A/N: yes, I changed my name (was SolasGealalainn but changed it so match my AO3 account name).

CHAPTER FOUR

TWO YEARS AFTER ARRIVING UNDERGROUND

Sarah made her way to the village from Cloverfield Cottage with Tessa and Lewis in tow. A basket of carrots and a basket of eggs were slung over each of her arms as they meandered to the marketplace, in the aim of a trade for some fruit and wheat. Hopefully she could also barter for some wool as the colder months were approaching and the youngest Spriggets desperately needed some warmer clothes. After wearing the clothes the 6 older children had worn already, things were starting to get a bit threadbare.

Lewis and Tessa held hands as they skipped down the dusty track past flourishing viridescent fields and orchards. Sarah trailed them slightly, swinging one arm with the basket of carrots as she meandered down the sloping road. She loved her Market Day walk to the village in the peace and tranquility that Ghent afforded its inhabitants.

The village reflected Sarah's own mood, though she was starting to crave some adventure. Despite living in a fairy tale place, there was the little niggle in the back of her mind asking for more excitement to balance out the orderly and serene malaise and languor of her daily life. Not that she wished for her kidnappers to return, nor an encounter with the arrogant Goblin King but she was a dreamer. And there wasn't much scope for dreaming in a perfectly idyll life where the biggest drama was when the pigs had escaped into the garden. Idyll it was, idle it certainly was not. Sarah had never been fitter or healthier with all the manual labour and walking she had been doing. The lack of modern conveniences and transport really highlighted this different pace of life for her.

Arriving in the market, the villagers greeted her, warmly and enthusiastically, but she realised, without real depth or meaning. Not even the Spriggets knew Sarah on a very deep level. They knew her likes and dislikes, but they didn't know her hopes and dreams, but then again, did she really know what they were herself?

Lost in the deep recesses of her mind, as Tessa took responsibility for bartering at the first stall, she didn't notice when someone started talking to her.

"Sorry," Sarah focused back on the present. "I was very far away."

"Apologies for interrupting," a cool, dulcet voice came from her elbow. She turned and saw a young human with long brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard standing beside her. He wore what most farmers around the village wore but he carried himself differently than the men she usually met. His deep brown eyes held a sparkle that was almost alluring in nature.

"I haven't seen you around Ghent before," Sarah blurted out.

"That's because I hail from a village on the West side of the Labyrinth " came his smooth reply. "I was asking if you would mind trading some eggs for these here peaches and I will even throw in some wool, freshly shorn from my sheep."

Sarah eyed the peaches suspiciously.

"Ohh yes, Sarah," Tessa chirped up. "I love peaches. They're so rare to find. Please accept."

Sarah looked at Tessa's brown eyes staring up at with hope. Lewis was nodding vigorously beside her endorsing his sister's beseechment. Despite her own misgivings about peaches, she couldn't deny her foster family if they were really as rare as she suggested.

"Sarah is it?" The man smiled at her nod, showing perfect teeth that had no right being so dazzling white in the mouth of a mere human. "The name is Stephen."

"Nice to meet you Stephen," Sarah shuffled her baskets from hand to hand, with mistrust. She wanted to trust him, but she was suspicious of why she wanted to trust him. He was a stranger. A complete unknown who just happened to have two of the three products she was seeking.

"Your daughter is right about the rarity of peaches," he winked, making his coppery eyes momentarily shimmering with incandescence. "I offer you a good deal."

"Tessa is my friend's daughter," Sarah corrected him. "I have no children of my own."

"Indeed," Stephen proffered his basket of peaches again. "Will you accept?"

Sarah thought of the Spriggets, knowing what a treat this would be for them. They had done so much for her, taking her in when they did. Who knows what would have become of her if she had been left stranded outside the Labyrinth. It would be nice to give them such a luxury, despite her reluctance to have anything to do with the fruit.

They were after all at the market for fruit, but this had been too convenient. Here in the Underground, you couldn't take anything for granted. She was keenly aware of the niggle that had been asking for adventure on their journey here, when a strange man turns up with the produce she needs. She was asking for trouble to accept anything from this stranger. Especially cursed peaches. Something out of her control was compelling her to accept this man's wares, despite her misgivings.

"And some wool too?" Sarah clarified, hoping to make the most of her barter.

"If that serves a purpose," he offered.

"It does actually," Sarah grinned. "I feel like your trade is exceedingly generous."

"Of course, I only hope it lives up to your expectations," he gave a small bow. "Ghent eggs are some of the best in the region so it is worth a trade for wool and peaches."

"Actually, I am not very fond of peaches, but my friends are," Sarah admitted. "They will be exceedingly grateful to you."

"I've never met anyone who dislikes peaches," he raised a dark eyebrow. "Bad experience with one in your past?"

"You could say that I guess," Sarah thought back to the drugged peach she had the first time she was here. She looked Stephen in the face but there was nothing there to suggest familiarity. She shrugged off her suspicions. Aside from being human, he bore no similarities to the fae who had given her the peach in the first place.

"So do we have a deal?" Stephen asked, as Tessa and Lewis hovered in anticipation, practically jumping up and down.

"They're not enchanted are they?" Sarah questioned as a last recourse.

"Not at all," he raised both eyebrows. He took a knife from his umber leather boot. "Pick one and I will prove it."

Sarah selected a peach at random and passed it to him. He cut a slice off, showed her and then stuck it in his mouth and then opened wide for her to inspect its disappearance.

"I'm not sure why peaches of all things have you worried about enchantments," as he took another slice.

"I am not sure how easy wool would be to enchant," Sarah reasoned. Though she briefly considered that there was a mortal fable or tale that involved enchanted wool, but as she chased the memory, it slipped from her grasp completely.

"And you suspect me of enchanting my produce?" He smirked. "For what purpose?"

"I have learnt never to take anything for granted," Sarah bit her lip. "Nothing is ever quite what it seems."

"Good advice," he nodded sagely. "Your teacher must have been wise beyond their years."

"I'm not sure I'd agree with you on that either," Sarah muttered, thinking that her "teacher" was more her own guilt for wishing her brother away.

"So now we know my peaches are not enchanted, would you like to trade?" Stephen raised the basket into her eye line.

"Sure," Sarah handed over her eggs and he passed her the basket of peaches and the one of wool. "But we're short on one peach."

"Hard negotiator," he chuckled. "I will come back next market day with a peach. Or you could tell me where you live and I could drop it off before then?"

Before Sarah could refuse Lewis chirped up that they lived in Cloverfield Cottage.

"Thank you, young man," he grinned and then winked at Sarah, his eyes again glimmering with that unusual lustre. "Expect a delivery of a single peach within the week."

On a mahogany table, a half eaten fruit rested under the shadow of an ornate lamp. Juices dripped off the bite mark, down the velvety flesh of the peach, staining the white doily the lamp was positioned on. A pair of midnight black gloved hands, reached out and seized the fruit before taking another slow bite, ensuring more juice flowed freely across the fuzzy skin.

"Those Damn Goblin Kingdom peaches," a simpering voice echoed in the dusty room. "Why do they have to taste so delightful? And why do they only grow in that cursed land?"

"Why do you have to eat them at all?" responded a short and snappy voice.

"Ah but without them we would never have found out the location of our runaway mortal," responded the shrill, nasal voice, taking another bite of the succulent crop. "Thankfully the tip with the peaches paid off. Our plan to bring the Goblin King to his knees is back on track."

Sarah didn't expect Stephen the peach man to turn up again just for one peach. Though after their trade, he stayed with their trio, accompanying them around a few more stalls, as Sarah traded for some wheat with the carrots he did not want. They discussed life in Ghent compared to his village. He put Sarah at ease quite quickly with his friendly manner, while Lewis and Tessa enjoyed showing him all that the market had to offer. Before he left he treated them all a sweet fruit pastry each.

A few days had passed as there was no sign of him. Sarah swallowed her apprehension that there was any possibility he had anything to do with her kidnappers or her nemesis, the Goblin King. She couldn't blame Lewis for spilling the beans on where they lived. He was only a child.

However, whilst doing her work in the vegetable patch or the chicken coop, she would be keeping half an ear out for strangers turning up. Even though so much time had passed, she could never truly relax. They had to have brought her here for a reason. They could just be biding their time until she grew complacent. A stranger turning up and giving her peaches, seemed too much of a coincidence. The family had eaten them all however to no ill effect.

In fact they had been astonished by the basket of ripe fruit that Sarah returned to Cloverfield Cottage with. And even more so with the wool. Thankfully, they were used in cobbler or juiced or eaten whole and were quickly out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the insinuations and even innuendo from her friends about the mysterious man at the market.

"You don't know how rare peaches are here," Helena was saying as they both started knitting socks and scarves for the younger children. "Only growing in the Goblin Kingdom, we hardly ever get them at the market, as so many of them get exported. You sure got someone's attention today."

Tessa had told her parents how a young man had been conversing with Sarah and it had become the talk of the household. Helena couldn't stop asking questions and Sarah had become fatigued of the subject already. The man was peculiar and there was something about him that captured attention for sure, but Sarah was in no way ready for anything more romantic like they implied. Profusely. Any chance they got.

"Two years," he growled and threw a crystal across the room, shattering it against his stone walls. "Two goddamn years and still no sign of her."

For over 700 days straight he'd consult his crystals to see if Sarah would appear. And she never did. He'd had no luck reaching for her through any means, magical or not.

Yet, he didn't think she was dead. Something within him spoke of her being alive. He would randomly check on the Pinnsburrs, but they remained tight-lipped about their involvement. And they didn't appear to have any further knowledge to impart.

Jareth was slumped over his throne, one leg dangling over the arm, the other brought up to his chest so he could rest his arm across it. His free arm he used to cradle his head as he willed his headache away. The High King was applying pressure as he still hadn't delivered his promised wife. His family also thought Forsythia was a great match for him too, and they were acting like he was already married to the insipid female fae. He gritted his teeth at this insufferable thought.

And yet two years of searching still hadn't yielded him the results he needed. Somewhere out there his wife, his actual wife, was hiding and he was getting desperate.

"My dear brother," a ringing, silvery voice echoed through his throne room. Jareth didn't even look up to greet his younger brother, the almost mirror image of his own self, just with two even clear blue eyes, a rounder face and nose, and longer, less wild hair.

"Sev," he responded simply.

"Are you sulking over that girl again?"

"Sulking?" Jareth snapped his head up and glared at his impudent brother, through cold uneven sapphire eyes. "Would you like to see me married to Forsythia?"

"I believed you didn't care who you married at one point." Sevlydi pointed out. "Now because an elf that gave you a pearl in a cave told you to marry some mortal, you believe you have to."

Jareth sweeped his feet from his throne and strode over to his sibling.

"A unicorn sacrificed that pearl so that I may discover who I am to marry," Jareth stated grimly. "It wouldn't do to make that sacrifice a mere vanity. Besides she is a much better choice than Forsythia. She has a mind of her own for starters."

"Jare, anyone is a better choice than Forsythia," he agreed. "But you've been searching for this girl for two years, and waiting for her thirteen more. The High Court gets impatient. Omre and Nudalun are getting agitated. You don't want them to get agitated."

At the mention of their half brother and sister, Jareth flicked his riding crop against his thigh in frustration.

"Omre and Nudalun can go f...," Jareth started as he paced up and down the throne room before turning to face his brother, irregular eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Sev, why are you here?"

"Ah," Sevlydi grinned, pushing his blonde hair behind his ears. "I have something to show you."

"And that would be?" Jareth inquired impatiently - another thwack against his thigh with the riding crop.

"It's a surprise."

The hills around Cloverfield Cottage were ringing with birdsong, the fields warm with the rising noon sun and the trees rustled with the dry wind coming up from the desert lands. Sarah and Peggy were shuffling around the garden, singing and dancing as they picked apples from the trees.

Sarah would sing the nursery rhymes from Aboveground to the younger children, who loved them. Peggy was nearly two and half and grew up knowing Sarah was a constant presence so they had formed a special bond. Sarah loved their time together singing and playing.

Alicia, Robby and Matty weren't far off from where Sarah and Peggy were, painting the outdoor shed, occasionally singing their own Underground ditty. While she got on well with all eight of the children, she was closest to Penny, and had less to do and less in common with the older ones. They were civil towards each other, but not really anymore than civil. It seemed to work though. Like a family out of a storybook, instead of real flawed and dysfunctional families that were a pound a penny back Aboveground. Sarah had not been used to this synchronised life where things just seemed to flow seamlessly without any ripples. Now it was an accepted part of her everyday.

Like they were just people painted into a countryside landscape, everything idyll and perfect. She tried to bury those whispers that the waters of her life were due some disturbances and carried on singing and throwing apples towards Peggy to catch and place in the basket.

"So why are we in Ghent in glamours?" Jareth asked as they walked through the village.

"Because I have something to show you and you can not be recognised," Sevlydi responded. "What your choice is, once you see what I have to show you, is completely yours to determine."

"What do you have to show me?" Jareth asked for the umpteenth time, his patience a frayed rope holding a ten tonne weight.

"Wait and see," his brother grinned, running his hand through his glamoured beard, rusty brown like his hair that sat high on his head in a bun.

Jareth had chosen a similar glamour so none of his features would strike any recognition with the Ghent villagers. For once in his life he had matching eyes, in a deep shade of cinnamon brown, his hair shorter and darker than his brother's.

Jareth trusted his brother. But even by Sevlydi's standards this was strange. It was rare that he would use glamour magic and rarer still that he let himself be led without knowing where he was going. He was a King and as such had expected a large amount of control over his own life. Yet he knew his brother wouldn't lead him afoul.

They wended their way through the village and started up the hill towards the thriving countryside, Sevlydi chattering on about the village and its people. Jareth was actually quite fond of Ghent. They were solely a human populace but they were friendly and inclusive.

They accepted newcomers into the fold with relative ease and minimum suspicion. Some of his other towns had darker folk living within, especially the ones on the border. He got to spend more time in those as there was always one skirmish or another to deal with. Ghent, he unfortunately, only really visited on official parades or festivals.

He enjoyed the walk through the orchards and fields, though he still didn't know why he was there. The last time he had been there it was for the Harvest Parade. Sevlydi never left his side. What could he have seen that would interest him so?

The road petered out as they approached a farm house at the top of the hill. It was a quaint cottage. Not very large, but well maintained and surrounded by trees and gardens. Jareth could see children painting the outside of a shed, and then amongst the fruit trees a toddler was running through the trunks, singing while being chased by an adult.

An adult with long raven dark hair. Instantly he recognised who she was. She was recognisable anywhere, with her distinctive hair and aura. Jareth stopped dead in his tracks. It had to be a mistake. She couldn't be here in a farmhouse garden, happily chasing a child, as if he hadn't existed in a state of utter torment for the past twenty four months. Yet the longer he stared at her, the more convinced he was that it was her, but more carefree and lively than he had ever seen her before. On that fact alone, he was beginning to slip back into doubt. He had never seen his Sarah as untroubled as this lady prancing through the greenery and blossoms. She twirled around the trunk of an apple tree, sending leaves and apple blossoms cascading down onto her face and hair - her laughter rippling across the distance like in so many of his dreams.

Sarah.

Sevlydi, slowed and turned to face his brother.

"We're going to need names," Sevlydi grinned. "I'm Stephen. They know me by that name already. I suggest Terry for you."

Jareth's hands curled into fists at his side. He'd deal with his brother later.

Right now he was focusing on the fact that he was currently standing very close to his wife, or at least her image likeness. He still could not believe it was truly her. Sevlydi was playing a juvenile trick on him much like they had spent their youth together. But this was cruel, too cruel. No it had to be her. She had been right under his nose. And he finally found her. He found his feet were moving on their own accord. Sevlydi smirked and then led the way to the cottage.

Sarah.

Sarah, for he now knew it was her, was singing Aboveground nursery rhymes as she chased the young child through the trees. He could sense the joy flowing off her, lighting up her face and bringing a contagious smile to her delicate features. The child giggled and let Sarah wrap her arms around her in a warm embrace before twirling her around.

Sarah had a child? Was she married? Again? Jareth's heart stilled as he contemplated how fate would play such a cruel trick on him once more. The girl-child would be the same age as the time she had been Underground. And they seemed to have the bond of a mother and child. His heart plummeted further. How could he walk to her whilst his heart was in his boots?

One look from Sevlydi, and he followed his brother meekly, well, as meekly as he was even capable of, to learn if his destiny could be realised or would be shattered. Was the pearl prophecy about to be stolen from him, like the pearls were stolen from their masters? Poetic justice, maybe, but excruciatingly painful to his principles and future right now.

"Sarah," Sevlydi called, waving a hand genially in her direction. She spun around, green eyes appraising the pair of them. Sevlydi had met her? And this was how he chose to reveal her to him? Both in disguise. Both with new names. Without any warning. Why didn't he tell his own brother that he knew where his wife was? When he had been searching so desperately.

Sarah smiled warmly but cautiously at Sevlydi, holding the toddler close to her body as she sat on her hip. The girl leaned her head against Sarah's shoulder and scrutinised the two men with deep soulful nut brown eyes, as she sucked her thumb.

"I've come to deliver your peach, as promised," Sevlydi proffered a basket full to the brim with luscious peaches.

"That's more than one," Sarah pointed out, jiggling the girl on her hip, as she stroked the babe's sandy locks.

"Your lucky day then," his grin widened. "Do I ask too much to introduce you to my brother, Terry?"

"Of course not, Stephen," Sarah turned to face Jareth, those green eyes pierced through his very soul as they regarded his glamour, from his tame auburn hair, to his tame tawny stubble across his chin, to his deep chocolate-coloured matching eyes. No look of recognition passed her bright, mesmerising eyes, just honest and open scrutiny.

"Sarah, this is Terry," he patted his brother on the shoulder. "Terry, this is Sarah. I met her at the market a few days passed."

"Nice to meet you, Terry," Sarah beamed widely, welcoming Jareth so warmly, it was unexpected. "This little madam here is Peggy."

Peggy, the toddler gave a slight smile from behind her pudgy toddler hand, thumb still firmly secured in her rosy mouth.

"Enchanted to meet you and your daughter," Jareth bowed his head to both of them, swallowing the lump that formed at the acknowledgement of her child. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion, but I've always loved Ghent, so couldn't refuse my brother's pleas to accompany him on his travels."

Jareth straightened to see an amused look cross Sarah's wondrous face, whilst Peggy lifted her head up off Sarah's shoulder.

"Peggy is not my daughter," Sarah laughed, softly. "She is my friend's child. As are all the children here."

Jareth felt his body sag with relief. If they weren't her children, it may mean she was less likely to be married. Though it was still a possibility. As King, he could annul any marriage as he saw fit, but knowing Sarah's sense of fairness, it was a road he didn't want to go down. Unless he had to.

"I see," he replied in clipped tones. "My brother and I hope you enjoy the peaches."

Sarah laughed, "Oh I don't like them myself, but the children love them so I thank you both kindly."

Jareth couldn't help but raise one brow. She didn't like peaches? Must be a recent development, he mused.

"Stephen," came another high pitched child's voice, as a child came hurtling out of the cottage door, followed by two adults with yet another child.

"Tessa," Stephen greeted the child, and then nodded to the boy with his parents. "Lewis."

"This is Liam and Helena Sprigget," Sarah introduced her friends. "Liam and Helena, this is Stephen and Terry. Stephen came to drop off the peach from the other day, but has brought a whole basket."

Jareth watched as Liam and Helena exchanged looks but took the basket of peaches from Sarah.

"Thank you, sir," Liam touched his light coloured brow with one finger in thanks to both brothers. "Peaches are a delicacy that we simply can not pass up. Come in and have a cup of tea."

Straight away the Ghentian's were proving their innate ability to welcome and include strangers. He hoped that it would never come around to punish the gentle souls in the future. He made a mental note to send a few more guards into the area just as a precaution against any unsavoury folks. Jareth was not going to say no to their hospitality though. To spend more time with Sarah while she didn't know who he was, certainly had its appeal. She was friendly and polite, and open. Things he suspected he wouldn't see if she was faced with Jareth and not Terry.

The temptation to whisk her off to safety was pulsing and seething through his very core, but something told him to wait it out. Get to know her first. Then she will come to him on her terms. Now he knew where she was, they could weave spells to keep her safe. He could track her through his crystals again as he knew her location, despite whatever magic had previously blocked her from him.

And to see her, interacting and living with the salt of the earth, his subjects, so naturally was beguiling. No fae, no lesser fae, no elf for that matter, would be seen dead in a human village, working the land like she was. Yet here she was, wearing an apron over her working dress, scruffy hardworking boots, a smudge of dirt across her forehead. Looking after children that were not hers. How she had changed and grown.

He grew impatient to find out more about her life here and discover how she came to be here in the first place. He couldn't believe he finally found her. Alive. And in his kingdom. And living with his subjects. Living AS one of his subjects. He marvelled and her ease in which she must have curried favour with them. Something she was always so capable of with his minions, much to his own ire and jealousy.

A little voice inside his head, warned him that his brother found her first. They already had an established connection and he was the intruder. He cast a sly glance at his brother as they headed inside. Sevlydi didn't seem particularly interested in Sarah aside from what was borne out of politeness. And she was friendly and polite back to him but could not detect any special attachment.

He couldn't take his eyes off Sarah after that. She moved around the kitchen helping prepare the tea, still with the child on her hip. Liam instructed him to sit so he pulled up a chair where he could still observe his wife. After introductions were made, Stephen explained to Liam and Helena how he bumped into Sarah at the market, and he had to then bring a single peach he owed after eating one from the basket, to prove it wasn't enchanted.

Jareth glanced up at Sarah who flushed as she passed Helena the cups of tea. Guilt lanced through him, but it was easy enough to ignore for now with joy and relief his main feelings coursing through his body. He would allow a chuckle at the thought of her verifying the peach wasn't enchanted, when he had finished processing the fact he had finally found Sarah.

"So Sarah," Stephen started as she joined them at the table. "How did you find yourself at Cloverfield Cottage then?"

Sarah didn't answer straight away. Jareth noticed her fidget slightly in her seat, her fingers tapping the handle of her teacup with agitation.

"Is it that obvious?" she muttered into her teacup.

"You don't sound like you're from around here but you're human, so unless you're from Aboveground..."

"I am," she replied swiftly and honestly. "I am from Aboveground."

"How did you get here?" Jareth asked in his impatience.

"I was kidnapped," she answered, matter of factly. Jareth felt rage course through his body.

"How...?" Was all he managed, as he tried to keep his politely interested mask on to keep his true feelings of vehemence hidden.

"Two fae cornered me in a bathroom while I was at a party," she recounted while Jareth paled, placing his teacup back in the saucer much harder than he intended to. The party where he had first seen her and she disappeared from. "I turned around, they grabbed me, I ended up outside the Labyrinth all by myself."

So many questions. Who were the two fae? Where did they go? Why couldn't he find her? How did she end up here? Why didn't she come to him? What did they want with her? Why was she outside his Labyrinth one minute and gone the next? While he was deciding which question to ask first, Sevlydi asked her what the fae looked like.

"Tall, blonde, one woman and one man, blood red robes," Sarah winced. "It was 2 years ago and I didn't get a good look at them. I have not seen them since that night. Like I said, I landed outside the Labyrinth completely alone."

Jareth bit the inside of his mouth. He could bet it was Meffod and Yarbro. His vexation rose within him like smoke up a chimney. And like a puff of wind, it was dissipated by the reality that she was here, in his Kingdom, alive and unharmed. He knew the Pinnburrs hadn't seen her in two years. They didn't know she was here. He couldn't let them find out until they were married and secure, which meant he could not exact his revenge upon them just yet.

"Did they say anything to you?" Sevlydi asked.

"No, nothing at all," Sarah shrugged.

"Why didn't you go and see the Goblin King when you arrived?" Jareth found himself asking.

"Good luck with that question, Terry," Helena grinned, her almond eyes laughing. "Our Sarah only just found out he has a brother. In two years she has avoided any mention of our dear King."

"Hush," Sarah pinched her friend affectionately on the arm, before she turned her beaming emerald orbs on him. Jareth was struck by her stare, so reminiscent of their final confrontation. "To answer your question, Terry, there is every possibility that the Goblin King hired those two thugs to kidnap me."

Helena made a 'see what I mean,' kind of noise in her throat. One of the children remarked on how they wanted to escort Sarah to the Goblin King's Castle, safely to ask for help. Another suggested they stop trying to get rid of Sarah as they enjoyed having her here.

The voices faded out of consciousness. Jareth was stung. His hands, still clenched, unclenched, just so he could clench them again. He of course had done no such thing. He did not hire thugs to kidnap her or had planned to or even had any need to if he had planned on kidnapping her. He would have done that himself. He wasn't even going to attempt to take her away from her new home now that he found her. Did she really think so little of him? He could almost taste the hostility and loathing on the way she said his title, it was so tangible a hate.

"He would help you, not kidnap you," Stephen came to his rescue. "The King is many things, but he would not demean himself thus."

Sarah raised a brow skeptically, but contented herself with a sip of her tea.

"We're happier that she stays here anyway," Helena chimed in again. "She is an endless help with the children and the chores."

"Do you want to go back?" Jareth asked, relaxing his hands slightly.

"We don't want her to go back," Liam supplied this time. "Lena is right, she is a grand wee lassie and the children enjoy her company too."

"I want to help my brother," she replied, when she finally got a say. "But even if I went back, I couldn't even see him. So really there is little point in me seeking the Goblin King's help."

"Why can't you see him?" Stephen asked.

"He lives with his maternal aunt," Sarah closed her eyes. Jareth could tell she was swallowing her pain. "And she hates me. She won't let me see him. I haven't seen him since my parent's funeral."

The rage that was coursing through his body flared up again. He had grown quite fond of Toby in his short time Underground. And more so when he realised Sarah was to be his wife. Jareth couldn't help but look at him like he was his brother in law. Part of him acknowledged that Sarah had fought so hard to get him back and now she was no better off. Though he didn't know what the aunt was like in relation to the Pinnsburrs. But by default, for kidnapping his wife, the aunt was a slightly better option.

He continued mulling it over as Sevlydi opened up the conversation to the rest of the household. He still didn't know how she was able to hide herself from him, but she wasn't likely to know that. For sure, the Pinnsburrs were not magical enough to have provided her any protection spells. If he didn't know any better he would have thought the blocking spell had been administered by a royal fae for it to be stronger than his scrying spells. But he conceded, he didn't know better. His wife didn't even trust him enough to be seen by him, let alone ask for his help. For the first time in his life he felt like he knew very little at all.

He took this opportunity to observe Sarah as she listened to Sevlydi prattle on about farming with Liam. She was just so hypnotising. He wasn't surprised he was drawn to her in the slightest. Aside from her obvious beauty, her face reflected so many emotions as she focused on his brother.

A lull in conversation allowed Sarah to remake the tea. One of the older children came and helped her willingly.

"Sarah, could you and Alicia perhaps make some hotcakes?" Helena suggested. "They will go well with the peach jam."

Sarah willingly obliged and set about making the batter with Alicia. Jareth was dismayed that she was being taken away from the conversation but it allowed him to watch as she chatted and laughed with the teenage girl. Seeing her so at ease contrasted with his own inner turmoil.

He felt rage against Sarah's kidnappers and Toby's aunt but strong consolation that Sarah was safe and happy and disbelief that she was really here. He'd never given up hope but he was astounded that just like that she was back in his life. He had questions galore to ask his brother and he had to think of a way to keep seeing Sarah. He got the opportunity quicker than he thought he would as Sarah re-entered the conversation.

"So are you here for a fleeting visit?" Sarah asked as she placed the plates of freshly cooked cakes on the table.

"Actually, three or four days," Jareth answered before Sevlydi had a remote chance of replying. "We're staying in the inn as we have business with someone in the village."

Sevlydi turned and glared at him, but Jareth turned and faced Sarah instead.

"Thank you, Sarah," he revelled in saying her name out loud as he helped himself to a cake. "I wonder if any of you would care to join us for a picnic down the River Novia tomorrow?"

He crossed every part of his body that Sarah would accept. He desperately wanted to get to know her, but more so for her to get to know him as a person, and not just the King. He had all but tasted her loathing of him as a King, but by contrast she was light and friendly towards "Terry."

In all his wild imaginings he never glimpsed this slice of unreserved openness from her. It was refreshing and addictive. He wanted more. He wanted to be the focus of her happiness, but he knew if she realised who he really was, she wouldn't be so free and comfortable around him.

He looked up into Sarah's glowing face and noticed a slight flush creep over it. He allowed a secret smile just for her to grace his lips, before he continued talking.

"We don't know many people in this village, and we'd like to repay you for your hospitality if any of you are interested," Jareth added. "I can't offer anymore peaches but I will...we will supply a tasty feast regardless."

Sevlydi clicked his tongue in annoyance but he didn't care. His brother went behind his back and hid the fact he had found his wife. He could make plans without taking him into consideration.

"I have to work the farm with Robby, our eldest boy, but Helena and Sarah could join you with the younger children if they'd like," Liam responded.

"Oh that sounds lovely, mama," Alicia chirped up. "We love the River and we could gather some reeds while we're there."

"How industrious of you," Helena beamed with pride. "I think it's a very good idea. I have chickens to catch and pluck tomorrow, so if Sarah would like to go, then she can take any child who wants to go and the rest can stay with me."

Jareth's heart beat faster. It was looking very hopeful. "Sarah, are you keen to join us?"

"Thank you, Terry," Sarah inclined her head to him. "Thank you, Stephen. I think I will have to say yes so I don't disappoint the children."

He didn't care that her answer was for the sake of the children. It was still a yes. He could see her again. They discussed an appropriate time to meet before they headed out of the house to take their leave. He could barely contain his excitement at the potential of seeing her again on the new day. He briefly wondered at himself and the intensity of his feelings, reminding himself that she was to be his wife only in name not deed.

He had to harden his heart. His heart wouldn't grow attached to her anymore than was necessary to secure her. He consoled himself that his feelings were purely relief that she was alive and nothing more. He tried to ignore the feelings her hostility had invoked in him. He would after all gain her trust as Terry and all would be forgiven. As they made their way through the garden gate, he weaved spells of protection for her and her friends.

He'd be damned if he lost her again.

A/N: Usual Disclaimers apply. Inspiration for this story was found in the Song Tears of Pearls by Savage Garden (yes, I am inspired by a lot of their songs when it comes to J and S). So the next chapter is the picnic and I wonder how Jareth/Terry deals with Sevlydi/Stephen about the revelation that Sarah is alive, when they are alone together again?