Ok, my apologies because this one is a bit of a "boring" chapter- but it's giving motives and new perspectives that you don't see in the movie. More is in the works.

Shatteredheart: We'll have to see, wont we? And no, I will tell you that Olwyn is not planning on hurting Sarah- she's her only chance at salvation at this point, why would she want to mess that up?

Bookangel: Here's a bit more for you. :- )

Dreamlabyrinth: thank you as always for your kind words and support. I'm really excited about this story too, though I'm still hoping I can retell it correctly, and well

Alorindanya: "Oh no. I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means but...it must be done." Um.. I'm not sure I know what you mean. laughs Mind explaining so I can reply with more than a "wha..?"

Enjoy!

Andrea

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Chapter 4

Sarah flicked off the bedroom light and walked out into the hallway towards her bedroom. A few feet away from the door it dawned on her that the baby had stopped crying, and quite suddenly. She turned around and walked slowly back to the bedroom door.

"Toby?" She asked quietly, sounding a little scared. Lightning flashed outside and lit up her face. "Toby, are you all right?"

Panicking slightly from the lack of noise from his crib, she flicked the bedroom light on, but nothing happened, the storm must have knocked out the power. She flicked it several more times, then gave up. "Why aren't you crying?" Deep in her imagination she thought she knew, but she thought it was crazy.

A goblin laughed and stirred under the covers in the crib, then scuttled away in the darkness, unseen and unheard. Sarah kept walking slowly forward, reached her hand into the crib and grabbed the covers. Yanking them off, she gasped- the crib was empty. Lightning flashed again outside and she heard a scrabbling at the window.

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Olwyn flew up to the window, trying to see what was going on inside. Was she too late? She saw the empty bed and knew the goblins had already been here, had taken the baby. The girl jumped and saw her outside, and Olwyn saw that not all of the goblins had left yet- several were still inside the room or in the hallway, moving around and laughing.

Jareth had better get here soon, Olwyn thought, before one of the goblins decides it wants to play games with her. Though essentially harmless, goblins were incredibly stupid and loved to play tricks on each other- they often were injured, sometimes badly, while 'playing games.'

She beat against the window, rapping a tattoo out- "Don't you dare hurt her," she seemed to say. Clawing frantically at the door handle, she finally wiggled it enough to open. She flew inside, ignoring the gust of wind that followed her, while the girl covered her head.

Silly thing, I wouldn't harm you, she thought.

Flying past the girl, she circled the room, and flapped her wings at the goblins, making them hide again, making them stay put. She heard movement and felt a sudden influx of magic outside the window, and content the goblins would not move, flew back outside to wait and watch from the tree.

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Jareth appeared in the open doorway, rising up to his full height as the girl uncovered her face and looked up in shock. He was dressed all in black- his first plan, Olwyn knew, was to intimidate the girl- scare her away from her claim on her brother.

Sarah stared at him, eyes wide. "You're him, aren't you?" She finally managed. "You're the Goblin King." Jareth gave her a slight grin; 'in the flesh,' it seemed to say.

Sarah looked up at him, with tear-blurred eyes. "I want my brother back, please, if it's all the same."

Jareth crossed his arms across his chest and arched an eyebrow. "What's said is said," he told her, seriously.

"But I didn't mean it." she blurted, apparently shocked that he would not immediately bow to her requests. Didn't he love the girl in the story? And wasn't the girl in the story her?

"Oh, you didn't?" he sounded amused, as if that one fact made all the difference in the world.

"Please," Sarah pleaded, "where is he?"

Putting on an arrogant air, Jareth adjusted his gloves. "You know very well where he is," he told her, his tone of voice saying he had more important things to do than answer this silly girl's stupid questions.

"Please bring him back," she begged. "Please." He could hear her getting more desperate.

Deciding to give the intimidation one last try, Jareth walked closer to her, and made himself seem tall next to her. Made her seem unimportant next to a King.

"Sarah.. Go back to your room.. Play with your toys and your costumes.." he started softly in a gentle voice. "Forget about the baby." he ended with a firm tone that carried an undercurrent of threat.

Sarah looked at him, glancing from eye to eye, as she considered his words. "I can't."

Intimidation wasn't working on her, Jareth thought. Time to try something else.

"I've brought you a gift." he said, and formed a crystal on his fingertips. The girl eyed him suspiciously.

"What is it?" she asked, interested and curious, but not forgetting the issue at hand.

"It's a crystal," he started twirling it from hand to hand, "nothing more. But if you turn it this way.. and look into it.. it will show you your dreams.." His voice hardened again slightly. "But this is not a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby." He tried appealing to her ego, tried to make her feel special. After all, wasn't she the girl in the story that the Goblin King had fallen in love with?

Sarah watched the crystal intently, then looked at him, silent.

"Do you want it?" He held it out to her while she silently looked on. He knew she wanted to reach out and touch it.. Just to see a glimpse of her dreams, she'd give anything.

"Then forget the baby." He grinned slightly, knowing how badly she wanted it.

Wrenching her eyes from the crystal, Sarah finally looked up at him.

"I can't. It isn't that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but I want my brother back," she told him, and he thought she was trying to convince herself as well. "He must be so scared."

"Sarah," he said, growing slightly impatient. Would scaring her work? He held up his hand and the crystal suddenly changed to a red and black scaled snake. She held her ground, but looked at him. He uncurled it from his hand and held it out at it's full length.

"Don't defy me," he warned her, and tossed the snake at her neck.

Sarah gasped and wrestled to get it off her, and it fell to the floor, changing from a harmless handkerchief to a goblin once it landed. It laughed and scuttled away. Other goblins laughed from around the room, but when she turned around to face them they hid again.

"You're no match for me, Sarah," he told her, a touch of humor in his voice.

"But I have to have my brother back!"

Jareth tossed his head as if to say fine.

"He's there, in my castle," he told her, pointing out the bedroom window. "Do you still want to look for him?"

Sarah looked wearily at him, perhaps expecting another snake, and walked past him to the window. Instead of the neighbor's backyard and some trees, the window now overlooked a large, mazed hill, with a castle set on the peak, some distance away.

"Do you still want to look for him?" He asked her, already knowing her answer. He transported them both to the hilltop, simultaneously damning the ancient laws that were written regarding victim's rights during kidnapping trials. He had to give her the chance, if she wished. There was no way around it.

"Is that the castle beyond the Goblin City?" Sarah asked, turning again to face him.

"Turn back, Sarah.. Turn back before it's too late," he warned her.

"I can't. Don't you see that I can't?"

"What a pity," he said honestly.

Sarah turned and took in the land before her again. "It doesn't look that far."

"It's further than you think," Jareth said, now right behind her and uncomfortably close. "Time is short," his breath whispered across her neck. She looked out across the land.

Jareth pointed to a clock that seemed to be growing out of a nearby tree. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us.. Forever.." he faded out completely. "Such a pity."

Sarah looked around, and saw that he was really gone. She was alone on the hill.

"The labyrinth.." she eyed the land. "It doesn't look that hard.." she added bravely, partly in case he was still around, listening to her, but partly just to hear it herself.

"Well.. Come on, feet," she said, and started down the hill.

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Jareth reappeared in the throne room, and collapsed onto his throne. Conjuring up a crystal, he looked into it.

Ahhh.. Yes, the dwarf.

Jareth had set Sarah on the top of the hill in a direct path to where Hoggle would be waiting for her. Jareth had called him in earlier that morning and told him to stay there; he had a guest coming, and he was to delay her, lead her astray. Jareth did not want her getting to the center of the labyrinth, did Hoggle understand?

Once he was quickly assured that Hoggle did, Jareth had sent the little man off on his task.

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Please R&R.