A note to the readers:

So much thanks! Thank you for your continued following and favoriting and support. I didn't expect so many people to love it so much! Thank you! You make my heart full =)
A lot of people have wondered where the story is going and have been disappointed that Sarah isn't embracing her own love for Jareth. So, I have decided to let you in on a little bit of my outline.
First, I apologize; this has been published as a finished story. I must've forgotten to change it to unfinished when I added to the original one-shot. I found this out through an extremely rude comment/message from a reader! Let's remember to respect our authors and to be kind to people in general.
Anywho, this chapter will show you why I chose to make Jareth so cruel in the last. He now has a reason, motivation, to say sorry. I know, it seemed uncharacteristic—but now they have a reason to set boundaries and patch some damage—but don't worry, there will still be plenty of cat n mouse!
There will be both good and bad dreams. And of course, some sexual fantasy dreams. ;)

I won't share the ending, but I will share some penultimate details.
Spoilers below; to skip to the story past these answers, scroll until you pass a big block of asterisks:

***Will Sarah end up in the Underground?: Yes. Taken with dubious consent.

But, will she stay there?

***The answer as to whether or not she and Jareth end up in a consensually romantic relationship embracing their love together: Yes. Of course! I have the final chapter all written in my head. It's a very original ending, I don't think in all the fan fiction I've read I've seen someone that went that route. I thought about publishing it as a one shot, but I think I'll save it.

Sarah had woken up sometime after 5am and gone back into her room. She was grateful she was then able to fall back asleep; today's final was American History I. Sarah enjoyed history, but she was not particularly good at it. She wished the course was taught more like a story; she could remember stories, but the dull memorization and regurgitation of facts did not interest her. Mr. Denicka's history class was framed in a very bland way, which disappointed Sarah. She knew there were several interesting events in and facts about the founding of the modern United States, but these were generally glossed over. The founding fathers had lives as vivid as anyone else, yet they were treated as museum relics.

Sarah pushed last night's nightmare to the back of her mind; it seemed this would be the norm now.

Karen had started to go back to work at a publishing firm in the City where she worked half-days Wednesday through Friday. Sarah was glad the house was empty that morning; she had floated through the early hours, not remembering getting dressed or eating breakfast. Somehow, she made it to her history final. The desks in the room had been rearranged so there was more space than usual between everyone, giving each student more privacy. On the desks were thick test-booklets and booklets of scratch paper equally as thick.

"Alright," began Mr Denicka, a man of about forty with thin, black hair and premature balding around his prominent widow's peak, "I know many of you didn't start studying until last night," he said with disapproval painted on his face. Some boys in the back of the class snickered.

"Nevertheless," he continued, "I really do wish you all the best. You have three hours. I recommend doing the essay first and multiple-choice last. The timer will ding every half hour to help you bide your time. There are no short answers, so the essay better be good," he half-joked, looking over his glasses.

And so the clock began.

Sarah did indeed begin with the essay. Sarah knew she was a pretty good writer, so she hoped she had all of her facts correct and enough information.

At the end of the first two hours, she had finished her essay and a good portion of the multiple choice. Then, she reached a question to which she did not know the answer. She could usually guess, but this one stumped her completely.

She held her pencil in the air above the questions and swayed it between the answers.

"Eeny meeny miny..."

Before she could say "mo," pencil marks filled the answer bubble next to answer "C." Sarah gasped, and then quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed her reaction; no one had, as all eyes were fixed intently on the tests.

She looked back at her paper. An invisible pencil filled in answer "B" of the next question.

Sarah put down her pencil and shut the booklet in disbelief. She opened it once more, opening randomly to the first page of the multiple choice. She watched as her very first answer was magically erased and another answer bubble was filled. Sarah heard pencil scrawling within the immediately vicinity.

"Wrong," was written on her scratch paper in handwriting that was not her own. The writing was edgy and sharp. The the tail of the "g" came up at an angle rather than a curve.

Sarah picked up her pencil once more.

"...Jareth?" she wrote.

"Were you expecting another devilishly handsome being with incredibly magical powers?" appeared one letter after the other.

Sarah could practically hear him saying that in his sarcastic tone that was smooth and suave. Normally that voice would've tugged at her heartstrings, but she was too in disbelief to feel negatively or positively. She was at a loss for words.

"Since when has our little thespian nothing to say?" said the paper.

Sarah put her pencil to the paper. "last night was evil," she wrote without punctuation. How dare he try to contact her. How dare he approach her when he had been so despicable. And how dare he contact her publicly so she could not react.

What was written next shocked her.

"I am sorry."

Sarah couldn't tell how he meant this, as the written word had no tone of voice. Was he really sorry?

She wrote. "I knew you were cruel, but last night was torturous. Twisted. Sick!"

"Perhaps I went too far..."

It was another answer that shocked her yet again. Did he regret his actions? Truly, truly regret them?

"You could stay out of my dreams..." she wrote.

"I can't do that," came the reply.

"Jareth, I need to finish this test. It's bad enough you plague me at night, can't you let me alone in school?"

"Let me help!" his invisible hand wrote before she had finished her question mark. Sarah looked up from her paper and thought for a moment.

"No, that would be cheating."

"Sarah, please. Let me make it up to you. Please don't deny me a gift. Believe that my apology is full of the truest sincerity. Please."

Sarah thought. She started to write the "N" in "No."

His writing cut her off. "What if you finish the multiple choice and let me correct them all? You still won't know the correct answers, so it technically won't be cheating..."

Sarah thought again.

"Please," he wrote again. "For me. A gift to you."

Sarah decided.

"OK."

Sarah finished her test and then turned to the second page of multiple choice. She tried not to pay attention when her answers were adjusted and did the same for each page. At the end of the booklet, she heard quick scribbling on the scratch paper.

"I will see you tonight, pet, but there will be no tricks or terrors. I just want to talk. Promise. Until then."

As he finished his final note, a perfectly detailed barn owl was sketched faster than humanly possible.

Sarah sighed and turned in her test. She returned to her seat and shut her eyes, laying her head on the desk and not sure what to think.

Sarah made sure to drink water before bed; if all else failed, at least her bladder would wake her up. She sighed and laid back on her pillow. Voluntarily falling asleep proved to be more difficult than naturally falling asleep.

"Guess you can't rush yourself to sleep," thought Sarah. She wondered where her dream would take her...

It felt as if she had simply blinked, but Sarah knew she had fallen asleep. Her dream world seemed to be an outdoor garden at night. There was a fine mist flowing over the mossy, cobblestone ground. Sarah quickly realized she was at the center of the Labyrinth; Jareth's castle loomed over her. While the garden was an outdoor garden, it was still part of the castle itself. She was not on the ground, but rather in a courtyard on one of the castle's upper levels. Sarah suspected she was somewhere around the first parapet. The castle was more of a keep than castle. The central keep had uneven levels. The two towers were also uneven; one was sturdy with its own turret and guardhouse, and the other was quite small.

The garden itself was large and grid-like. Sarah spied many trellises, topiaries, and arbors all around. Further away, where the garden curved around the castle wall, Sarah saw large, bountiful rose bushes. The immediate area in which she stood was made up mostly of ground coverings, some of which were an uncommon color of flocks: dark magenta. The main attraction was the numerous trumpet shaped flowers of deep blue. They appeared to be similar to morning glories, but were at least three times the size and midnight blue. Sarah noticed that the stigma and several dainty stamen of the flowers looked like stars—they were gold and glowing. It was like each flower had its own, inner constellation. Sarah walked off of the stone path into the little thicket of flowers. She was careful to stick her feet between their vines and not crush them, wiggling her toes until they found their way to the mossy ground.

Sarah noticed she was barefoot and in one of her white nightdresses. This one could almost pass for a sundress, as it puckered at the waist and had lace detail around the bottom hem. Unlike the Peter Pan style necklines in most of her nightgowns, this one was a square line that was at least three inches below her collarbone. Luckily, the night air was warm.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" asked Jareth. He appeared not twenty-five feet away, stepping out from behind an arbor with dangling clusters of tiny yellow flowers. He sauntered casually with his hands in the pocket of his brown leather jacket. This was over a navy blue button up and black leggings in brown leather boots. His demeanor was relaxed and the corners of his mouth naturally turned upward ever so slightly in repose.

Sarah did not feel threatened. She hoped he would be true to his word.

"They are midnight glories, a parallel to your morning glories. The little "stars" within them sometimes will line up with the constellations overhead. Look..."

he picked one and held it toward her. He slowly moved it from the right side of his arm-span to his left. Sarah noticed the little flecks of gold changing position as he did so. She could not help but smile in wonder. Jareth took notice to the reflection of the little constellation in her eyes...

"For you, madam," the Goblin King said with a flourish and bow, extending the flower's stem toward her so that she might take it. Sarah couldn't think of any possible way this could be a trick. She accepted the flower.

When she held it close to her face, stroking a velvety petal, she noticed the scent was warm and rounded. It seemed to her to be a mix of blueberries and lavender.

Sarah continued to gingerly rub a petal beneath two of her fingers. Nothing was said between them for a few moments.

"Perhaps last night was uncalled for," said Jareth.

Sarah's contended smile faded from her face and she looked up at her pursuer.

"Perhaps?" asked Sarah sarcastically.

"Sarah, understand my feelings are the motivation behind why I do what I do. There is nothing I would not do to have you."

"I'm not an object," she retorted.

"To be with you, then. I know that. I simply mean—"

"Jareth, I know the Fae feel more intensely than humans are capable. I know you love stronger, and, in return your heated cruelty is also stronger," Sarah said, remembering one of the books Andrea had given her. The Fae were proud. They could practically feel only one emotion at a time, making them a resolute and stubborn race. "But, last night was beyond cruel. It was evil. Messed up and twisted. You tortured me. That nightmare will haunt me for the rest of my life. You were an animal," she spat.

Tears now formed at the corner of Sarah's eyes. Jareth's own eyes were sad.

He was disappointed in himself.

"Perhaps we can set up some boundaries," he attempted.

"If I could I would set up a permanent boundary between us," she said looking back down at the flower and therefore not seeing Jareth's jaw drop slightly in hurt.

"You know I can't let you do that, my love. And, I don't think you mean that. I will continue to pursue you for as long as it takes." He was talking to her in a melancholy tone. Nothing demanding or foreboding. He sounded...sad.

Sarah looked back up.

"We need a safe-word,"

"Beg pardon?" he asked.

"A safe-word," Sarah said again. "Jareth, I know how you feel about me. It doesn't matter how I feel about you—I'm not even ready to talk about that. But, I know that you won't stop at anything, and I know I can't do anything about that. A safe-word is a word that is used when someone is in danger or feels threatened. The safe-word allows a second party to be alerted to a situation where the first party cannot audibly identify the problem due to duress. Or, the second party is the one creating the duress, and the safe word lets them know they need to back off; that's what I need."

"And why would I let you have a safe-word?" he asked with disapproval, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because I cannot prevent you from entering my dreams. You are able to come and go as you please. There are times like last night when you go too far. There are times when other factors of my life are causing me stress or unhappiness or whatever, and I need a break. It's fair, because I'm only trying to defend myself. You get to play offense, and I cannot do anything to keep you away. I'm letting you in, technically, so there should be some times when I can ask for privacy. I should have the power to keep your cruelty in check," she finished, also crossing her arms over her chest.

"And how do I know you won't use this word every day?" Jareth asked skeptically. "The very point of my perseverance is to acquire you; you can't just realize I'm winning and then call it quits."

"I promise..." Sarah thought about her words for a moment. She was sure this would be magically binding. "I promise to not use it if I think you are winning fair and square. I would use it on emotionally troubling days when I need time for my own sake, and when I think your cruelty goes too far."

Jareth tilted his head in consideration. He thought about her proposition...it didn't seem like it would foil his plans.

"...fine," he agreed.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Jareth."

Thy stood in silence for a few moments. Sarah wasn't sure what to do now. This place felt so comfortable. The warmth of the night air was the perfect temperature. The stars were twinkling overhead and the fragrance of the garden was sweet.

Jared cleared his throat. "Shall we walk?" he asked.

Sarah eyed him warily, but decided to give him a chance. "Alright."

He extended a hand to her. Sarah wasn't so sure, but she took it. She had, after all, danced with him before. A walk shouldn't be so bad. He escorted her onto the path again, and he offered her his arm. "My lady." He smiled a little, almost timidly. It was endearing.

Sarah was taken aback at her feelings.

They walked towards the rose bushes, not remaining in a straight line, but walking around the square plots. The silence was comfortable. They didn't walk for long until Jareth led them to a wooden bench with velvet cushions. As they sat, he put his left arm around her.

At first, Sarah sat trying to keep millimeters of space between them, but she soon relaxed into the tranquility of touching thighs and body heat.

"How long have you been king?" Sarah asked.

"A long time," was his simple reply. Sarah looked at him with comic disapproval.

"Did you earn the throne through birthright?" she continued.

"In my case, no. Sometimes that does happen, but a king or queen can select an heir, if they so choose. I was chosen."

Sarah wondered about his family, but decided to inquire about other things.

"I was told you witnessed a war. Did you fight?"

The Goblin King raised his eyebrows. He had not expected this topic.

"Yes," he replied. "I was young. Young by human years. Fae childhood lasts roughly twice as long as human childhood, due to our long lives. I was about 17 in human years."

Sarah gave a little gasp. He removed his arm from around her and waved his hand over his left thigh. Sarah could suddenly see through a large patch of the material and viewed a scar the size of her hand. It looked like a jagged stab wound, the scar tissue risen and tinted pink and gray.

"You poor thing..." she said almost at a whisper.

The charm went away, and Jareth put his arm back around Sarah's shoulders.

"It's in the past," he said plainly. His eyes held no emotion. Sarah wondered just how much he had seen in his long life. Was he lonely?

Sarah leaned her head on her shoulder. Jareth was glad she could not see his face; he wore expression of shock. This was an awfully tender move for how terrible last night had been. He soon smiled.

"Do you have a favorite part of the Labyrinth?" asked Sarah.

"Yes and no. I love every area equally. But, I do have a special spot where I disappear to every once and a while. You've only seen a little more than the southern half of the Labyrinth. This spot is due north, though not too far from the center. The gardens and foliage are even more beautiful behind the castle, in my opinion."

Sarah thought, "I would like to see more of the Labyrinth." But, she didn't belong there...right?

Sarah quieted her thoughts and allowed them both to sit in quiet contentment for a while. This was nice. Jareth ran his fingers gently through a tendril of her hair.

Sarah began to feel...funny, as if she were beginning to float.

"Jareth, I... I think I'm waking up."

"I think so too."

They looked at each other. It seemed like an eternity. It didn't feel tense, it didn't feel awkward, it just felt...right.

Sarah was turning opaque. She was disappearing, being pulled from the dreamland.

"Jareth...I'm sorry," Sarah said. Sorry that she would not go with him, sorry she would not give him what he wanted.

"Me too," was his reply. His eyes were once again sad.

Before she disappeared completely, she closed her eyes and leaned in to place a small kiss on his left cheek. Sarah disappeared just as her lips met his skin. Neither of them had the chance to feel the contact.

When Sarah woke up the next morning, she noticed a faint glowing from the corner of her room. It was difficult to make out what it was in the low light. She approached it slowly, but was soon delighted; it was a vase full of midnight glories. Sarah picked up the large bouquet to her face, letting the little "stars" tickle her cheeks. The aroma was calming and was soon spread faintly throughout the air in her room. Then, Sarah noticed the note lying next to them.

"Charmed to last through the week,"

Sarah recognized the sharp, jagged writing and smiled.

She didn't know why, and she almost didn't notice, but a single tear escaped her eye.