I totally did not plan to post this chapter today, but it's a perfect title considering that today is Valentine's Day! This chapter is pretty predictable. I hope everyone will enjoy it!

"Lady! Blaire the Brownie left you a very pretty dress!" Evie squealed with delight. "Come come!"

"Almost done!" Sarah called after her. She was feeling so nervous, but also excited. Something was going to change tonight between her and Jareth, she knew it. If the way they had exchanged sweet glances at each other that day had any indication, tonight would be wonderful indeed.

She got out of the bath and wrapped her hair in a towel, putting a robe on. She followed the goblins who were waiting very impatiently in front of her bathroom door to her room.

"Here, Lady!" One of the younger ones pointed to her closet door. "Open!"

Sarah touched the silver handle and opened it up. She gasped at the dress.

She had sent in a request for the dress to be simple but elegant. While the dress she wore in the crystal dream would remain close to her heart, she was older now. She was a young woman, not a woman-child anymore.

This dress was a golden yellow color that would made her skin look rosy and healthy as well as make a lovely contrast with her dark hair. The skirt was made to flutter with little golden accents to represent the wind and small flowers etched upon it. The bodice was simple, with the corset in the back and a little rose in the top center and off the shoulder top.

Clearly, this dress was made for a ball. She saw that there were no gloves for her, as would customarily be worn with a dress like this. She wondered if Jareth would wear gloves tonight or not.

She hoped not.

"This is beautiful." She touched the fabric in awe. "Make sure that there are extra sweets for Blair tonight as a thank you."

"Yes Lady!" The goblins hung on her every word. "Put the dress on!"

"In a bit, let me do my hair and makeup first!" She promised.

Since she wasn't very adept at hair styling with the tools from the Underground (and neither were the goblins), she decided to do what her mother had taught her for prom: a simple braid on the top of her head to part it down one side and to curl the rest of her hair. It was very elegantly looking.

Make up, on the other hand, was something she WAS good at. She reached for a soft pink, choosing to highlight her features. She put on a bit of a pretty golden eyeshadow and some highlighters on her cheek, giving it a lovely glow. Seeing that it was time, she took out the rollers and let her now curly hair tumble down.

When she was done with that, she finally donned on the dress. She asked the goblins for a bit of help in lacing up the dress. Unfortunately, it took much longer than anticipated (goblins weren't exactly the most elegant of creatures and had the worst fine motor skills). It was a bit tight but she decided to just go with it or else she would be late for her dinner with Jareth.

Opening up the jewelry drawer, she held up a few earrings but none of them fit her ensemble. That's when she saw the pair of golden earcuffs.

Different, yet elegant and beautiful.

Sarah looked at herself, almost gasping. She looked absolutely elegant, like royalty.

"Lady so pretty!" Evie clapped. "Kingy will love."

Sarah blushed. She hoped he would. Hoggle came in to join her. He was speechless.

"Sarah, yer a beauty." He said with reverence. "I misses ya when ye were a young girl. I just feel nostalgic."

To him, Sarah will always be that 15 year old girl who asked him for help in running the labyrinth. But tonight, she looked like a queen. He resisted the urge to kneel before her.

"Oh Hoggle." Sarah held his hand in hers. "I'm so glad to have you all this time. Thank you for supporting me."

"Well, he's a meanie at times, but he ain't a bad person." Hoggle patted her hand. "Ya've made him a better person. And, he's googley-eyed all over for ya. Didymus said that he was tryna make sure he looked good enough for ya. He never cares for anything like that."

Sarah smiled sadly. "I care about him a lot. I feel like…"

Like my heart will explode at the thought of him.

"I know, but ya have nothin' ta worry about." Hoggle reassured her. "Now, let's get ya to the dining room."

Jareth stood at the top of the stairs, clearing his throat and tugging a bit at his collar to ease the nervousness in him. This was his chance to impress her. This was his chance to get her to stay with him. To soothe his loneliness.

He hadn't thought about the curse in a long time, but if she was able to fall in love with him and proclaim her love, then maybe she could break his curse. Then, she needn't know that she could have left him. They would be living their best lives, and she would be able to visit her family then.

"You will do great, Thy Majesty." Sir Didymus bowed to him.

Jareth sure hoped he was right.

He heard a fluttering sound. Turning his head, he saw Sarah standing on the other side, smiling at him.

His heart stopped for a brief moment.

He must have blacked out for he had no memory of himself walking down the steps to greet her in the middle. She was so beautiful, but this was more than that. She radiated of that beauty from within her very soul.

Sarah was absolutely stunned at seeing Jareth. He was wearing a stunning blue jacket with gold embroidered on it with black tights under black boots. Not too different from the Crystal Dream but enough that Sarah wanted to keep staring. He held his arm out to her, hardly blinking. She started to feel self conscious at his gaze but fought the urge to look away. Many boys and boyfriends had been awed by her beauty, but none of them were Jareth the Goblin King.

She could tell he saw her from the inside out. That he wasn't just looking at her beauty, but her heart and soul.

Jareth carefully took her hand, trying to keep his wits about him. He gently lowered his head, never taking his eyes off of hers and kissed the back of her hand. He was glad that he wasn't wearing any gloves tonight. "You look absolutely magnificent, Sarah."

Sarah couldn't stand it anymore. She looked away and blushed. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself, Jareth."

Jareth chuckled. Always with spirit, his Sarah. It was why he was so smitten with her. "Shall we go to dinner, My Lady?"

He held out his arm and she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. "Absolutely, My King," Sarah gave him another shy smile.

He pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in, letting her sit down first. He wanted to treat her like a queen.

During dinner, Jareth was nervously trying to be graceful. Normally, he was the best at it but tonight, everything was on his nerves. He was so distracted by her beauty that sometimes he forgot what she was even asking him.

"Hello? Earth to Jareth."

He looked up to see Sarah snickering at him. "Did you even hear what I just asked?"

Now it was Jareth's turn to blush. "I'm sorry, no I did not hear you. And for the record, we are still on Earth."

"It's a saying, Jareth." Sarah was still holding in her laugh. Normally she wouldn't find this so funny but her nerves were getting to her. Then she tilted her head a little. "I'm sorry, did you just say that we're on Earth?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't we be?" He mimicked her head tilting.

Sarah put her hand to her lips in thought. "I guess I never thought about that. How is it possible?"

Jareth copied her actions again, wondering when she would catch on that he was teasing her. "Imagine a different plane of existence, for example. I don't know if that helps or not though."

Sarah scrunched her eyebrows. "Maybe a little, sounds like a different dimension. Heh, maybe this is the fifth dimension that scientists have yet to understand." She mused.

She turned to Jareth to ask another question. She started to open her mouth and noticed that he was carefully mimicking her actions. "Are you copying me?"

"Took you long enough to figure it out." He winked as she play shoved him.

"Jareth!" She scolded him, laughing.

"Yes, Sarah?" He snickered a little.

"You're irritating." She shook her head. He was just like a little kid at times.

They laughed for a bit until Jareth noticed that Sarah's face was a little too red for his liking. Her breathing seemed labored too.

"Sarah?" He put his hand on her upper arm in concern. "Are you alright?"

Sarah coughed a little. "I - yeah. It's just the goblins did my corset a little tight, that's all."

"Tsk tsk." Jareth shook his head and sighed. "You don't have to make it so tight that it hurts you know."

"I know, but I couldn't do it myself and it was hard enough already for them to do," She gave a shrug.

"Ah yes, goblins are not known to be that good at doing anything elegant." He said with amusement. "Here, let me help you loosen it."

Sarah turned even more red and hesitated slightly, her eyes going big. The thought of it made her feel quite warm all of a sudden.

Jareth so wanted to make a joke, it was almost too good to pass up with the whole situation. But he reminded himself that this was a night that was special. So he kept it in him. He removed his hand from her arm. In a sober voice, he said "Sarah, I have made many mistakes. But I am a gentleman. Your breathing is too shallow and I'm concerned for your health."

Sarah felt bad. He teased her often but he never made her uncomfortable and would stop any jokes before it got too far, even when he was a jerk. She nodded and turned around, moving her hair to the front.

Jareth meant what he said. He was a gentleman and he was going to treat Sarah with respect. Walking over to her side, he sat in the chair next to her to inspect her dress. He tried to use magic at first but the ties were way too knotted to be done with just magic. "My god, how did I not notice this before?" He said aloud.

"Notice what?" Sarah turned her head slightly as Jareth worked the knots.

"They made a mess of this!" He laughed. "My goodness, how are you not fainting by now?"

"Sheer determination, Your Majesty." Sarah joined in with his laughter. "That got me through your Labyrinth, you know."

She started to feel slightly more light headed, but she couldn't tell if it was because her corset was so tight or because Jareth was touching her dress, brushing against her skin now and then.

"Oh?" He undid the ties and Sarah took a deep breath. After a few gulps of air, he redid the ties for her, still keeping her modest. He resisted the urge to kiss her exposed shoulder, not wanting to scare her away and also wanting to keep his promise as a gentleman. "I thought it was because of Toby?"

"Sheer determination to get my brother. Really, I thought that goes without saying." She turned to him. "Thank you for fixing it by the way."

"Of course." He said. "Corsets really should not be so tight as to hurt you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sarah leaned back and took another deep breath. "My head feels better now."

"Here, have some water." Jareth poured some water from the jug and tipped it to her lips, one hand on her back to keep her stable.

Sarah automatically put her hand on the glass too, touching his hand. He was so close that she could smell his distinct peach and spices scent. It made her feel light headed again.

"Better?" He rubbed her back comfortingly.

Gods, he would do anything for this woman in front of him.

"Much better." She thanked him.

They had a lovely dinner, as they always did. It was full of flirting jokes and light touches, shy smiles and glances filled with desire.

Things were exactly the same between them. Just an added layer.

Looking around the room, she saw a door on the other side of where they had entered. "Where does that lead to?"

Jareth looked at where she pointed and bit his bottom lip. "It's a ballroom."

A sort of dark tension flowed over them. Not bad, just a little dark and unsure. The last time there was a ballroom…

Sarah decided that she wasn't going to let the past spoil their future. She reached out to put her hand on his arm. "Can we go and explore?"

Jareth looked up, unable to help the blush that flowed on his cheeks at her touching his arm. "Absolutely, my lady."

He pulled her chair out and offered her his arm again. Sarah moved a little closer to him than before, a little silent agreement connecting them together.

Jareth waved his hand, the grand doors opening. It was pitch black.

Another wave from Jareth's hand and all the candles were lit.

Sarah's breath was taken away. The whole ballroom looked so new and beautiful, not like it was hidden away for years and years. It reminded her of the great palace halls she had seen in Europe or in those period movies. Every little artist detail was done with great care, the floor was even clean and polished. The curtains were opened, the stars filling the room.

Jareth stood behind her as she twirled around and touched the little statues here and there. He specifically asked the goblins to help him clean this ballroom, wanting to create a new memory with Sarah instead of the other one that they had danced in all those years ago.

"I take it that you like it?" He interrupted her thoughts.

Sarah felt breathless. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything so beautiful as this."

The moment she said that, Jareth's heart grew a little more. "Have you not seen your own reflection, Sarah?"

Sarah turned around, realizing that Jareth was very, very close to her.

She couldn't speak. He was wearing make up that made his face glow, the highlighting his features.

But that wasn't the thing that she noticed most. No. What she noticed most were his eyes. They were so soft and oh so kind.

Jareth held his hand out to her. "My Precious Sarah, may I have this dance?"

Sarah placed her hand in his. "It would be an honor, Your Majesty."

Out of nowhere but also everywhere, a beautiful tune started to fill the room. Jareth placed a hand on her hip, sliding it up to her shoulder blade. She couldn't help but shiver at his touch. Something about this just felt so right.

She had so many feelings for the man in front of her. It took her all she could to not kiss him at this moment. Something in her told her to wait, that there will be a time for that later. For now, she was to enjoy being in his arms.

Jareth spun her around, admiring the way her dress flared out as she twirled. He put a hand behind his back and held her hand, spinning them both around. He pulled her to him with a smile and placed both hands on her back. Sarah looked at him, a bit unsure, but trusting him with all of her heart. She put her hands on his shoulders. He dipped her down, almost to the floor, before bringing her back up and spinning her around in his strong arms. Sarah gasped and giggled.

That trust in her eyes almost made him break down. She was a pure soul, and he almost stopped it right there and told her what he knew.

But he was a coward. A lonely coward. He told himself that his plan was to make her fall in love with him and to say it in front of him, then maybe, she wouldn't have to know what he had discovered because then the curse would be broken and they could travel freely to the Above. Yes, that's it. That way he wouldn't have to tell her anything.

He pushed through the dance and melted when she laughed. If he could bottle up a sound, it would be her laughter. To him, it was sweet and endearing. He would never get tired of it.

He ran his hand through her hair, letting it fall down to the back of her neck. She pulled him closer to her and was almost nose to nose with him.

When the song slowed to a close, he put a hand on his chest and bowed. Sarah curtsied in kind.

They didn't have to say anything to each other. The magic that was between them was stronger than anything they had experienced. Something beautiful and sacred had touched their souls.

Jareth held his arm out to her. Sarah took it and leaned into him as they walked through the double doors.

Her dress is obviously inspired by Belle's dress, both the original Disney animated and live action version. I really enjoyed writing this, as simple as it was. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!