do so, the sooner I can get rid of it so that the stink in my home doesn't outdo the stink in the bog."

Sarah looked at the clock, sighing. Not even Toby could distract her. At least he was taking his own solitary walk, it gave both of them some space.

She went back to Jareth's study, finding that he was there. "Jareth?"

He turned to her. She took a step back, shocked at seeing the angry red marks down his cheek and neck. Seeing him in such a state made her gasp in pain, as if she was the one hurt. She immediately rushed to his side. "Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay?"

He smirked, putting himself in a seductive position to ease the tension. "I am mostly fine. I will heal soon, and you can look at my face with awe once more."

"You're awful." Sarah shook her head, failing at hiding her grin.

He smiled at her, allowing them both a moment of reprieve before frowning again. He sat up in a normal position. "I have some bad news. I went to your home and some strange demon creatures attacked me."

Sarah took a moment to process what he said. "Why were you in my house in the first place? Why didn't you tell me that you were going? Why are there demons in my house? Are we safe?"

He could hear the slight hysteria in her voice and disappointment that he wasn't being totally transparent with her.

He stood up, tilting his head to tell her to follow him. They walked to his desk, a box sitting on it. Jareth pulled the bear out of it.

"Lancelot?" Sarah looked at Jareth.

When he made a face, she shook her head. "No, I mean, that's the bear's name."

"Ah." He pulled out the photograph. "I went to go and retrieve some items for you. I am sorry that I couldn't get more, but with the demons, I didn't want to disappoint you if I couldn't do it or let you get hurt."

Sarah came to touch Lancelot the Bear. "You... You got these." She looked up at his face. "For me?"

Jareth had never seen such affection for him before. The sincere happiness and touched look on her face made him want to go and get more of her things Above, and risk getting clawed by more demons. "I know how difficult this must be fore you, and I didn't even give you time to gather anything that you wanted or needed. It was the least I could do seeing as Benjamin should be safe under my care."

"It was definitely not the least that you could have done." Sarah traced the outline of Ben's face in the photograph. "Jareth, you got hurt because you got these. I don't know how I can thank you."

She took the objects out of his hands and put them down. Her arms came around and embraced him.

Her arms were around his body, her face buried in his chest. He slowly wrapped his arms around her back, holding her close as she held him. His nose was in her hair, the honey and lavender shampoo along with her natural scent was a lovely combination. She was holding him tightly, so he returned the sentiment. She was every bit as fierce as his strongest knight and as warm as a summer breeze.

He would hold her forever if she asked it of him.

She let go first. "That was very kind of you." She averted her eyes, overwhelmed by the emotions in her.

As if in a trance, Sarah lifted her hand up to his face. He flinched at the pain, causing her to pull back. Before she could withdraw her hand completely, Jareth gently circled his own fingers around her wrist, giving her a gentle nod, completely in his own trance. Her eyes were absolutely mesmerizing, it was amazing that she was not using magic to hone him in.

Gingerly, she touched the injured part of his face, slowly tracing down from his high cheekbone and down his neck. She went even farther, gliding down the chain of his medallion to the horned emblem, her fingers lightly grazing his chest hair.

No one ever touched him like this. No one had touched him with such tenderness and fondness as she.

This was what he had been craving all his life.

"Sarah," he rasped, needing for her to look into his eyes. "I would do it all over again for you."

She looked up, blinking a few times, most likely at the endearment in his own eyes. She seemed unsure at first, but her eyes dropped to his lips and back up to his eyes.

Was there ever a more beautiful woman than she?

Her eyes fluttered to a close, their lips gently grazing against each other's. Sarah was trying to be gentle, unsure of his injuries, but Jareth wasn't about to let her go. When they pulled apart, his lips traveled to the place between her neck and shoulder, inhaling her scent and staying there.

*Knock Knock Knock* "Sire!"

The dreaded knock was like the drum of reality, startling them both. Jareth wanted nothing more than to vaporize Samuel for interrupting them.

The knocking continued. "Sire!"

He pulled away from Sarah, seeing disappointment in her eyes. He squeezed her hand, kissing her knuckles. For a brief moment, her smile came back.

He turned around and went to the door. "What is it?"

Beside Samuel was Mara, who was looking absolutely livid. Samuel bowed. "Sorceress Mara claims that she has an emergency and needs to see you immediately."

Mara gave a very short curtsey, not one that was suitable for a king. Without a word, she barged into his study.

Samuel left hastily, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

"Raí, Sire!" Mara said in a voice that was a half whisper, half screech. "The audacity-" She noticed Sarah in the room. "Sarah. I didn't know you were here."

"Umm, hey." Sarah awkwardly lifted her hand up in a sort of greeting.

Mara looked back and forth between the two of them. Then back at Jareth. "Sarah knows about this, doesn't she?"

Sarah didn't understand why she was so mad. "I-"

"She does!" Mara turned so that she could face both of them. "Sire, don't tell me that she has been involved with them."

"I'm here too, Mara," Sarah said with displeasure.

If Mara wasn't so ready on wanting to murder him, Jareth would have laughed at the Sorceress's blunder. Never treat Sarah as infirm or as someone who needs to be spoken for, especially when she's in the same room.

"Sorry, Sarah." Mara faced her apologetically. "I just need answers from him at the moment."

"I don't need to tell you, anything." Jareth folded his arms in a show of power. "I pay you a handsome salary to work for me. I don't answer to you."

"Fine." Mara folded her arms, tilting her chin up at him. "I don't know why you want this to be a secret, but I must report to the High King."

Jareth blocked the doorway, eyes aflame. "No, you will not!"

The last thing he needed was his grandfather to interfere.

"This is a matter of Underground security!" Mara seethed. "Sire, I will not hesitate to fight you if I need to. Please don't put me in that position."

"You need to trust me! I am the king, and I have everyone's best interests at heart." He pulled away from the door, stalking towards Mara.

"And how do I do that without you telling me anything? Where was this Raí even found?" She tried to look fearless, but even she had to take a step back when he got a little too scarily close.

He clenched his teeth together. "I said, no one needs to know. Not now."

"Sire," Mara sighed, looking very despondent. "You have me on your side. You need not worry about your credibility."

Sarah was sick and tired of not being informed when her son was on the line. "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" She demanded.

Mara looked at her, unsure of what to do now. Jareth nodded. "Explain to her what you found and perhaps the history of it."

Mara looked like she wanted to argue more, but chose not to at the moment. "Know that I will ask you for more later, Sire. I am doing this in good faith because you have been good to me and this kingdom."

She pointed to the scrying mirror. Moving her hands in a circle, she closed her eyes, channeling some sort of energy. Opening them, her iris and pupils were gone, a glowing blank stare in her eye sockets. She waved at the mirror. In it was a gorgeous man, with charming eyes and an ageless face. He was clearly flirting with a woman who seemed to be head over heels for him.

"Have you heard of the Erlking?" Mara asked Sarah.

A lump formed in Sarah's throat. The haunting trills from her dreams echoed in her mind. "Kind of, I know him through the poem and piano piece, Erlkönig. He tempts children with things as the father is taking his son away in the poem."

"That is an incredibly sparse account of who he is," Mara said. "The Erlking, whose real name is Prince Anwir, is actually responsible for the split between the Underground and Aboveground. Not directly, there were already reasons prior to him, but he was the last straw. Many millennia ago, the world was one. Magic and non magic creatures lived together. The magicians enjoyed the technology that the humans had created. The humans enjoyed the protections and beauty that magic gave."

The scene in the mirror changed to a darker world, filled with arrows and arguments. Of hate and despise.

"However," Mara continued. "Not everyone lived so beautifully. You see, like most of your world today, mine was and is still separated. By class. By color. By species. By ancestry. By talent. By location. There were always arguments that would arise from the differences. Sometimes war would break out, There have always been wars, but often were little wars between the magicians and non magicians, for lack of a better term. That's a long story in and of itself and no one truly knows what started them except that the talk of hatred bled among the people, making them unable to see reason and glorify in war.

"The Erlking was never actually a king, he was an elven prince, only earning that moniker because of humans. He would take children's very essence to increase his magical powers. He would feed them to himself and to the army he had created, the Raí. No one knows how exactly he created this army, there are rumors that they were made from the corpses of the children he consumed or other dead creatures in the Underground but that seems unlikely from my findings. They seem to almost be shadows created rather than any living beings. They're clearly sentient, but have a hive mind rather than individual wills. With the Erlking as their queen, er, king, in this case.

"The Erlking's sins were not well known to the world yet. They knew that he was a philanderer, that he was cruel and would toss his lovers out without care after he was done with them. But it wasn't until two of his victims, a husband and wife, broke out that the general public realized the extent of his philandering and his crimes. No one wanted to believe that the Erlking would do such a thing, not this charming man. It couldn't be possible in their minds.

"The Erlking tried every way to evade the authorities. He made himself seem peaceful, seeking to unite the entire world under his rule, claiming that he would bring prosperity under his reign. Many people fell for his charms and believed him, even when the despicable excuse of a man would constantly cause them harm. Eventually, he was captured."

The scene changed to the Erlking, bound and forced to kneel before someone Sarah presumed to be the High Queen. "The High Queen at the time, our current High King's mother, threw him in the dungeons, but it was too late. The Erlking created a chain reaction where all the little wars joined into one large war. When that war was over, The High Queen agreed to execute him, but the reason she gave against it was that the Erlking had far too many victims who would cause issues in the future, possibly turning into a dangerous cult if he had been killed. So, they just imprisoned him and did their best to de-radicalize his followers. By the end of the war, relations between humans and magicians were so bad that they decided to live in different realms, for most of the Erlking's victims were humans, due to humans being more impressed by magic and his charms. This created the Above and the Underground."

Once again, the scene changed to the Erlking in a fetal position, sleeping.

"As for the matter of his sentence, he was put to an eternal sleep somewhere in the Realm of Dream by crossing through the Goblin Kingdom, in an undisclosed location. He resides in the world of dreams, which seemed like a genius sentence at the time. After all, dreams aren't real, are they?" She turned to Sarah. "But dreams can be more terrifying than reality. It can bleed into your life and make you do things you would never have done if you were solely rooted in reality. But dreams, well, dreams can bring your greatest fears or hope into life."

"I know that all too well," Sarah mumbled. "So the Erlking is missing?"

"If there is a Raí let loose, then it's a possibility. He has been a nightmare for the human realm ever since."

"If this gets out," Jareth interrupted. "Then I will lose credibility as a king who can control my realm. It will also alert the Erlking of our knowledge of him."

The more they talked about the Erlking, the less Sarah felt comfortable with keeping her dream a secret. God, how could she do this to Jareth? He went through so much to keep her happy in going back to her home to get little things to remind her of Ben.

She turned to Mara. "Mara, I need to speak to Jareth alone. Please."

Mara hastily curtsied, seeing that while this was a request, it was one that Sarah would insist on. "Of course. If you need me, please don't hesitate."

I've edited this chapter so many times and I'm sick of editing it so here it is lol. I'm not really sure how you guys will take it, but I hope that it did an okay job to launching the story to a different part, that the whole Underground lore stuff that I made up made sense lol.

FULL DISCLAIMER: This fic is not in any shape or form related to the Erlkonig Labyrinth fanfiction by Subtilior. They are a fantastic author and the story is incredibly dark with evil Jareth, basically imagine the opposite of mine lol. I was worried about posting this story because I don't want people to compare the two, but to hell with it, it's literally fanfiction and they're so different lmao.

So, you know all the chapters before this one? With Jareth coming to get to know them? Yeah, they weren't originally what I had planned at all. This chapter was supposed to be the first, with Sarah then wishing for Jareth to fight him for Ben, thinking that he's the Erlking. Toby wasn't originally in the fic at all. As I kept writing on Sarah and Jareth trying to work to get Ben back, it just felt really weird to develop their romance like this with the whole Ethan back story. I didn't want them to bond through just trauma, and I didn't want them to get it on while she's freaking out about her son, so that's where I put them getting to know each other, in the early chapters. Because of that, I had to basically completely rewrite this story lol.

If you are interested, you should look up the poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which can probably found on wikipedia in your language. The original is in German. I also highly recommend listening to the piano/violin/singing arrangement by Franz Schubert because it's incredible. I used to play piano and I would love to practice again to get to that level. There's lots of amazing version on YouTube, my favorites are Hillary Hahn's on violin and Yuja Wang on piano. Don't have a favorite singer quite yet, but if you have suggestions, let me know!