"Could I have died in the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked.
Jareth picked up the shampoo bottle and squirted some of its contents into his palm. "The dangers of the Labyrinth were very real," he told her. "Even for you. Lean your head back, love."
She did as he instructed and he massaged the shampoo into her long dark hair. "You were a bit foolhardy and overconfident at times, but you took the challenge seriously," he continued. "At least, for the most part. We'll forget that little 'piece of cake' comment."
He pushed her up a bit and slid his long legs around her in the clawfoot tub. Leaning forward, he lathered her hair, running his fingers through the soft tresses. He gently massaged her scalp and she sighed and lay back against his chest in the warm water.
"You were protected anyway, Sarah."
"I was?"
"Yes, the Old Girl liked you. She helped you when she could, and sent others your way to help as well. I must admit, it made me a bit jealous."
Sarah pulled herself up and turned slightly to face him. "Is that why you sent the Cleaners after me?"
Jareth laughed and splashed water on her face. "That, combined with the fact that I had a massive erection and needed to make a hasty exit."
"Jareth, eww! I was fifteen!" Sarah said, splashing him back.
"As if you weren't thinking the same thing…" he teased. "I have a very keen sense of smell, Judy darling. I knew you wanted me."
"Hmph!" Sarah turned around with her back to him, nearly slapping him in the face with her soapy hair. She leaned down and scrubbed his feet and ankles with an oversized purple loofah.
"Have others died in the Labyrinth?" she asked.
"No," he told her. "Most give up long before they reach any real dangers. That is, if they choose to run at all."
"You mean, most wishers don't even try?"
"Why do you think I have so many goblins?"
Sarah pondered that for a moment.
"You said Kieran didn't initially want to run to get Lily back."
"Yes, that's correct," Jareth replied. "Kevin convinced him to try to win their sister back."
"Why did you return Lily, if Kieran lost?"
"There really was no precedent," explained Jareth. "I felt that the boy's death nullified the wish. The Fae Council were not so readily convinced. They demanded the girl be handed over and turned into a goblin, which I refused."
"And?" Sarah asked expectantly.
"And they gave me the choice to surrender either the girl or the throne. I chose the latter, obviously."
"You gave up the Goblin Kingdom to save Lily?" Sarah gasped.
"You make it sound much more noble that it was, Sarah love," said Jareth. "I had no desire to go back to it, especially after that horrific night. I certainly did not want to turn the girl over to the Council, but it was also an easy way of escape for me.
"I'm sorry," Sarah told him, her voice soft.
Inching forward, Jareth wrapped his arms around her and laid his head against her naked back.
"Sarah," he said quietly, "Does this mean you forgive me?"
She put her hands over his. "I'm working on it, Jareth. I understand that you were doing your duty to the best of your ability. You made some tough calls. And ultimately, you spared my friend an even greater heartache."
"Dearest, if I could go back and change it, I would. You friend would never have had to suffer at all."
"I only wish there were some way for Moira to know what happened," Sarah sighed.
"You mean you're not going to tell her?"
"What would I even say? asked Sarah. "'Oh, by the way, Moira, if you really want to know what happened to your son, you should ask my boyfriend, the former Goblin King'?"
"I'm your boyfriend?" asked Jareth with a little grin of glee.
"Aren't you?" Sarah turned around to face him again and kissed him on the nose.
"Isn't there anything you can do for them, Jareth?" she asked, scrubbing the loofah in circles over his chest.
"Perhaps," answered Jareth after a moment of thought. "But it would require me to speak to Kevin. After his reaction to me the other night, that may prove difficult."
Sarah smiled. "Maybe not," she told him.
Jareth gave her a confused glance and she continued.
"Toby formed a sweet bond with Kevin while he was here. I think he could keep him calm while you talked to him."
"But your charming brother is in the United States," argued Jareth.
"I don't think he'd say no to coming here for Christmas," Sarah told him.
Jareth smiled. "Well, this will be a lovely holiday season then, won't it?"
Sarah leaned forward and kissed his mouth. "Yes. Let's Frank Capra the hell out of this Christmas."
Toby arrived in London the day after school let out for the holidays. Jareth picked him up from the airport in a gorgeous black Jaguar F-Type.
"My Christmas present from your sister," Jareth said in answer to the boy's ogling of the vehicle. "She's filthy rich, you know."
"Where is the loser anyway?" Toby asked as he climbed into the passenger seat.
"Press conference," Jareth answered. "It appears she's been forced out of hiding due to someone's blabbing tongue." He turned and grinned sardonically at the boy before pressing the gas and roaring out onto the road.
"C'mon, GK," whined Toby. "I feel bad enough about that already."
"Did you at least get the girl?" asked Jareth.
"We've been out three times," Toby answered grinning. "On our last date she let me touch her boobs."
"Well, it isn't a Jaguar, but it's a start," said Jareth.
Toby stared at him for a few minutes before bursting into laughter . "I like you, Jareth," he said grinning boyishly.
"I like you too, Toby," Jareth answered with a gentle smile.
Toby sat back in his seat for a moment and watched the countryside whizzing by as they flew out of London in the sleek sports car.
"So, when are you going to ask my sister to marry you?"
The press conference had not been as horrible as Sarah had imagined. In fact, the press seemed to grow bored with her the more she openly answered questions. Her phone, which had been ringing for days, finally stopped (aside from a few panicked calls from Karen who was terrified to have her baby boy travelling out of the country alone.) Sarah had managed to calm her stepmother somewhat, assuring her of the safety of the flight and that Jareth was picking up Toby from the airport.
There were a few calls from concerned townspeople from Great Missenden, including one from Reverend Clarkston, which Sarah promptly deleted. Moira had tried to call only once, which disappointed Sarah, but she understood. She had wanted to tell her friend the truth earlier, but had been afraid of her judgment, as if Moira would think less of her.
When Moira called again, Sarah pounced on the phone. Jareth and Toby hadn't arrived from the airport yet and Sarah was left at Jareth's flat alone with Peaches.
"Sarah?" said Moira. "Hey! Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm glad to hear from you," Sarah told her friend.
"Well, I figured you were probably a bit covered up…" There was an awkward pause.
"I'm so sorry, Moira," Sarah gushed. "I should have told you."
"It's okay, Sar. I understand why you didn't and I'm not angry. I've just been worried."
She hesitated and Sarah could sense her trepidation.
"What's happened?" she asked her friend.
Moira let out a long sigh. "There's been a lot of talk," she said. "Clarkston has the whole town in a frenzy over this. Claims we harbored a reprobate among us right under his nose. It's pathetic."
"What is that man's problem?" asked Sarah.
"He's losing his grip on reality," Moira told her. "He cornered me the other day at the supermarket and asked me what I knew about Jareth. It was all I could do not to tell him you met him at a Satanism for Beginners class."
Sarah wanted to laugh, but was too annoyed at the news of Clarkston's growing paranoia.
"Something has to be done," she told Moira.
"I agree, but what? He's holding a town meeting this Wednesday to discuss the 'deplorable lack of morality in Great Missenden'. A few of us had thought to make a stand then, but I'm not sure we can get enough folks backing us. Everyone's afraid of the reverend."
"Let me talk to Jareth when he gets back," Sarah said. "I'm tired of having to hide out here. I miss my crummy little rowhouse and all my stuff and my cat. Thanks for feeding him, by the way, while I've been underground.
"No problem," said Moira. "Buy me a nice Christmas gift. From Tiffany and Company. I know you're loaded after all, G.K. Ibis!" she added with a laugh.
Sarah and Toby did not accompany Jareth to the town meeting that was held at the little stone church. The brother and sister stayed at Sarah's house to pack up some necessities and to see to Sir Lancelot while Jareth went to the church alone.
The meeting was already in full swing when he arrived. The gathered crowd turned and looked as Jareth swept through the heavy wooden doors. The reverend glared down at him from the raised pulpit and frowned.
"You are not a part of this community, so this discussion does not concern you," Clarkston spat.
"Oh, but it does," answered Jareth. "It concerns Sarah Williams, and so it very much concerns me."
"Where is Miss Williams?" sneered the reverend.
"That's none of your concern," said Jareth, glancing around at the crowd. "If any of you were actually concerned about Sarah, you might have bothered to see about her rather than gathering in your pious cliques to gossip about her."
"Hmph!" grunted the reverend. "The good people of this town have nothing to be ashamed of. Miss Williams, on the other hand, betrayed us all with her hypocrisy and double-life."
"What double-life?" asked Jareth with a laugh. "She wrote a book. Why do care so much about it?"
Clarkston's face grew red with anger. "It's not just a book," he spat. "It's filth! Pornography!"
Jareth furrowed his brow and walked toward the front of the church. "I seem to recall," he began, "Another book that contains a rather colorful cast of reprobates: Whores-turned-heroines, adulterous warrior-kings, incestuous prophets…" He reached down and picked up a Bible from a pew.
"And then, of course, there's a whole book of naughty love letters between the Wise King and his dark-skinned mistress." Jareth leafed through the filmy pages until he reached the Song of Solomon. He cleared his throat and began to read to the gathered crowd.
"How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights! Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like the cluster of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine."
There was a titter around the little church as the people reacted to what he had read. From the pulpit, Clarkston seethed.
"The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose," he hissed.
"But wait, there's more," said Jareth. He flipped back a few pages.
"As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
Jareth closed the book and smiled up at Clarkston. "Is it just me, or does that passage read as if wise King Solomon is getting fellatio?"
"How. Dare. You." Clarkston was shaking with rage. "You have misrepresented those passages!"
"You're much more the biblical scholar, than I, dear Reverend," Jareth stated calmly. "But it seems clear to me that your God is a proponent of physical love and sexual pleasure."
"But not pornography!" thundered the reverend, pounding his fist hard on the pulpit.
Jareth railed on him. "Tell me," he growled. "Which sin is worse, writing a book about the physical pleasures between two lovers, or assaulting an innocent young woman in this very sanctuary?"
The room grew silent and Clarkston visibly paled.
"Do you deny it, Reverend? Remember, you're in church," Jareth challenged.
The reverend looked trapped; his eyes darted back and forth over the crowd.
"There was a confrontation," he admitted at last. "I was, perhaps, a bit overzealous in my approach-"
"You backed her into a corner and threatened her," Jareth said with ice in his voice. "You put your hands on her."
There was a collective gasp from the crowd and Clarkston shook his head. "You don't understand," he argued. "We were both furious. I was trying to gain control of the situation. She was in a fit and scratched me across my face."
He pointed to the faint red marks beneath his eye and Jareth gave a dark chuckle.
"You must have a higher power looking out for you, Reverend, if you cornered Sarah Williams and came away with only a few scratches."
Clarkston scurried down from his raised pulpit and stood before Jareth.
"You must believe me," he pleaded in a whisper. "It was simply a misunderstanding. I meant Miss Williams no harm. I certainly had no intention of… taking advantage of her."
"No, of course you didn't," tutted Jareth. He leaned in close to the sweating, beady-eyed reverend and whispered into his ear. "Because if you had, nothing would have stopped me from killing you."
He smiled and turned and walked out of the little stone church, leaving the ashen-faced reverend standing, gaping, in a puddle of his own piss.
A/N: Magic or not, His Majesty is still capable of a mighty smack-down. What do you think about the way Jareth handled things? How do you think he and Sarah will help Moira and Kevin? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
In case you're wondering, Jareth reads from The Song of Solomon 7:6-8 and 2:3