Making good on my monthly posting for once! Thank you for the reads and follows. Please keep the love flowing—life is about to get busier. But, the pace is about to pick up again. Enjoy! =)

Breakfast. Chitchat with the king—who didn't even bring up their first date, rude. Stretching and exercising. The works.

Sarah was beginning to develop a routine.

Ludo and Didymus were going to show her around the Goblin Market later today, and she eagerly awaited a trip outside the castle walls. Until then, she was planning on visiting the Court. She was nervous how the Fae would treat her. Sarah knew she could handle herself—no doubt about it—but she still wanted to be accepted; it's never fun spending time around people who don't want you there.

And the mixed signals Sarah had just received over toast wasn't exactly helping her either.

She dressed a little nicer, wore a little more jewelry, and scrubbed her nails a little cleaner than usual. It wasn't a first impression, but it might as well be one.

Baby blue wasn't her color, but it brought out her hair, and the dress she donned was the perfect balance between casual and fancy: simple enough to look easygoing and natural, but glamorous enough to look refined and elegant. The jewelry pieces she chose were a thin silver band for a bracelet, a delicate silver chain for a necklace, and plain silver hoop earrings. She pleated her hair into a simple French braid that hung in the middle of her back.

Navigating the castle was easy enough; she had stared down below for far too long now without paying them a visit. It was time to join the Gentry.

When she entered the courtyard, it was almost too perfect to be real. Icons and symbols hung in the shop windows lining the round arena, and Sarah could easily identify a barber, a tailor, a cobbler, a produce vendor, and more. Several Fae practically drifted around the courtyard, taking a turn about the room, as it were. Sarah thought they looked like a Seurat painting.

On the far side of the courtyard was a long row of produce-stands piled high with fresh fruit and vegetables. Sarah watched as customers and sellers exchanged money for goods, many Fae drifting away with a white sack full of apples, potatoes, and whatever else was being offered that day. Far over to the right stood a gleaming white fountain that bubbled serenely. The cobblestones were scrubbed clean, or perhaps magically kept pristine, and the sky above the Court was (mostly) blue.

Sarah tried not to stare at anyone, but she wondered if anyone outside today was one of the Gentry she had met at the Intended Ball.

Sarah wandered over to the cobbler's storefront. Even behind the glass, the bedazzled shoes glittered. The embroidery was elaborate and obviously hand-stitched.

The small hairs on the back of her neck stood up; she was being watched.

Her eyes darted to the right; a group of girls who appeared her age were huddled together and whispering. If they were trying to be sneaky, they were failing miserably as they obviously stared and giggled. Sarah let out a long sigh. She figured this would be her life now. But, maybe they were friendly?

She turned to them.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. "I'm Sarah."

Their eyes widened in shock. They quickly recovered and all gave a little bow.

"Lady Sarah, it's a pleasure to meet you," said the apparent ring-leader, the dark blue satin of her dress swishing nervously.

"The same to you. Do you all buy shoes here often?" As soon as Sarah asked it, she realized she had no money, and her earrings were hardly something she could barter away, as they weren't really hers. Her heart sunk as visions of shopping with possible new friends disappears from her mind.

"Oh no, we just like to look," said a sandy blonde in red harem pants.

"Why not?" asked Sarah.

The girls looked at each other anxiously.

"It's ok, you can tell me," she urged them with what she hoped was a friendly smile. Was she trying too hard?

The tall leader in blue spoke again. "It's not exactly…in," she said plainly, twirling an auburn strand of hair around her index finger.

Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion.

A moment of silence passed. The girl in harem pants spoke up again.

"You know…cool."

Sarah raised her eye brows in understanding.

"Well, what is cool?"

In unison, the girls hiked up their skirts to reveal different clogs and slippers.

"The Goblin Market, of course. You rarely find duplicates there," said the girl in blue.

The shoes looked Goblin-made. They weren't dirty or even poor quality, but symmetry obviously wasn't a thought in the making of these shoes. The leader's brown clogs were decorated with little nuts and bolts and gears, as if they were little treasures salvaged from Aboveground (or maybe from the Junkyard). Slippers were sewn from a hodgepodge of materials like patchwork quilts, yet were decorated in impressive beadwork.

"I'm going there later today, if you would like to join," Sarah offered, hoping her connection to Jareth wouldn't scare them off.

The girls shifted uncomfortably.

"We've already been today—but maybe next time!" said the ringleader a little too cheerfully.

Sarah had expected as much, but she didn't let her disappointment show.

"That's alright, maybe another time," Sarah told them with a grin she hoped said "I'm definitely not lonely and definitely not worried about what people think of me."

The group curtsied dutifully and slowly shuffled away; Sarah realized, she hadn't even gotten their names.

"So. Jareth scared them off," Sarah thought to herself. "Or maybe…I scared them off…" She was still getting a feel for being the "Champion." Was the Champion someone to fear?

Sarah shook her head violently. No, it must be the Goblin King.

She wandered off through a passageway out of the courtyard. Sarah thought this sectioned of the castle resembled a baroque-era city one would find in Europe. She remembered the time her father and Irene had taken her on a European road-trip after they had gotten married and were pregnant with Toby. Her heart sunk as she remembered how resistant she had been to both Irene and the trip. She hadn't seen any reason to celebrate; she had still been under the impression her mother would come back. She regretted not enjoying the trip. They had been to Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France; her parents had found it all so romantic, while Sarah had only sulked. She missed them as she walked under overpasses, through secret courtyards, past bubbling fountains, and along rows of balconies.

Sarah's melancholy disappeared like dust in the wind; she had wandered back into the castle. She now stood in a library as big as a house, as big as a museum, as big as…well, as big as a castle library.

Her jaw dropped; she had never seen so many books—and she had visited the Library of Congress on a school field trip once.

There were rows upon rows upon rows of books. Books of every shape and size and color lined shelves in every direction. Sarah felt as though she had a bigger chance of getting lost here than in the Labyrinth itself.

Her amazement blocked out all feelings of trepidation and she wandered into the proverbial forest of knowledge.

She ran her fingers over the books, some old and some new, some dusty and some smooth and clean. This had to be the biggest room in the castle.

"How can a library so big be so empty?" she wondered out loud. Where was everyone, and why wouldn't they take advantage of free access to all these books?

Sarah finally met the far wall of the library—or rather, the far window.

The entire wall before her was a glass, or perhaps crystal, window. Outside, a jagged, natural rockface was the only thing that could be seen. A thin waterfall rained down from up above on the left side of the cliff. It was a bright day, and light was streaming down between the cliff face and the library, casting a rainbow through the spray that misted the air outside. Sarah figured she must be in a lower level of the castle or even underground. She didn't remember walking down an incline, and she knew she didn't walk down any stairs. Where was the water coming from anyway?

Sarah was so engrossed in her thoughts and the wonder of the library that she didn't notice the solitary figure standing in front of the window.

Sarah jumped, startled. There was a platinum blonde Fae standing in front of the window, her back to Sarah.

"I hope I didn't startle you, Your Ladyship," the woman said still looking out the window. She turned to Sarah, a book grasped in both hands, and gave an elegant bow of her head.

It was the Queen.

Sarah hadn't met the woman before, but she could tell by the diadem on her brow and the regality of her posture that this was Queen Amalia Fairskies of the Crystal City.

How had she known Sarah was there? Sarah figured she must've seen her in the reflection of the window…

"Not at all, Your Majesty," Sarah answered with a deep bow.

"Please, no need for such formalities," the queen told her, closing her book. "Should you and Jareth work out, we'll practically be kin."

Sarah knew that the queen was not in Jareth's family tree. Maybe she meant because they were both Fae?

Amalia beckoned for Sarah to join her. Outside, eye-lichen grew abundantly, and all eyes were turned towards them.

"So, how are you both getting along?"

"Oh, quite fine, thank you. The king is quite…generous with his castle," replied Sarah, inwardly laughing at her inside joke.

"I'm so glad to hear that. Champion aside, you really are a woman worthy of respect. He's treating you well? I don't need to tell you how he can be, do I?"

How he can be? How he can be with women, or was she referring to his tricks?

"Oh yes, very well, thank you."

"Oh my dear, that's so wonderful to hear! He never has lucked out with love. Or should I say with women? Though… perhaps the bad luck was in the other direction, no? But bygones are bygones, are they not?"

The Queen had such a comfortable way of speaking, as if she had been your friend for years. Her soprano voice was as clear and ringing as a bell. It was somehow refreshing and soothing at the same time, which almost caused Sarah to miss what was spoken between the lines; what bad luck? What bygones?

"Have you…known each other long?" ventured Sarah.

"Oh, since we were children. We got into so much trouble then!" she regaled, throwing her head back and laughing. Sarah curled her toes uncomfortably; even Amalia's laugh was like music. The queen was beautiful in all the ways Sarah was not. Amalia had slender shoulders and a tall yet slight build. Sarah, despite being thin, was very aware of her own bustiness and hourglass figure, while Amalia looked light as air. Sarah suddenly felt like her lips were too full and her eyebrows too thick. Perhaps her hair was too flat and her nails were too short. She almost reached up and covered the tiny mole above her lip, which she had always thought cute and reminiscent of Marylin Monroe; in the wake of the ethereal beauty of the Fae Queen, she could only feel like it was a blemish.

For the first time, Sarah was struck by the sharp sting of jealousy—but it wasn't from the queen's beauty.

Sarah hated hearing how familiar Amalia was with Jareth. Here was someone who had earned the right to walk the halls of the Castle at the Center of the Labyrinth, someone who had earned a seat on a throne. And, from the sound of things, here was someone who truly knew the Goblin King.

Sarah suddenly felt like an imposter, and for the first time felt out of place in her beloved Labyrinth.

"Um, were there many candidates for the throne? Or rather, candidates for Jareth?" Sarah nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh dear, please, don't worry. I shouldn't have said anything." The Queen slipped an arm around Sarah's shoulders. "You're a Champion; Jareth's tricks are no match for such a clever girl; you won't end up like the last one."

The Queen was not speaking directly towards Sarah but was looking out the window, her eyes locked on the eyes of the lichen. Sarah now felt that this friendly talk had ominous undertones.

Amalia turned towards Sarah, gently grasping her by the hands; the book had disappeared.

"She's not with us anymore, anyway. You've nothing to worry about, dear. The throne is irrelevant and perhaps Jareth will be different this time. Such a woman as you knows what's best for herself, whatever way the tide turns." The queen was smiling, but Sarah could almost feel the chill of her icy gaze.

Sarah did not want to think what Amalia had meant by "not with us anymore," or if Jareth was responsible for what that might imply.

"It was so good to meet you," said Sarah attempting to keep her voice steady; she hoped that this signaled the end of the conversation and the Fae would take her leave.

"Good to meet you too," said the queen taking a step back and dropping into a low curtesy.

Before Sarah had time to curtesy back, Amalia's dress was fluttering around her. The queen turned into a dove before even rising out of her curtesy and flew off between the bookshelves at a speed far too fast for a common dove.

The numerous clumps of eye lichen that had been still and staring were now waving around outside, squirming erratically in all directions.

Sarah felt as though she could fall over. She wandered away from the window and found a voluptuous armchair to sink into. She almost drew her legs in like a child, but she remembered that if the Queen had been there, someone else could also find her in the library; appearances, appearances, appearances…

The absence of the queen brought an emptiness as well as feelings of safety. The warmth and familiarity of Amalia was taken away, but so was the foreboding aura that sunk into the back of your mind like a distant sound you couldn't quite make out. Sarah wondered if the queen had been using magic to entice her, or if she was simply that powerful.

Sarah would tell her friends all about it, but she would leave out the pang of jealousy she had felt when Amalia had spoken of Jareth. Where did that come from? The queen and Jareth obviously had history, but from the sounds of it, Amalia hadn't been a threat.

A threat? What was she saying? There was no relationship to be threatened. Hell, there was no political station to be threatened. She was just a girl in a far-off land. Even if she was the champion, she was here with no purpose or goal other than to simply love her new life, to simply exist in this magical realm.

And get along with Jareth. Get to know Jareth? Get along. A better place to start. She couldn't let her feelings get ahead of herself, ahead of reality. Just because Jareth could be a good, could have potential for goodness, didn't mean he did; one date didn't prove anything.

Sarah had hardly seen the Court, and she hadn't spoken to as many people as she had planned—in fact, she hadn't really spoken to anyone at all. The chat with the girls was hardly a conversation, and the queen, who wasn't even from the Labyrinth, had done all the talking. Sarah would've loved to have ducked into a coffee shop with a newfound friend. Or a bakery. Or accompanied someone on their shopping trip. Did the Labyrinth have absinthe bars? The anachronistic nature of the land meant, perhaps, that it was a possibility, thought Sarah.

Now, Sarah wanted to leave the Court as strongly as she had wanted to visit it. She flitted out of the library and back through the passageways. When she reached the actual courtyard, it was barren of all inhabitants. The Fae who had been mulling about and window shopping were now gone. The silence was eerie, as if all life had been sucked out of the previously glamorous and lively courtyard.

"Did I scare them all away?" thought Sarah. She didn't stay to find out. She turned and ran from the courtyard and didn't stop until she was at the front gate of the castle. She ran from Amalia, from those whispering girls, from the possibility that perhaps she didn't belong, and perhaps she wasn't the first. When she came to a halt, she huffed and she puffed. Three little goblins regarded her with curiosity. Sarah's breath evened out and she realized that the last time she made it through that gate, it was only because Ludo had been with her to open the giant doors. Sarah saw, behind the three goblins, a massive pulley system. The rope was strung through the pulley and connected to the large brass doors. Sarah wondered if the goblins were there to open them.

"Um, hello," she tried. The goblins just stared. "I'm meeting some friends; could you open the doors? Please?" Sarah felt awkward. She loved playing with the goblins, but she never knew how to really talk to them. Should she speak like they were children? Maybe they were still children; she had no clue how the transition happened, or even how many goblins were goblins and how many were children. Plus, she was always scared they had some secret assignment from Jareth to spy on her or keep her locked inside.

Sarah swallowed nervously, waiting for the goblins to say or do something.

Without a word, all three jumped up on the rope, their feet dangling in the air. They swung back and forth like noiseless bells and bumped into each other. They heaved the thick chord to the ground and the doors slowly swung open.

Sarah ran outside, forgetting to say thanks, and took deep breaths. The Court, those girls, the queen…it was too much. She had felt like the walls were closing in on her.

"My lady!" came a call from her right.

Sarah jumped, startled even though she had expected Didymus to come running. He was sitting on his trusty steed, the sheepdog Ambrosius, and Ludo was trotting slowly behind.

"Sir Didymus," she sighed out in relief. That trip through the castle had felt like a bad dream, like she was out of place and nothing was real; this was reality—good friends and a little adventure.

"How you, Sawah?" asked Ludo.

"I'm well, thank you! I just had the weirdest day…"

She told them about Amalia's visit and about her hopeful visit down to the Fae Court as they walked to the Goblin City.

"It sounds as though that queen wished to bait you, my lady. I believe she toys with thy mind," observed Didymus.

"Maybe. Maybe she even used magic on me, who knows. All I know is that there is so much more to Jareth's own history that has nothing to do with me."

Sarah realized she recognized the area through which they now walked. It was funny, Sarah regarded, how much more comfortable she was walking through a goblin city with creatures who were definitely not gentry. She felt like she didn't have to pretend here; she felt free. Somehow the innocence (and even naughtiness) of the goblins was more enchanting than the magic of the Fae.

Sir Didymus led the way, and it wasn't long before the streets were packed with goblins. The streets were lined market stalls, food vendors, and tables. Sarah could hear goblins shouting out their wares and the sizzling of several grills. She smelled charcoal and something not unlike incense. She saw vendors selling cloth, pots and pans, meats and fish, and objects of unknown origin and purpose.

Goblins were haggling over prices and eating smoked mutton to-go. They all bustled shoulder-to-shoulder in the crowd. A brawl broke out somewhere around the corner, and Sarah passed a pair of goblins who toasted and drank a lengthy draught.

"Welcome, my lady, to the Goblin Market."

Sarah grinned wide. It was beautiful. Beautiful and sometimes smelly, sometimes aromatic. Sometimes loud and sometimes musical. Sarah picked up a small lute from a table full of tiny instruments and jokingly strummed a few chords; she didn't actually know how to play. She smiled sheepishly. Didymus, now leading Ambrosius by a leash, picked up a lute and began to play.

"Iiiiii once knew a maiden from the Dark Seeeea,

fairer than fair and so sweeet.

I only watched her from afar

Only played this guitar

Never or ever to meeeeet."

Sarah clapped and giggled and Ludo danced in place.

"Vewy nice!" cried Ludo.

Didymus bowed low and returned the lute to the table; the vendor did not look as pleased to hear a tune played on an un-purchased lute.

They turned a corner and walked further. One table was full of beautiful crystals. Sarah thought, one wouldn't be so bad to put in her room. She grabbed a purple crystal and looked up to address the vendor.

She gasped and took a step back; sitting behind the table was a masked Fae.

"You're Fae!" Sarah squeaked excitedly. Despite being recently told by a gaggle of girls that Fae did indeed traverse the Goblin City, she had not expected to see a Fae seated right in front of her.

"And you're not," the man shrugged, opening his hands left and right.

"Sorry," said Sarah. She supposed it seemed foolish to make such an obvious observation. "Why the mask?" she wondered, referring to the mahogany masquerade mask with a long, pointed nose. It covered his face almost entirely and she could not even make out the color of his eyes.

"We all wear them here in the market, of course."

Sarah looked around; none of the goblins were wearing masks. "I don't see any?" Sarah remarked quizzically.

"Look closer…" he urged, giving a dramatic wave towards the crowd.

Sarah set the crystal shard down and looked into the crowd.

There were more Fae! She saw one walking around with a basket before disappearing behind a building. Then she saw another with a plain mask horned like a unicorn.

"Why do you wear the masks?" she asked.

"If I'm being completely honest with you, it's more tradition these days than necessity. But one doesn't always buy the most…legal of substances and objects here. Nor sell. Best to keep a mask up, lest ye come under consequence from the king." He tapped his mask's nose and gave a friendly wink.

Sarah thanked him, forgetting the crystal baubles, and continued on her way. Sir Didymus bought them some potato wedges, or whatever the Underground equivalent was, and they munched happily. Sarah noticed there were other beings besides goblins here; she saw a Rock Troll like Ludo, two Dwarves like Hoggle, and at least five Satyrs. The occasional animal would come walking through the crowd of its own accord, and Sarah wondered if they were sentient like Didymus, although they wore no clothes.

Sarah saw a lovely pair of earrings at a jewelry stand—if you could call it that. Before Sarah was a table laid with all sorts of nick-nacks. It was only apparent that the wares that lay before her were indeed jewelry because she saw a Goblin buy a fork tied to a string and place it around his neck.

The pair of earrings were dangly ones, each hook strung with a black stone and an auger shell. The thin, spiraling cone shells were pale pink and purple, which contrasted with the dark and shiny stones.

"How much for these?" Sarah asked the Goblin vendor.

"Have ye gold?" asked the Goblin, rubbing its dark green hands together.

Sarah was disheartened. "No. My earrings are likely silver though," she offered.

"Hurmmm…." thought the Goblin, stroking her chin. "Yer the human Lady Sarah, aren't ye?"

Sarah was taken aback. "Yes…" she could just picture the Goblin backing away in fright and packing up her table.

"Then I'll take two hairs from yer head." The Goblin smiled a snaggle-toothed grin and placed her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me?" asked Sarah, confused.

"Two hairs. Can't be too much to ask for such a pretty pair of jewels, can it?"

Sarah wouldn't call the earrings jewels, but she really did like them.

"I don't know…" she stroked a strand of raven hair between her fingers.

"Sarah, you can't mean to barter with this witch, can you?" asked Didymus.

The little knight wasn't cursing or insulting; the Goblin was literally wearing a black, pointy hat and had a great big wart on her hooked nose.

"A Goblin couldn't be a proper witch, could they?" Sarah thought.

"I'm sure it's fine, Sir Didymus." Sarah smiled at the vendor and plucked two hairs from her head. Besides, there wasn't any dark magic that Jareth couldn't protect her from.

Sarah felt a stone sink in her stomach as she took the earrings; she was getting so accustomed to this place. She had wanted something pretty for "her" room, and now she was relying on Jareth. This wasn't forever, and she would be home soon enough.

She wanted that, didn't she?

Ludo soon brought her mind back to their merrymaking as he tried on a silly hat, made a silly face, and danced a silly dance. Sarah laughed and danced along, grabbing her own hat and twirling around.

Sarah looked off into the crowd, smiling and forgetting all her troubles. Up ahead was a small courtyard into which a narrow alleyway emptied.

Her smile disappeared as she beheld a tall, dark figure standing in the dim alleyway. They were dressed in a black cloak and stared out at her from behind a black, featureless mask that covered their face chin to brow. A vendor passed carrying wares piled high on her back, and the figure was gone. A dwarf carrying a flag passed, and there they were again! Then, in the blink of an eye they were gone. A Minotaur sauntered by, and they were back again—this time with the unmistakable glint of a knife gleaming from their right hand. Then they were gone. Then they were back, this time at the front of the alley, almost in the courtyard, not twenty meters from her. Sarah felt as though she couldn't breathe, as if the figure was about to appear right in front of her…

Then they were gone.

Sarah realized she was holding her breath. She took a step back. Why was she scared? There were plenty odd characters in the Goblin City. Why should this strange figure across the courtyard be cause for alarm?

Sarah stood still, frozen in place; the figure did not return. She did not know why, but the stranger had filled her with dread.

"Sarah ok?" asked Ludo.

"Yes, my lady, you look as though you had seen a ghost," commented Didymus.

"Yes, I'm alright…" said Sarah, her eyes still glued on the dark alley. "I saw something, or I thought I saw something." She was sure her eyes hadn't played tricks on her and there had definitely been a knife—at least for a moment. "I'm sure it's nothing." Sarah said, shaking her head. Who could say the knife was anything dangerous? Perhaps they were a butcher. Perhaps they were a doctor. Perhaps they were even a simple vendor selling cutlery and silverware. Who was to say that the knife was meant for her?

As she told herself everything was fine, the pit of her stomach told her, loudly and definitively, that everything was in fact not.