Chapter 7

Winter Solstice Celebration

The small hunting party was ready to get back to the outskirts of the northern forest, and it took quite some time to move the heavy sleds through the deep snow. They had two fully loaded sleds with meat. Jareth and Arman pulled one, while Aden and Bethan pulled the other. Sarah drug most of the equipment behind her on a third, but much lighter sled.

She was still beaming with pride and joy over her successful hunt. That she had been nearly killed didn't seem to matter anymore. She was alive and unhurt, and she had been accepted into the tribe. She had made Jareth super proud of her, and nothing else mattered for now.

They had to stop several times as the sleds dug deep into the fresh snow and became entrenched. Sarah breathed heavy, but held her own. Jareth kept checking on her to make sure she was doing ok.

"I'm fine", she assured him. "I'm one of you now, remember? I can do this", and she began to pull on the sled again. Jareth only smiled and chuckled to himself, but the pride he had for her was clearly visible in his eyes.

Nobody had been able to wash up yet, and the party looked quite scary with all the paint and blood on their faces and clothes. They made it back to the outskirts just as the sun began to set. Mara was already waiting anxiously and greeted Sarah with an excited woof and tail slap.

"Yeah, I missed you too girl", she chuckled as Mara started to lick the blood of her hands. "I'll get you some of that meat later", she winked at her and put down the ropes from the sled. She let herself fall to the ground with a plop and heavy sigh, and leaned back against the sled. Jareth had directed his hunters to establish a temporary base and to wait for the other hunting parties.

"Hey, babe. You're ok?" He asked gently as he sat down next to her in the snow. Without saying a word, Sarah put her hand behind his neck and kissed him. She held her kiss for quite some time and he put his arms around her waist.

"Tonight", she declared after she finally let go of him, "tonight I'm going to make passionate love to you, and nothing can stop me." Jareth raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"I should've taken you on a hunt years ago then, if that's how you like to end the trip." He pulled her closer into his embrace and kissed her back nearly as long.

One by one the other hunting parties returned, equally successful. The news about Sarah's kill made its rounds like wildfire, and she was cheered by all the hunters. Faron was especially proud of her and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"All your training has paid off", he gently said and squeezed her hands. "But don't think you can take a break now. We start up again on Monday. The winter solstice is tomorrow and I will give you the weekend. No rest for the weary."

Everybody was eager to return to their homes and after all the food was finally teleported to its final destinations at the Goblin City and Elvenwood butchers, the hunting parties bid each other farewell.

Jareth and Sarah were the last ones to leave since they were the royal couple.


"Finally home", Sarah sighed as the materialized in the bedroom. Mara stood watch in the hallway. "First thing is to take a shower and get this blood and paint off of me, no, off of us", she corrected herself, hung up her bow and dagger and took off her boots.

"You're coming with me into the shower", she demanded as she saw Jareth sitting down in a chair. He looked up with surprise.

"Is that an order?" He smirked as he got up.

"It's your queen's wish and you have to honor it", Sarah answered back with a sultry smile as she went into the bathroom.

"Yes, your highness", he chuckled and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Over an hour they had stood under the hot water, washing each other's hair and bodies while making love. It had been quite a while since they had taken that much time and it had felt really nice. Sarah closed her eyes as she deeply kissed him before they stepped out. Jareth grabbed a towel and wrapped it gently around her body.

"Let's have a quiet dinner, just us two, down in the study by the fireplace. Aria and Aviana can keep the twins one more night, and I know Marjorie sure won't mind". Sarah agreed with a silent nod and another kiss.

They slipped into some comfortable lounging clothes and went downstairs. Hoggle had already prepared a nice little table he had placed in front of the lit fireplace. Steaks with a baked potato and green beans was on the menu, followed by a hot piece of apple-pie.

Sarah thought she had died and gone to heaven it was so good. She savored every bite, and her moaning and closed eyes caught the attention of Jareth who felt quite turned on again. Sarah laughed.

"Sorry about that. This is just so good. Hoggle has outdone himself on this. Give him a raise." She took another bite of her apple-pie and moaned again, much to the delight of Jareth.

"Ok, a raise for Hoggle coming up. I'll sign off on it tomorrow." Jareth promised as they retired to the couch.

"How about a movie?" Sarah suggested with an excited look. "We haven't even been able to watch one at our own movie theatre all by ourselves yet. How about Jurassic Park?" Sarah asked excitedly. Jareth pouted.

"I wanna make out with you in the back row. Pick a boring romance film we don't have to watch." Sarah busted out laughing.

"We just made out in the shower, and I thought we are going to actually watch a movie. Jurassic Park for tonight, but for Friday I can put on 'Sleepless in Seattle', since tomorrow is the winter solstice. How's that? Compromise?"

"Compromise", Jareth agreed reluctantly.


This year was the first time Sarah had really taken part in the Winter Solstice Festival. Before it either was all about Christmas in her old world with Marjorie and Mark, or she didn't feel much like partying due to her abduction and her pregnancy. She was getting really excited about it all, especially since she had already participated in a successful hunt.

All day long the goblins set off firecrackers and the occasional bomb explosion, but overall they held themselves pretty much in check. The store fronts in Goblin City, Elvenwood, Faeville, and other communities were decorated with Winter Solstice decorations as well as Christmas lights and Christmas trees. It was a strange mix of two very different holidays. Sarah liked it.

Marjorie had left for home that morning as she had to go back to work at the club, but she wowed to return soon with Mark

"I'll be back for the boys' 2nd birthday next year for sure", she stated before she was whisked away by Kaden.

Sarah met Chayrone for lunch in Elvenwood at the Elven Grill. She wanted to have a little quiet time before the festivities began this evening.

"I heard about your hunt", Chayrone immediately said when they met up. "Faron has been talking about nothing but. He is so proud and claims it was his training of you that did it."

Chayrone gave a genuine loud laugh. "Oh men, they always take credit for everything, regardless." She looked happily at Sarah.

"That's ok, Faron should be proud, and without his intense training I would not have been able to do it, so in a way he's correct. Just don't tell him or he'll never shut up about it."

They both laughed and giggled. They strolled the little cobblestones for a couple of hours checking out dresses and clothing at the boutiques.

"See this house over there?" Sarah asked Chayrone. Chayrone looked and nodded. "That's the one Marjorie and Mark want to buy, if they get approved. Do you know if it is for sale by any chance?"

"I can find out", Chayrone answered cheerfully. "I like them, I think they would be a great addition to our community. They bring more otherworldly culture with them, just like you did.

Hell, the goblins are already crazy about this coffee and eggnog. Sales are through the roof and they established some underground railroad to bring it into the kingdom. Jareth has been giving a blind eye to it so far. I wonder why?"

Sarah and Chayrone snickered. They knew exactly why. Jareth was a coffee addict and he himself was the biggest buyer of this illegally imported coffee. He just didn't let anyone know, but Sarah and Chayrone knew better.

"I think sooner or later he will have to address the councils about this and legalize it all. It is good stuff and should be made readily available to everyone." Chayrone added in her wisdom and Sarah wholeheartedly agreed.

As the evening drew near Sarah went upstairs to get ready. She was planning on wearing her hunting outfit as this was tradition amongst the hunters. Krum had washed it for her, and had made sure it looked and smelled brand-new again.

Sarah liked the outfit. It was very formfitting for her and made her waist look tiny and rounded her chest quite nicely. It was also very comfortable and warm. Jareth had one just like it, of course made for a man. It still had extremely tight pants, but Sarah did no longer complain about that.

As she got up to the room she saw a box sitting on the chair. She looked around in surprise to see if Jareth was there, but the room was empty. Anxiously she walked over to the box and looked it over. It had a tag on the side: "A gift for the new huntress. You earned it, babe. Love, Jareth"

She opened it with excitement. Inside was a beautiful dark brown cape with dark green embroidery on its collar, very similar to the one Jareth' wore on his military missions. It looked heavy, but was actually quite lightweight. It had the official Labyrinth Kingdom crest on its left side. Sarah loved it and put it on to look at herself in the mirror. It went perfect with her hunting outfit.

"I bet Jareth had that made for me yesterday as soon as we got back." Her heart was happy, and she had hoped he would be here, so she could give him a long kiss for it. She found another little note attached to the box:

"I'll meet you in the garden by the fountain at seven. Love, Jareth"

"Now what is he up to?" She murmured, put away the box, and finished getting ready.

After kissing Jay and Jeremy good night, she teleported down into the garden. This time she did not land inside the fountain and almost felt like doing a victory dance over it. Mara only yawned and stated that it was short distance and didn't count. Sarah gave her a sneer.

As she came around the corner she saw Jareth standing there with Arman, Aden, and Bethan. She looked at them with peculiar surprise as she approached.

The elven guards immediately saluted her as they stood in a row. All had their hunting clothes and gear on them. Sarah thought that quite impressive and she smiled gratefully at all of them. Jareth stood off to the side and held a bow in his hands. The bow was made out of solid yew. It too had the royal crest engraved on it, as did the quiver.

Sarah stood there with her mouth open as Jareth approached and handed her the bow.

"According to tradition you have earned the hunter's bow, a top quality bow made of the best wood found in the Labyrinth Kingdom with your crest engraved on it."

With these words he handed her the bow and quiver and gently put them on her back. He softly smiled at her when he attached them and his eyes were once again mesmerizing her.

"You earned it, babe", he said barely audible while leaning into her. Sarah didn't know what to say and stood there speechless. She had not expected any of it and Jareth had kept it all quiet. The guards saluted her one more time and then started to meander around, smiling at her and relaxing.

"Now you are one of us. The ceremony is complete. Let's go to the festival and enjoy ourselves". Jareth took her hand, and teleported them straight into Goblin City. Since elves weren't able to teleport they ran like the wind to meet them there.

Sarah couldn't believe the crowd that had gathered on the square. It was packed with goblins, faes, elves, dwarves and other peculiar creatures she still didn't know what they were. She recognized the imps that were flittering around in the air and sprinkled people with some sort of glitter. The goblins tried to catch them, but weren't very successful.

"I seriously need to study up on all these creatures", she mumbled to herself. Mara kept snapping at goblins that strayed too close, but it was all for show. She was not going to bite any of them. For the first time Sarah even spotted a large bridge troll.

"We have bridge trolls?" She asked Jareth astound.

"We do now", he replied. "I brought them in to prevent the goblins from destroying all my bridges in the kingdom. What better job for trolls than that? They live under them."

Sarah only shook her head with bewilderment. That's what she loved about the Underground. You never knew what was around the corner, or bend.

"I need to take you on a wilderness tour next year in the spring", Jareth said out of the blue.

"A what, now?" Sarah asked confused.

"A wilderness tour. I'm gonna take you out to the Goblin plateau. It's quite safe. But you can see a bunch of Labyrinth creatures there. It is kind of like a safari drive through park in the Surface World.

"Sounds like fun. Can't wait", she replied with a beaming smile. Jareth couldn't help but to give her a quick kiss.

"Thank you for that beautiful cape by the way. I love it." She whispered in his ear. Jareth squeezed her hand and smiled gently.

"Let's go guys", Jareth gave the signal to his hunters who had caught up with them and they all fought themselves through the crowd towards a raised platform.

"Where are we going?" Sarah inquired feeling totally lost. Jareth had to hold on to her hand to not lose her in the masses.

"To the stage. The offering ceremony is about to begin. Don't worry, babe, you'll be fine. You just have to stand there looking pretty and I know you can do that", he looked at her with his smirk, as he kept fighting his way through the crowd.

All the other hunting parties were already assembled by the stage. Faron gave Sarah a quick kiss on the cheek and Kaden greeted her with a friendly thumb on his chest and a big smile. He too was dressed in his hunting outfit.

"Congratulation on your bow", he yelled at Sarah over the crowd noise. Sarah yelled back a thank you and gave him a big smile.

"Did you give Aviana the dream crystal yet?" Sarah yelled again.

"She said yes", Kaden replied with both thumbs up and a beaming smile on his face.

"Congratulation", Sarah replied one more time before he was surrounded by his fellow hunters.

"Kaden got married? He never even told me." Jareth asked with surprise as Sarah nodded with a smirk.

Finally the hunters were called up and they all entered the raised platform in their groups. The crowd cheered at them and when Jareth and Sarah stepped up the noise became earsplitting. A few fireworks exploded above the crowd's heads and several were seen fleeing from a firecracker going wild in circles.

Kelan stood at the podium and raised his staff. The crowd fell silent.

"Let us all thank the forces of the Underground for a new beginning, for the food these hunters have provided us tonight, so we may leave the darkness and enter a new cycle of light."

Kelan took the heart of one of the killed stags and threw it in the fire pit in front of him.

The crowd erupted in cheers and fireworks went off in all directions. The sky was illuminated with some of the brightest lights Sarah had seen. It was fascinating and she stared so hard into the sky her neck was getting stiff. Jareth must have known, as he gently massaged it with one hand. He winked at her when she looked at him.

"That's not according to protocol", she whispered to him.

"Screw the protocol", came his answer and Sarah almost busted out laughing. She did manage to hold it together though.

After the fireworks were over, the hunters left the stage and spread out in the crowd to find their loved ones. The Winter Solstice celebration had begun.

Jareth and Sarah visited several tents that provided food, drinks and live music and danced to a few songs. Being the king and queen they had an obligation to mingle and meet with their subjects as well as with visitors from other realms who had come to celebrate the solstice in the Labyrinth kingdom. Jareth again promised Sarah he would take her to a few other dimensions for a visit soon when she became curious about the visitors.

"When the time is right we'll go, I promise". He gently touched her face.

When midnight drew near, Jareth quickly pulled Sarah into a secluded little niche underneath one of the stages and kissed her gently as he held her in a tight embrace.

"Happy winter solstice, precious", he whispered, but before Sarah could say anything in return he was already kissing her again. And this time, he held his kiss for an eternity as she fully embraced him.