The sun shone brilliantly, casting a golden shade on the flowers and grass below. Jared walked through them, inhaling their rich fragrance. Visiting the mortal realm was wonderful - everything here was brighter and more colorful than his kingdom.

He was happy to be wandering around in his natural form, not in disguise, flying above. It was so much better to be among down here, experiencing everything up close.

Movement amongst the flowers caught his eye and he paused, watching the girl's every move. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes upon! Suddenly, she looked up and their eyes met. The girl smiled softly at him and he was lost.

Jareth awoke with a start, the girl's face lingering in his mind. It's been awhile since I dreamed about that. He glanced around, happy that the goblins still lay sleeping. His brows lifted as his mind went back to the girl.

Why had her face changed? He stood, stretching silently, his mind still running. Why is it her? He glanced down and saw the book sitting on his throne. That explains it. She threw me off with the way she acted last night.

Picking the book up, he made his way through the sleeping goblins. Maybe if I put this to rest, all will return to normal. But why did his heart continue to beat so fast?

Quickly he made his way through the halls to the library, touching the door. You belong in here, not in the mortal world. He'd have to figure out how to destroy it so it wouldn't get out again.

He was thinking about all the possible ways he could get rid of it as he stepped inside, not paying any particular attention to anything else. Selecting a high shelf, just in case, he reached up.

"What's that?" He jumped slightly, turning his head to peer down. Sarah stood beside him, gazing curious at the book. Am I still dreaming?

"Oh!" She let out a small gasp and pointed to the embossed letters on the cover. "Isn't that mine?" Jareth didn't say anything, still unsure if he was dreaming or not.

Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for the book and he lowered his arm, almost as if it were moving of it's own accord. She took the book from him and traced her fingers across the title. "It is my book! How did you get it?"

"I brought it back when I took you home last night." Sarah looked at him, puzzled. I know, I'm just as confused. He thought, stepping back from her.

"You couldn't have taken me home because I woke up here. You woke me up when you came in." She turned and pointed to the desk. "I woke up right there, surrounded by your books and papers."

Jareth didn't know what to make of it. Can mortals possess magic too? If they could, that would explain what was happening.

Sarah was still eyeing him like he was some kind of crazy man so he smiled, trying to be reassuring. "Hungry?"

She nodded. "Yes! I'm starving!" She started for the door and then spun around, narrowing her eyes. "But no peaches! In fact, I don't want any fruit from you! I don't know what you might try to pull."

If you're really here and I'm not dreaming or hallucinating then I very much doubt that would help me. He grinned at the thought, slightly shaking his head.

"What was that? You're plotting something, aren't you?" She accused him, hurrying ahead of him down a hall.

"Wrong way, my sweet." He called and she came back, glaring at him as she followed him down a different path. This ought to be very interesting...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They ate in silence and despite her declaration that she wasn't going to eat any fruit, Sarah still did. Of course she waited until Jareth had tried it before she did, just to be safe.

Jareth was now sure that he was awake and that she wasn't a figment of his mind because all the goblins had hurried to sneak a peek at their visitor. So now it seemed like magic had to be the only explanation for her reappearance.

Sarah cleared her throat slightly, standing from the table. "I'd like to go back to the study now, if that's okay." Jareth nodded and she headed for the door.

Suddenly she stopped, turning to look at him as he followed her. "I think I remember the way back. I don't need a babysitter."

"If I was merely thinking of babysitting you, I would just have one of my goblins do it."

"Oh." Sarah said quietly, slowly turning away and then turning right back to face him."Why are you following me?"

"Did you ever think that maybe I wasn't? As I'm sure you can see, this is the only way out of the room." He gestured at the doorway. "I'm a very busy man, I've got a whole kingdom to run. Besides, I have to open the door."

A blush crept up her face and she hurried out of the door. He knew that he shouldn't toy with her so much but he didn't know what else to do. It had been years since he'd had any real contact with mortals.

The Sarahs didn't count because they all had pretty much acted the same wa9y and things progressed in the same manner every time. Except for this Sarah. The thought bothered him for some reason he couldn't quite figure out.

He watched Sarah as he followed her back to the study. He realized that she hadn't made any wrong turns or asked him for help finding the study. She was right. I wonder if she could open the door as well? He wondered as she stopped before it, waiting for him to catch up.

"Thank you. " She murmured as he opened the door, hastening inside before he could say anything. He followed, the door closing behind him. Sarah was already sitting at the desk and glanced up at him in surprise.

He ignored her, instead he perused the shelves, deep in search of the tome that would explain to him exactly what was happening. Jareth looked briefly across the room, slightly astonished to see that she was ignoring him as well. Irritated pricked at him as he watched her reading through the book before her. How can she ignore me?

He grabbed the first book his hand touched and sat down, facing her so he could keep a better eye on her. And maybe - just maybe - she'd give into watching him as well.

After all, it seemed like she was seeping into everything else in his kingdom, so why not his heart as well?

Because love is dangerous. It was a whispered warning from his mind but Jareth feared it was too late - he'd already fallen for her.

(A/N - I'm going to be 100% honest, when I picked this back up, I only planned to finish it up to same spot as the movie and then have an epilogue. However, that didn't happen and I moved a little beyond the movie into uncharted waters and then fully intended to finish the story with the last chapter and then an epilogue having them reunited a few years down the road. But in trying to write that out, it came to nothing. Everything I wrote felt lame, like I was a cop-out and not fully telling the story. So here we are now with another chapter. Hopefully you guys are still enjoying this!)