Jareth sat on his throne, proud and commanding in front of five beings. They all looked at each other, wondering why in the world what they all had in common to be standing in front of their King. Though Jareth had calmed down quite a bit from his erratic behavior, they all knew how Sarah's loss was killing him and were still concerned that he'd do something rash and stupid.

Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo all flinched slightly when Jareth started rolling a crystal around in his hands. Marcus and Lady Phoebe were just as nervous but didn't do anything as they were trained well to not react to Jareth's sudden moves. What was he doing?

Jareth didn't look at them, just at his crystal. "I have called you all here because I trust you five more than anyone else. Should you DARE tell anyone the contents of this meeting or that it even happened, I will consider it treason. Understood?"

They gave a gracious bow. "Yes sire." They all responded. Hoggle was the most jittery as he was always scared of Jareth when he was angry, even after they made up and became friends. Jareth was a kind and just king, though he could be cruel. Even so, he considered very few things to be flat out treason. He allowed people to insult him, he had been hurt by assassination attempts, and even then, he would take everything into careful consideration. They all hoped that he wasn't losing his mind or becoming more hard hearted just because Sarah was gone.

Jareth held the crystal out, and it turned into a necklace, a replica of his amulet. Every eye widened in the room as they all knew what this meant.

Jareth stepped forward, never smiling. He stood in front of Lady Phoebe, who curtseyed, looking unsure and surprised. "Your Majesty?" She asked him, unsure.

Jareth placed the amulet over her neck and it glowed. For the first time since he had called them in, he smiled. The Labyrinth had accepted his choice.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, looking into her bright brown eyes and looked her over one more time. Her tan skin reflected her hard work in the sun every day and her tied up black hair also showed that in her. She curtseyed again.

Satisfied, he walked back to his throne. Facing his confused subjects, he began to explain. "I will be gone, and I have no idea how long it will take."

He told them of how Sarah's spirit should've been at the Summerlands, but for some reason, it was in the Underworld with Hades. Marcus raised his eyebrows. As a former human, he was fascinated with the tales of the Greek Gods and had no idea they even existed. They all gasped when Jareth told them that he was going to personally go the Underground and bargain for Sarah's soul, not to bring her to the Summerlands, but back to LIFE.

Jareth could tell that Sir Didymus was shaking. He nodded at the fox. "Speak freely, I know you have something on your mind."

The fox bowed. "Your Majesty, Lady Sarah is your bride, but she is our friends as well. We are also your friends. I say this out of concern, not anything else. Do you think that it is wise to get her back? Often, the dead are not happy when brought back to life."

Jareth leaned back in his throne lazily, making his subjects relax a little. "Yes, I am aware. I had thought of that as well. But," And he recounted the Labyrinth's vision to him. "If there is a chance to bring her back as she was before, then I will fight for it. If she comes back and is not happy, then I will send her to the Summerlands, where her soul belongs so when I die one day, I will reunite with her there." He closed his eyes, breathing deeply so he didn't start to cry again. Oh, how he missed her presence. Nothing could calm him down more than his love.

Lady Phoebe inclined her head and addressed him. "My Lord, but, why me?"

By placing the amulet on her and having it glow, he had marked her as his heir.

He looked at her fondly. He remembered when he first employed Phoebe, just a shy young girl who wanted to be a knight. He allowed her to work her way up. Time and time again, she had shown him loyalty and he knew she would do well as a queen should that come to pass.

"Because," he told her, "You are a knight, one that has been loyal. There are others that are loyal of course. The problem is, most of them would jump at the chance to be king or queen. You do not want this position but would do it and not be miserable. You understand that scope of the responsibility that it takes to be queen. You are not prejudiced like many are and I know my subjects will be safe in your hands. I still hope that I can come back. You are a talented leader, Lady Phoebe. You have strength and power to command. You are also pure fae. The ones who are also worthy, like Lord Marcus," He nodded at Marcus who bowed in pride, "Are part fae or used to be human or whatever. Queen Sarah was assassinated because she was formerly human. I wish I could choose someone to be a replacement without considering their race, but I must. Your family is well known and respected.

"However, for your safety, I cannot let you be queen now. I would prefer to not put you in this kind of danger and I know you don't desire it. I will ask for Lord Richard to be regent, for he is a good regent, a good temporary replacement. Hide that amulet, don't let anyone see it. If you notice, there's a yellow stone in the middle. When that turns red, that signals a new era of ruling and you are to be queen because that will mean that I am gone. I hate to put such responsibility on you, but I trust you." He held out his scepter, and gave her a knowing look. Phoebe, still unsure, held out her hand. She closed her eyes and focused. His scepter flew right in her hand, signaling that she was also the rightful queen should she choose to.

Jareth smiled sadly. "Once Sarah and I are back, if we are, then you will no longer have this power and the amulet will dissolve." He could see that she hoped that he would come back, not only did she not want the responsibility, she respected him and Sarah too much to not WANT them back.

He turned to Marcus. "You are here, because you are Sarah's friend and a knight as well as a historian in training. You will testify to the court of this story should I be gone. I trust you and Phoebe to work together. I expect you to be loyal to her, but not just to her, to the people of this land as you always have been." He put a hand on Marcus's shoulder. Marcus looked at Jareth with such respect and admiration. "Yes Sire. Anything you ask of me, it will be done."

Jareth turned to Sarah's three friends. "You are also to back Phoebe. But the thing I am here to tell you, is that I'm sure you know that at one point, I had considered making Toby my heir. I cannot do that now, knowing that someone will think of assassinating him, even if he decides he would be alright with being King one day. His family have been through enough pain. I ask that you watch over him throughout his life and aid him in immigrating down to the Underground if he wants. I also am telling you this because you deserve to know where I'm going. Do not tell her parents or ANYONE of this. If you do, they'll come after her. I cannot have that, understood?"

They all nodded, but Hoggle stepped forward. Jareth raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. Hoggle gave a clumsy bow, and nervously began to speak. "Yer Majesty, we all love Sarah. I may be a coward, but I will go with you to help her. Anything for her. Not just as a friend, but as her subject."

Ludo and Sir Didymus also stepped forward. "Yes, Your Majesty" the fox said. "I am your humble servant and I will go for you and for her. You shouldn't be alone in this treacherous journey."

Ludo wailed a little, crying out for Sarah.

Jareth was touched. It made him so happy to hear this, but he had to say no. "No. I may not survive the ordeal and I want you all alive. Please. For Sarah's sake. Stay alive."

All of them bowed their heads. Jareth dismissed them, satisfied that if he were to be gone forever, his kingdom would still be in good hands.

He began to pack. He took food and any magical relics and objects that would mean a lot to Sarah with him. He packed lightly. Looking around one more time, knowing that he may die in the process. He picked up a framed photo of him and Sarah at the Aboveground wedding. He smiled, seeing how radiant she looked. So happy, so bright. At least they got to travel the world together once. He decided to write a letter addressed to her family, in case he actually died. He had considered erasing their memories of him and fabricate some story of how Sarah had died through a car crash as they had told everyone Above, but decided against it as he knew they would rather know the truth. So he stuck to that. He hoped they could forgive him for not telling them in person.

He picked up another photo of him, her parents, Sarah, and Toby all laughing at Toby's 10th birthday party. Oh, how good and kind her parents had been with him. He traced Sarah's beautiful smile, knowing that he would see it again.

He would die trying to get her to be back with him.

This is to show that Jareth is an adult, as crazy as he can be. He's a king, and I think it's important to reflect that even if he is grieving and hot tempered, he does think things through and is very calculating.