Chapter Seven: Everything In the Open, Well, Almost

Sarah slammed open the door to Labyrinth Volumes with unprecedented anger rushing through her veins. Her eyes landed on the well presented Jareth and her fury flashed dangerously in her eyes. He smiled at her as she stormed toward him. "Sarah, it's wonderful to see yo-"

"Cut the crap Jareth! I know who you are." She snapped as the Goblin King paled, finally recognising the fire in her. "And I want to know what the hell this," she dropped her bag onto his counter and viciously pulled it open, "was this doing on my pillow!"

He stared in utter shock as the small dark green and slightly chubby goblin popped its head out of her bag. For one awful moment she thought she could be wrong. That his name and his appearance and even the art work in his store were just a bizarre and overly elaborate coincidence. Then relief washed through her, dulling her anger slightly as his shoulders slumped at the sight before him.

"How on in the name of magic did you get into the Upperground?" He asked calmly, sounding tired and exasperated. The goblin cocked its head at the King before jumping out of her bag, wagging it's lion like tail.

"I don't know Sire," it answered in a shrill voice that could be either male or female. "I just heard screaming, woke up and saw the pretty lady staring at me. She was veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery upset." Then after a slight pause it added. "Mayhaps it was cause she wasn't wearing much." A smirk curved his lips as Jareth elegantly arched an eyebrow in plain amusement.

"Well, that certainly makes for an intriguing mental image." Sarah simply scowled at him. "The Underground is through that door," he told it, gesturing to what looked like the door to the stock room. Then, when the goblin didn't move he added, "Well, what are waiting for? Get back to your own realm!"

The goblin gave a panicked squeak and tumbled from the counter. Then it noisily scrambled to the door and dived at the handle, somehow managing to open it and dash through, slamming the door behind it. Sarah stared after it in a state of numb shock. So Jareth hadn't been behind that thing being on her pillow this morning? Oh, brilliant. Now she felt like crap for being so angry at him.

"They're stronger and more intelligent than they look you know?"

"Hmm? What?" She murmured, still a little lost in her own thoughts.

"The Goblins," he replied as he leaned on the wooden counter, watching her with an odd spark to his mismatched eyes. "They're stronger and more intelligent than they look and act. They can even use magic, usually to disastrous results, but they can still do it." Then he pushed himself away from the desk and strode around to the other side next to Sarah as he spoke. "They are not however powerful enough to move between worlds in their sleep. Most of them can't even do it when awake and all of them require my permission to do so." Then he was looking down at her through the lenses of his glasses with a considering gaze. "The barrier is worse than I thought; I believe I have a lot of explaining to do. When do you have to be at work?"

"At five," she answered timidly. Suddenly she was utterly aware that she had missed several important events.

"Well, it's ten now so if you come to the Underground I'll have . . ." he frowned in concentration. "I hate working this out. Erm . . . over thirty hours to explain. I dare say that's long enough since it's almost a day. I'll just close the shop."

Now she was confused. What did some barrier have to do with her? And what could possibly take so long to explain? Before she even had time to really think about it, Jareth was behind her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I suggest we go into my realm now, because what you are about to hear is going to turn your world upside down." His voice was a whisper and she found herself feeling more nervous about listening to that voice and what it had to say than she had been about trying to rescue her baby brother.

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Jareth watched her with concern as she sat on a high backed armchair in his study, numbly staring into her half empty tea cup with a frown. He could understand why. She was in shock. Slowly she shook her head and looked at him with pleading eyes. As if to beg him to say that this was just a cruel joke on his part. That all of it was a lie. Unfortunately it was not. He had told her everything with one exception. He had told her that her life was in danger, that she was a descendant of a powerful royal family, that being in the Labyrinth had triggered her magic and saved her life in the car crash that killed her family, that it was illegal for him to take her into his kingdom permanently, that if she and the other descendants were to die a war that was beyond imagination would sweep through both realms. But he did not tell her about his condition. She needed to feel like she was safe in his company and if she knew that he could become a savage animal safe certainly was not the way she would feel.

"What else?" She asked her voice oddly hollow. "What else will happen if this barrier thing crumbles?" He gave a heavy sigh before answering.

"It has already started as your little friend proved this morning. Moving between the worlds used to be so easy that even those without magic could do it," he explained softly. "But since very few people and creatures remember how to do so they will probably slip into a different realm completely by accident. A merger could even happen since I'm the only monarch that remembers how to push your world away and pull my world back to itself."

"A merger?" she was getting more timid, it was there in her voice and her posture. He could not blame her for it. She had every right to be scared.

"Yes, it's were one world sort of mixes with another. It would be our two worlds simply because of how close they once were, still are really. It isn't permanent at first, but if it isn't repaired within a few days it can become so." She blinked and shook her head, seeming to shrink with his words. "It's happened quite a few times before, but there had always been every royal family to put it right again, to separate the two worlds. But unfortunately I'm no where near powerful enough to right it on my own. I'm powerful, yes, but the Underworld is huge and more than seven Kingdoms would most likely kill me. There is something like seven hundred and fifty nine Kingdoms by the way."

"If," her frown deepened and her hands were trembling slightly. "If this barrier is so weak, then why haven't these Angels from the Aboveground come through already?"

"The Sylph, the people you are descended from, created the barrier so that as long as it stood, no matter how weak, it would never let them through. The one that is in the Upperground must have been there since the War, waiting to receive the order to attack," he answered softly.

"Receive orders?"

"We're telepathic-"

He dashed forward with a warrior's reflexes and snatched her falling cup before a drop spilled. She was staring at him with confused fear in her eyes, her mouth trembling as she tried to form coherent sound. What had he done to provoke this reaction in her?

"We?" she asked shakily. Oh damn. No wonder her eyes were wide. His shoulders slumped as he realised he would have to tell her how he had become the Goblin King.

"Come out into the Labyrinth and I'll explain, but I need you to promise me that you will let me protect you, no matter what I say or what I show you." She turned her head away, taking deep shuddering breaths through her nose. So he gently turned her head back to face him with a careful finger under her chin "Sarah, promise me. Please." Her eyes were still wide with a multitude of emotions that all battled for supremacy, and none of them were pleasant. "Please." A single tear trickled from her right greenish grey eye and he tenderly wiped it away. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut harshly as she took a deep haggard breath before giving one nod, obviously not trusting her voice.

The King set her tea cup down beside the chair for some domestic goblin to tidy away and took her hands in his. Then he tenderly pulled her to her feet as his eyes roamed her numbly frightened features with concern. He only hoped that the moon would help to lessen the blow of what he had already told her and of what he still had to say. She followed him obediently. Which was wrong on many levels.

She should have yanked her hands out of his. She should have started shouting at him. She should have stormed off to try and find her way out of the Underground.

Instead she let him gently guide her through his castle, pulling her along, holding her hands. She did not even gaze around in awe as they passed through some the grandest parts of his castle as she would have done before he had spoken to her. It wrenched at his heart to think that he had done this to her. She was frowning all the way, but her eyes were oddly vacant. Only sparking to slight life when they reached the balcony that over looked the more inspiring part of his Labyrinth.

Sarah was stunning in the moon light, as the soft luminescence it granted the world tried to lift their spirits. But they were beyond the moons aid for now. He could see the Sylph in her now, as her skin glowed pale ivory blue, reacting with the silvery light, and her hair shimmered like a flowing river. But overhead was a more obvious indication of her heritage.

Thick grey clouds swirled in the sky, gradually blocking out the shining green stars. She could nature weave already? And subconsciously? She would be powerful and skilled if she got the chance to develop. But now was not the time to think of such things. Now was the time to explain his past.

"How do you think I came to be the Goblin King?" Jareth asked softly as he watched her walk further out onto the large, flag stoned balcony. It took her a minute or so to answer as she gazed at the potted plants and ivy climbing across the ornamental waist high ledge.

"I guess your parents were the previous rulers." Her voice was dull, but he could hear the worn out fear in it.

"Not quite. My sister and I were wished away when we were seven," she turned to look at him, eyes wide with shock as lighting forked in the distance, throwing a rumble of thunder towards them. "Only our mother did not bother looking for us. She did not even glance at the Labyrinth, and then it was easy to navigate, I've added to it since then. Out of boredom mainly."

"But, if you were wished away. . ." she was confused now.

"Shouldn't I be a Goblin?" He chuckled slightly. "The children that don't get sent back are adopted and cared for by a family that can't conceive. They only turn into Goblins if a Goblin adopts them, which is not allowed to happen because the transformation would be too painful. Vampires usually get them." She frowned, still confused. Then he realised that he was still in the Goblin Kingdom and had not told her how he managed to look human. "The King at the time had lost his wife many years before we were wished away, she died in child birth and their baby did not survive. He refused to take another wife simply because he still loved the previous Queen, so he adopted two abused Angels when they were shunned by their family." Rain started to fall, it was light and sparse, but there was enough to let him know that Sarah was fighting back tears herself. "We still have our wings, but we have to call them out. Would you like to see?" He offered politely in the hopes of lifting her mood.

"If- if you don't mind," she replied sheepishly. He smiled at her, thankful he was still wearing mortal clothes.

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Sarah felt her face heat up as Jareth took hold of his fitting black jumper and smoothly pulled it off. Idiot! Of course he would have to take his top off to get his wings out! Why hadn't she realised?! And another thi-oh my God. She tried not to look, she really did, but she could not help it.

She shyly bit her lip as Jareth dropped his jumper carelessly on the floor, giving her the full view of his very well toned chest. His build seem to cry out warrior to her. His skin was pale, and looked smooth, making her blush at the thought of running her hands over his broad shoulders to see if his skin really felt as soft as his hand were. He rolled his shoulders back twice then turned his back to her.

"Stand back, I don't want to accidentally hit you when I call them out." She nodded, even though she knew he could not see, and backed away to the other side of the large balcony.

Jareth bowed his head slightly as she watched. He seemed to be concentrating, but she could not tell since she could not see he face. She could however admire the symmetry of his well defined muscular back. And admire it she did. Forgetting for a little while about the whirlwind of confusion and fear that had smashed into her life.

Then his fists clenched. He tensed, stiff as a board. His skin was pushed at from within. It moved as though something was trying to push through it. Like an explosion wings flared form his back. They stretched out elegantly, from just below his shoulder blades. The site was breath taking. No matter how much Jareth told her that real Angels, the Angels of flesh and blood, were evil and would kill not just for pleasure but out of boredom, part of her would always associate Angels with guidance and kindness.

And an Angel was exactly what he looked like. His wings were pure white as they slowly moved into a more relaxed pose, gently arched and comfortably close to his bare torso. They were enormous. His wing span must be huge, at least twice his height. The feathers were long and looked delicate, but at the same time his wings seemed so strong. Her mind was almost numb at the sight of them and she approached without fear, without thinking. Her brain only started to function again when she realised that her hand was reaching out to touch the feathers of his gorgeous wings. She pulled back a little, but the impulse was still there.

"Do you mind?" she asked timidly, blushing deeply as the mist like rain cooled her skin. He turned his head to try and look at her, to see what she was asking; his fine blond hair and pale skin making him seem all the more Angelic. He smiled slightly at her outstretched hand and gave a slight nod, letting her know that it was okay.

Hesitantly and biting her lower lip she lay her hands on the downy feathered shoulders of his wings. He flinched at the touch. "Sorry," she said, hastily removing her hands.

"It's okay. It's just because I'm not used to anyone touching them. Go ahead, really, I don't mind." She bit down on her lip again, harder this time as she shyly reached out with her hands again. Again he flinched, but she didn't take her hands away. The feathers felt impossibly soft as she slowly ran her hands along his silky wings and he moved them slightly to make her caress easier. His head was bowed again, but she could not fathom why. Beautiful had never seemed the right word to describe a man before, but now she could think of no other. The way the moon light fell across his wings, the pallor of his skin, his golden blond hair. He was beautiful. It was as simple as that.

Then a single thought destroyed her revere.

If I see anyone else with wings like this, it will most likely be the last thing I ever see.

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Jareth clenched his fists. It was all he could do to stop himself from grabbing the woman behind him and pressing his lips to hers, holding her and never letting her go. He had seen the way she had looked at him when he took his shirt off. He had seen her blush. She had not been the first to give that reaction, but it was the first time he had felt anything other than smug satisfaction for that particular effect.

How could she not realise how she was affecting him? He stared at the floor, concentrating on breathing as Sarah gently ran her hands over his wings. It was the most sensual thing he had ever felt. It was taking all the will power he had just to keep breathing normally and not pin Sarah to the wall.

Then she stopped.

Her hands were still there. He could feel them pressed against his wings, not far from their shoulders. They just weren't moving. The rain started to get heavier. Instead of a fine mist it became definable drops. Her hands fell away. The clouds overhead started to become denser. He folded his wings and slowly turned to face her. "Sarah?" He asked with gentle worry.

She looked to him with terrified eyes, tears trickling down her pale cheeks. Her breath was halting. And the sight broke his war hardened heart.

"I'm not strong enough," she mumbled pitifully. Where was the stubborn girl who had defeated him? "I'm not strong enough to stay alive."

"Sarah. You are strong enough to do anything. You just have to want it enough." Her tears fell fast, the rain became colder.

"I can't, I just can't." She looked so weak, so defenceless. He did not know what to do. But the rain was coming thicker and fast by the second. So he did the only thing he really could.

Timidly he pulled her into his arms as heavy rain lashed against the landscape and black clouds flooded the night sky. He held her to his chest as her quiet sobs became loud and violent. Whispering soft words to her he moved one wing around them both, to block their sides from the rain, and with the other her covered their heads, glad that his feathers were water proof. The position was unnatural and uncomfortable, but it could not be helped.

So they stood, the rain drumming heavily against their cocoon of feathers as Sarah poured out her sorrow and confusion, tightly held to the Goblin Kings cold and bare chest.