Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth…Though I'd like to be wished to the Goblin King!

The Goblin King

Night was our time, where we just sat, holding one another from our demons, kissing away the fears, the pain. She asked only this quiet from me, this peace that only I could give to her. I gave it all, touching her gently, but never letting my fingers roam too far. She touched my face, my hair, my neck, my chest with tentative little touches, exploring shyly this tall blonde kindness. Just as the sun began to rise, her head rested on my shoulder, drifting into a sweet sleep while I drowsily laid her in my bed, curling my body around hers and letting daylight take our hearts away in crystalline cages to our deepest dreams…

I awoke at noon, groggy and sore, but content. I let my gaze travel down to the bundle of warmth in my arms, her dark hair splayed out like ink across my pillow, her solemn face lightened with a faint smile. I kissed her again, but so lightly that she barely stirred. Watching her sleep held a thrill all of it's own, shivers going down my spine at her innocence, love sweeping away my selfish desolation. It was like the honey-warm sunshine caressing our bed; it filled me, overflowed from me, relished her. I smiled at my languid thoughts and sighed peacefully. It was rare for Fae folk to have a reason to cherish another, especially one of another race.

Not that I particularly cared. Sarah had been a hope, distant, yet a possibility. Emily was another thing entirely. Though she had wished herself here, without the barest idea of what she was doing, she still trusted me. Perhaps it was blind faith, a trust that would fail when she awoke…but she had still done it. She was willing to come to me, when Sarah never had. My heart hoped, no, prayed, that she would accept me, not as master, but as mate…but that is in the future. I am a patient man; no matter if I frighten her now, I will work to gain her heart for as long as I must.

I shook my head a little to free up those meandering thoughts, and laid back down beside her. I freed one hand, took hers, and intertwined her fingers in mine, laying our hands beneath my heart. She stirred a little, her eyes quivering as they opened. She froze when she saw our hands, but relaxed as I pulled away a little, letting her have some room to reacquaint herself with reality. She rubbed her face with her free hand and yawned, then looked back down at our hands together.

"Jareth…it really wasn't a dream? I'm really…here?" I kissed her forehead and buried my head into her shoulder.

"Yes…You're here, to stay for as long as you want. I…you have given me a greater gift than I could have ever given you, even for taking you away. Will you stay with me, Emily?" I could feel her heart beat through the thin fabric, could feel the subtle shift of bone and muscle as she moved. Her other hand covered our clasped ones gently and I felt her head turn towards me.

"Is this the Goblin King asking…or Jareth?" I lifted my head and met her eyes with my mismatched pair.

"Jareth." She smiled then, her hand touching my cheek.

"Then I shall stay." I smiled back, and dared a kiss to her lips. She looked surprised, but kissed me back, a bit hesitantly. I pulled myself up and stood, walking over to my bathroom. Pulling a robe out of my wardrobe, I laid it and a towel on the side of the tub, then came back to her.

"Dear Emily, there's a great big warm bath waiting for you in there." I said with a grin, and she looked astonished.

"For me?…When would you like me out? I'm sure it's getting close to dinner time." I smiled again.

"It is, but don't worry. I'll bring up some food after I visit the guest bath and call you when it's ready, okay?" She nodded, and I kissed her once more, hugging her against my chest gently before I left. She smiled up at me, and I was glad then that I'd listened for her plea.

How you turned my world, you precious thing
You starve and near exhaust me
Everything I've done, I've done for you
I move the stars for no one
You've run so long
You've run so far
Your eyes can be so cruel
Just as I can be so cruel
Though I do believe in you
Yes I do
Live without the sunlight
Love without your heartbeat
I, I can't live within you
I can't live within you
I, I can't live within you

Emily sank into the enormous bath and relaxed, loosening up her shoulders with a pop and a stretch. Jareth had opened a cabinet with soaps, shampoos, and everything else she could want nearly falling out. He had been so loving, so utterly at peace with her; if she was afraid, she doubted she would have known it. And sleeping in his arms, her hand against the steady beat of his heart…It had been so sweet, so loving a touch that she had not felt in years, ever since her parents had died. Jareth asked nothing of her but acceptance; she could never have refused him that. Who could?

He had come in the dead of night, obviously from his own bed, hastily dressed and still tired, and had taken her away swiftly, then treated her with the utmost respect and kindness. But, it wasn't the pitying kindness she'd become used to; it was like….love….Her eyes snapped open and she clutched her chest, breathing hard. Love. After all these years of abuse and neglect, after all the shards of her heart had dulled and cracked, it was painful to feel the healing begin. Her body even felt better after the little time she'd been soaking, and catching sight of herself in the mirror, she was shocked to see the bruises snaking her body all but gone. The scars had faded into ghostly ribbons, and her internal hurts…she touched herself down there, and was astonished to find that she wasn't bleeding, nor was the tender skin infected or cracking.

"I'm…healed…I…" She stood quickly and dried herself off, then pulled on the clean robe, dashing out into the bedroom fast enough to catch Jareth as he finished setting the small table in the sunlight.

"Emily?"

"I…I don't know how you did it…but you healed me, Jareth!" She slammed into him with a fierce hug, drawing herself up enough to kiss him deeply. She grinned as his face took on a bemused look. "My scars, my bruises…even…the…r-rape….it's all healed and safe….thank you!" He smiled back and pulled her into another hug, cradling her against his body and sighing with a faint relief.

"It was the right thing to do…I can't do much for healing spells, but…that was one that I'd hoped would work quite well. I can see for myself that it did, and I'm thankful. Now, would you like to eat?" He motioned to all the human food set up in front of her, taking a plate of Fae food from the pile and picking up his fork. She sat, still excited, but she let her hunger take over. He took his time, asking little questions in between bites, patient always for her answers.

He asked for her favorite color; she told him through a mass of bacon that it was the crystalline blue of the midday sky. He asked about her favorite animals; she shyly told him about the little parrots that she had adored when she was a child, remembering their fluttering movements and laughing voices. He offered his own family life for her to see, and to compare with; he had two younger sisters, she was an only child. His parents were rulers of the Goblin Kingdom when he was a child, and so ignored him unless he got into trouble; hers had doted on their only daughter, teaching her all they knew. She was very shy about those questions, afraid of the memories they brought back. But sitting in the sunlight with Jareth, his warm eyes and gentle smile content with what little she was willing to give, made Emily open up a little more to this new character in her life.

She told him of the first days she'd spent at her uncle's home, only thirteen, and already broken in spirit. She told him of the neighbors who had given her a short-lived sanctuary when her uncle was ever more brutal, of the shop owners who gave her free food, clothing, shoes. She told Jareth of the endless pains stabbing through her thin body, often from infection or wounds inside her, where not even a doctor could go at times. He did not make her talk of these things, he didn't even mention them. But he listened, and for Emily, that was more than enough, for no one ever had before. He watched her with those unfathomable eyes, one pupil a pinpoint, the other like the vast night to come. Finally, she realized that the sun was setting, their food long gone cold. He noticed it too, and stretched, shaking out his blonde mane with a yawn.

"Well, my dear Emily…shall we get some sleep?" She yawned too, and realized with a blush that she wasn't really wearing much more than that robe, and Jareth only had a pair of silk pants under his. She bit her lip.

"Ah, yes…but…um…" He smiled, and held out a nightgown for her, freshly fetched from midair. She smiled, slipped into the bathroom to change, and then joined him in that enormous bed, fitting perfectly into the hollow his body made when it curved around her…

So…What's the verdict? I'm gonna work on four tonight, and you'll all get to see some tension when Emily's past rears it's ugly head. Jareth isn't let off the hook either; some old enemies will make an appearance.

Laters,


KD