Cara, determined not to be stranded at the party, had arranged to meet Hadrian there and drive her own car. "Just in case he tries something. I don't know what, but I'll be prepared."

This year the company had managed to reserve a club for the party since they were not actually holding it on New Year's Eve. That promised a slightly more entertaining time than if they had held it at a hotel and much better than if they had held it during the day at the office. Cara even found herself anticipating it a little. She had not gone out for any reason in a long time. However, she had not bothered to go out and buy a new dress for the party, instead just pulling out her old little black dress that all women are supposed to own. She had decided she was not going to dignify Hadrian with a new dress, no matter what the occasion.

Cara also found herself a little lonely with Alia gone home to spend the holiday with her parents, especially since Jareth had not stopped by in over a week. Even the little that Cara had seen of Alia had relieved the boredom of staring at the walls of the apartment.

"Nice dress."

"Speak of the devil," thought Cara. "Where have you been?" she asked Jareth, turning from her mirror where she was putting her earrings on.

"That makes a nice change from 'What are you doing here?' I had no idea you cared," Jareth answered her.

"I was only curious," she clarified. "You didn't show up last week for your usual update on my social life. What happened?"

"I was detained by a round robin on the fan fiction list. They usually turn out unpleasantly, but you haven't been doing much, so I had to divert myself somehow."

"That's too bad. You missed some news."

"Really?"

"Yes." Cara ignoring his curiosity, did not elaborate, but resumed putting on her jewelry.

"What was it?" Jareth finally asked after waiting for her to continue.

"I am going to the office holiday party. With Hadrian."

"How nice, fraternizing with coworkers," he began, playing with a few bangle bracelets sitting in a bowl on her dresser, then absorbed the second statement. "With whom!"

"Hadrian."

"You cannot possibly be serious."

"Yes, I am."

"But… you can't do that," Jareth stammered.

"Why not? Why do you care?"

"I don't. Neither did you, I thought. You have expressed nothing but disdain for this man and Maddie's plans from the beginning. And rightly so. Now suddenly you've surrendered to the enemy."

"I did no such thing. I'm only going to the party. And I'm only going with him because it gets him and Maddie off my back and I needed someone to go to the party with."

"So you suggested this?"

"No, he did. He wants to see Maddie's boyfriend."

"And you went along with it? Just like that?"

"Yes, I did. Just like that." His tone was starting to anger her. "I'm a big girl, Jareth. I can take care of myself. I had to do something to find out what he's up to."

"You mean you actually suspect he has other motives and you're still going with him? You're a bigger fool than I thought you were. I thought you had more sense than that."

"Get out," Cara said coldly.

He laughed at her. "How do you propose to enforce that order?" he asked with his head cocked alertly to one side.

"Jareth," she said in a low voice, "if you do not leave immediately I will put that computer back together and start taking your Labyrinth apart again. And now I know every thing that is in it, not just what's in the movie. Enforcement enough? Leave. Now."

"You're making a mistake. I warn you," he said as he disappeared.

.….

Cara had no chance to look for Hadrian's little black car outside the club because the company had engaged valet parking for the party. She put on the best face she could when she handed over the keys to her 15-year-old car held together with chewing gum and duct tape.

Hadrian had said he would wait outside for her, but she saw no sign of him near the door. She stood about for a moment, wondering if she should wait outside for him or go inside to the party.

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. I'm not waiting out here for him," she decided and turned to go inside.

Just as she reached for the door handle to pull the door open, someone pushed it from the inside. She moved back out of the way. From the noise level coming through the door, it sounded as if the party was well under way.

A group of people came through the door and it started to slowly swing closed behind them on its mechanism. Cara grabbed the edge to hold it while she darted around it and was startled to have another hand cover her fingers as it pushed the door open again. Her momentum around the door brought her face to face with its owner.

She looked up to see who she had narrowly avoided running into and found Hadrian.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I thought we were going to this party?"

"No, I mean what are you doing coming out of the club? I thought you were supposed to wait outside for me?"

"I went inside to check if Maddie was here yet. Why aren't you waiting outside?"

"I thought you could manage on your own. It's a little different for a woman to wait outside a club than it is for a man, you know. Is she here? Did you find her?"

"I didn't see her. Let's stop standing here in the door and go in," he suggested.

Once the door closed behind them, the club enveloped them, loud and dim, just as she had remembered it.

"Follow me. Looks like there's a table over here," Hadrian said.

Cara grabbed his coat sleeve so she wouldn't lose him in the crowd of people milling about and they threaded their way to a table near the wall. Hadrian helped her with her coat and she sat down.

"You want something to drink?" he asked.

"Just some water right now, thank you."

"All right. I'll be right back."

Cara looked around her to see what was going on and who came. Once her eyes adjusted she saw the usual office party decorations – streamers, balloons – clashing slightly with the slicker decorations of the club itself.

Hadrian came back with two glasses and set one in front of her, then sat next to her. His glass contained something dark, but she could not she could not identify more than that.

"No sign of Maddie yet," she commented. "We might as well mingle."

Cara wandered around the room, joining this conversation or that, avoiding groups of people that she disliked here and there. She finished her water and made her way to the bar to drop off the empty glass. She turned around, deciding to dance a while, and looked for Hadrian. He was nowhere to be seen. Now that she thought about it, she did not remember seeing him for a while. She smiled and congratulated herself on losing him somewhere in the crowd.

She had been dancing for quite a while when he reappeared.

"May I cut in?" he asked her nonexistent current partner.

"Find Maddie yet?" Cara asked.

"No, not yet. I think she's not coming."

"It's early yet. Where'd you get off to?"

"Talking to people."

"Well, don't let me stop you."

"I'm finding dancing with you much more entertaining."

"I'm sorry to deprive you then, but I think it's time for a breather for me. I'm not used to this anymore."

"Whatever you want to do."

On the way to the table she stopped to get something to drink, but stayed away from alcohol. She had to stay coherent to keep an eye on Hadrian. Once back at the table, they sat in awkward relative silence as Cara caught her breath. Cara could not think of anything to say worth the effort of making herself heard over the loud music.

Conveniently one of the other people Cara worked with in computer support stopped by their table.

"I'm surprised to see you here," he said to Hadrian. "After all the places you were talking about having visited, our company party must be pretty tame."

"Every activity has its own attractions," Hadrian answered.

A blonde Cara did not recognize slid up and pulled on the coworker's arm. He excused himself, leaving Cara and Hadrian alone again.

"Traveling would be nice," Cara commented. "One of these days I'm going to make enough money to do that."

"Where do you plan to go?"

"Everywhere. England, Italy, France, the Caribbean."

"I've lived in Europe. I have a house in England and another one in southern France."

"Why do you do a job like this and live here if you have that?"

"It amuses me. I get bored. So I do this. I meet people I wouldn't otherwise. You get tired of traveling in the same circles all the time, hearing the same stories and gossip all the time."

"What's it like living there?" Cara asked.

He began telling her about his houses and she unconsciously leaned closer to him in an effort to hear him and read his lips. When she lifted her glass and found it empty, he suggested they go dance again.

"All right. I wonder what happened to Maddie?"

"You'll have to ask her when you see her Monday."

They danced until slower, quieter music began to play. The dance floor started to empty and Cara turned to follow them, eager to hear more about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. "Let's sit this one out," she suggested.

"No, let's not," Hadrian contradicted as he caught her arm.

"But I want to sit down and talk while I can hear."

"We can talk here," he said, pulling her closer to speak in her ear. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Tell me more about Europe." She did not like his moves, but thought herself safe enough as long as she kept him distracted.

"You'd like it, especially southern France. Everyone claims ties to the old nobility of the last century," he told her in a low voice. "Some are rich. Some are poor looking for someone with money to make them rich in exchange for the name or title."

"Are you related to old nobility?" Cara asked slowly, wanting him to continue.

"Everyone who is anyone knows their family tree and has a noble in their closet somewhere. They are all just one step away from a throne. If only one person had behaved differently they'd be ruling now, they say."

Hadrian continued to describe the people and places in a low voice directly in her ear, weaving pictures in her mind. She could see the sun-filled beaches, the drowsy flower-filled gardens, the colorful whirls of sight and sound where the chic population of the Riviera met. He wound Cara up in his descriptions until the music changed and the dance floor filled with people again.

"You'll have to come to see it sometime," Hadrian invited as he led Cara back to the table.

Cara nodded placidly and sat down.

"You look tired. It's getting late. Do you want to leave now?" Hadrian asked her.

"Yes, I think so," Cara answered him.

Hadrian helped her put on her coat and shepherded her to the door. As the door closed behind her Cara clutched her coat around her against the cold air. She gave her valet ticket to Hadrian who handed it with his to the attendant.

"Do you want me to follow you home?" he asked as they waited.

"No, thanks. I'll be fine. It's not far."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Don't bother." That was the last thing she wanted – for him to follow her to her apartment.

The attendants came back with their cars and they separated. Cara drove home glancing occasionally at her mirrors to check that he did not follow her home anyway. By the time she got home, Cara had developed a splitting headache and ringing ears and went straight to bed.

.….

"I've got her. Now, it's a matter of setting the hook." Hadrian paused for a question from the other end of the line. "No, I found her a while ago." He paced the floor of the barely furnished apartment while the other party issued a complaint. "Yes, I know you expect reports." He rolled his eyes impatiently.

"No, I haven't seen anyone else. I followed her home tonight for the first time. She seemed to live alone." He slouched into a chair negligently and stared out the window at the night skyline of the city.

"No, she doesn't suspect anything. I know what I'm doing." He cut off the next lecture as it started, rolling his eyes. "And I know what I need to do next. You wouldn't be using me to do this if I didn't, now would you?" he soothed sweetly, all the while getting more and more impatient with whole conversation.

"Yes, yes, I'll call as soon as I have anything further to report to you." He turned off the cellular phone with a beep and muttered, "Interfering imbecile."

.….

When Cara awoke the next morning a glance at her clock told her that it no longer qualified as morning. Then she realized that although her ears were no longer ringing, she still had a headache. "No more loud music for me," she thought with a groan and put a pillow over her head. "I feel like I have a hangover and I didn't even drink anything. Hangovers without the fun the night before. It's not fair."

"What's not fair?" Jareth asked from the vicinity of her doorway.

"Are you summoned any time someone says anything that resembles a line from the movie?" she demanded, looking at him from under her pillow.

"No, I came to apologize."

"You?" Cara sat up. "An apology? Really?"

"Yes. I shouldn't have insulted you."

"No, you shouldn't have. Disagreeing is one thing, insulting is another. Apology accepted, though."

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"It was all right. Pretty much the usual for an office party, but the club improved things. I've got a killer headache now though."

"Drink a little more than was good for you?"

"No, that's just it. I didn't drink at all. That's what's not fair. It must have been the loud music. Shoo. I need to get up and get dressed."

Jareth retreated amiably to the couch in the living room. "Did you learn his motive?"

"No, I didn't learn anything except that he's richer than I thought and has a house in England and France," Cara called out from her room. "Maddie didn't even show up."

"Ah. That is a pity. A headache with absolutely nothing to show for it." He changed the subject. "Have you heard from Alia? When does she come back?"

"No, I haven't. She'll probably be back when she can't stand her family anymore. That's the way it usually works." Cara padded past the couch on her way to the kitchen, pulling a sweatshirt on over her t-shirt and jeans. "She has a while off from school – a week or so into January. So, it could be a while. Why'd you want to know?"

"No reason. Just curious."