Chapter10.

The stone face having spoken had thought the girl would move on, when she didn't he whispered in a quiet voice. "Move along."

"No." She said firmly crossing her harms over her bosom. "I'm not going anywhere."

The stone face frowned. "But you have to go forward." It railed at her.

Sarah looked at the face, "No, I know what's waiting for me… and I don't think I can go though this again."

"Giving up, eh? Makes you a bit of a coward doesn't it?" The face remarked with a smart-alecky tone.

Sarah was about to argue with the face when a crystal orb rolling on the ground hit her foot. She pushed it away, only to have it strike her foot harder. She pushed it again and was struck a third time. Reaching down she planned on picking it up and throwing it away. As her fingers almost touched it, the orb rolled swiftly away. "Oh all right! I'm coming." She followed the orb around the corner.

Jareth stood holding the disguise he'd worn the first time she'd traveled these tunnels. He held it out in disgust. "It's been months since I've worn this thing, you'd think Housekeeping would have come though and cleaned up this tunnel." He was muttering as she entered the open space he was standing in. He looked over at her and with disgust discarded the disguise over his shoulder. "Is this more of your doing?"

"I don't know." She snapped. She was trying very hard not to look anywhere but his eyes. She could feel the color rise in her cheeks and she wanted to die.

Jareth looked at her for a moment and began to advance on her backing her up against the wall. "Sarah, much as I like the games men and women play, I've a Kingdom to run as you've pointed out." He placed his arm on the wall and leaned over her, and began to leer at her. "If you are trying to get my attention, you've succeeded." He cleared his throat, "Was that shirt always so…revealing?"

Sarah looked down and groaned. "OH god, what the hell is happening?" She pulled the shirt that was now open to reveal her ample bosom. "So help me, Jareth if I find out you did this!"

"Me?" He feigned shock and innocents. "Don't look at me, Miss Williams, I'm the innocent bystander being dragged all over kingdom come." He looked down at her trying to cover her breasts. "I do thank you though for the very pleasant view."

"I don't remember saying anything about this tunnel…" She began to mutter. "I only told him I wished you'd kissed me…but I never told him about this tunnel."

"Who?" Jareth asked teasingly.

"Who what?" Sarah looked up at the face that haunted dreams she would never admit to.

"Who did you tell?" He leaned a bit closer. "Who have you been discussing me with?" He let his hand reach down to play with her hair. His voice was soft and enticing, and breathy. He looked like he was enjoying toying with her.

Sarah, more uncomfortable by the moment, hemmed and hawed. "Someone." She muttered.

"I gathered that," Jareth leaned even closer; his lips were now at her ear. "Who?"

"I'd rather not say." She cowered closer to the wall. "Do you have to stand so close?"

"No, I just prefer to." Jareth placed his gloved left hand under her chin, and with his thumb firmly under her chin forced her to look up at him. "Now, I expect you to answer me, little girl. Who did you tell about me?"

Sarah panicked, "This isn't happening!" She moaned.

Jareth's hand was now around her slender throat. "I assure you, little girl it is."

Sarah looked up at him. "I can't give you his name."

"Why not you gave mine to him." Jareth breathed harshly.

"I know your name…." Sarah began and put her hands up to cover her face.

"You gave my name to a stranger?" He looked closer at her, "No…what was it you said before… you spoke my name at an inopportune moment." His thumb went back to her chin and forced her face up. "Does this person go by a title perhaps?" Sarah nodded. "And that would be?"

"Master." She whispered. "He is called The Master."

Jareth blinked and shook his head in surprise. "Sarah, what kinds of games are you playing now? A nice little girl like you, playing with people calling themselves Master? Are you into whips and chains now as well? I do own a riding crop…"

"Please don't." She moaned. "Don't preach." Her hands dropped down to her side and she looked at him with grief stricken eyes. Her lower lip trembled as she felt the dry sob escape her lips.

Jareth felt his jaw tighten, his hand at her throat began to move down to her shoulder just under the now open poet shirt. "I wouldn't dream of it." He said in an unsteady voice. "But tell me, what did our encounter here in this tunnel have to do with the conversation you had with this man, this Master?"

"I don't know." She said truthfully. "He asked who you were…I told him you had offered me my dreams…and I turned you down…"

"Yes, you did." Jareth whispered. "What else did you say to this stranger?"

"I don't know….I was thinking about when I first met you… and then here in the tunnel how you looked at me, with those owlish eyes, like you could devour me…and I remember thinking how wonderful…" She stopped abruptly.

"How wonderful?" he pressed her to answer.

"How wonderful being embraced by you must be." She closed her eyes not want to see him laugh at her. "This is all a terrible dream and it's all in my head. I want to wake up now!"

"More like a living nightmare," He said at her ear and pinched her shoulder. When she yelped he said. "This is no dream. Or at least no dream I have ever had."

"I thought when you kissed me, it would be over." She stomped her foot. "This is some kind of spell because I said I wish, isn't it."

Jareth nodded. "Yes, it is." He pulled back and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Yes, it is." He walked toward the wall he'd been sitting against the first time she'd journeyed here. Jareth sat down and began to ponder.

Sarah looked at him, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking you're a very dangerous little girl." He said looking at her over his hand at his mouth. "I'm thinking I should never have been so impulsive as to have given you powers. I'm thinking that this is one conundrum."

"You can't stop this, what ever it is; can you?" She felt miserable.

"It's not my spell." He pointed out. "It's yours."

"Well I want it to stop." She blurted out bluntly.

Jareth smiled at her gently, as one smiles at a child. "Magic doesn't work that way, dear child. You've set something in motion… for reasons I can not fathom…and your mind is forcing you to relive your journey here…with some minor but rather interesting changes."

"Changes?" She placed her hands on her hips. "What kind of changes?"

"Your garments for one thing." Jareth pointed to the revealing shirt. "Your mode of dress was much more…discreet."

Sarah looked down and placed a modest hand to her bosom. "Ok, you have me there."

"Yes, it seems I do." Jareth smirked. "In your parent's room, you wanted me to sweep you off your feet and kiss you, or am I mistaken?"

"No." she said shyly. "You're not."

"Interesting," he muttered. "Here in this tunnel we were distracted by our little dwarf friend who seems to be missing from the mix this time around."

"So what does that mean?" Sarah asked quietly.

"It means you want something more than just a kiss, something you didn't want witnessed by your little friend." He said pointing a gloved finger at her. "You hussy you."

Sarah held up a hand, "Oh just stand up and take me in your arms and let's get this over with."

Jareth stood up, "Yes, I think I shall." He moved to where she stood. His right hand went to her hair and knotted in the long strands. His left hand went to her waist, drawing her body against his. He heard the gasp escape her as the heat of his body was sensed by the girl. "This is what you wanted, Sarah?" He asked, his hand moved up her side from the narrow waist, and his hand cupped over her breast. "Is it?"

Sarah looked up and moaned. "Yes." Jareth's face began to move down toward her uplifted face and lips. That's when the world fell way again. Sarah screamed in frustration. "No! Not now…"

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Sarah felt the sensation of flight; she looked and found herself in the entry of the crystal ballroom. She could hear the music and the laughter just beyond the doors. She looked down at the gown, it was the same and yet not the same. It was if anything more form fitting. There was a long mirror just before the entry to the ballroom, and she paused as she had that first time to look at herself. She was different, and the mirror revealed those differences.

Sarah looked at the doors as they began to part, opening on their own to allow entry to the room full of men and women dancing and romancing. She heard the same whispers that had disturbed her so much before. This time she ignored them, moving with grace and purpose. What they thought of her was not important, it never was.

Jareth stood on the platform, his mask held in his hand. He lowered it from his face as his eyes met hers. Then he vanished. Sarah nodded; she was going to have to relive the entire game of cat and mouse, for some reason. She began to retrace her steps of that first visit. She caught glimpse of the elusive Goblin King, only to lose him in the crowd once again. She looked past the dancers and the lewd men. She looked past the women dressed in gowns far more revealing but no where near as alluring. She looked up to see the man standing between two women who were fawning over him. He disentangled himself, with a graceful sweep he took her into his arms and began to sing to her.

Sarah watched his face as he sang and swept her though the romantic dance. When he stopped singing there were crowds of dancers gathered round them, a clock somewhere began to chime. Sarah looked up at him. "I didn't want to leave."

"Then why did you?" He asked still holding her and leading her in the dance to music that still played. The crowd vanished, and the clock stilled.

"Because of Toby… I had no right to do what I did to him. I had to save him." She whispered lamenting.

The hand at her back pulled her closer, more intimately. "Did you even understand what I was trying to convey?"

"No…." She admitted.

"Did you hear the words I sang?" He asked gently.

"I heard them, but didn't understand…not then." She hung her head.

Jareth stopped dancing, the music played on. "And now, little girl, do you understand now?"

"Some…" she could not look at him. "I don't understand why I'm being made to relieve this all…Are you even real?"

"As real as you are," he said softly. "As real as you."

"I always dreamed of a handsome foreign prince…or king…someone who saw me for who I am… who would sweep me off my feet…" She leaned forward, resting her head on his chest. "And when I had him, had the ball and the gown, I run and leave…At the stroke of twelve. Talk about dysfunctional fairytales."

"You shattered more than this ballroom." He said with pain.

"I never meant to hurt you." She looked up at him, tears shinning in her eyes. "You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And you were dancing with me, singing a lovely song…and then…"

"Then what?" he beseeched her to answer.

Sarah turned and waved about the room. "All those dancers, gathering round us, were laughing at me."

Jareth felt his mouth drop. "You panicked because of the crowd?" He moaned. "I'm a fool."

Sarah looked at him, "No, I'm the fool." She placed her hands behind her back. "I was too young to understand… someone told me recently that I'm young, even for my age. I hate admitting it, but he's right."

"I never meant you to feel self conscious," Jareth said placing his hands at her waist. "I wanted you to feel…desire."

"The problem was I was conflicted with my desires. I wanted you…god how I wanted you…but I wanted to rescue Toby as well." She sighed.

"You wanted me?" He questioned.

Sarah nodded. "I wanted you." The admission set the room spinning, his hands were torn from her and she closed her eyes.

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Sarah stood in the room of stairs, once more in jeans and her shirt. Missing this time was her shoes. She looked down at her bare feet and wondered what deep cryptic meaning could be attached to this.

"How you've turned my world, you precious thing." He said entering the room from an archway.

"Turned your world? What about what you've done to mine!" She howled at him. "Have you any idea of what you've done to me, Goblin King?"

The man in the dark garments halted his movements, and glared at her. "Not everything is about you, little girl."

"Well this little journey down memory lane seems to be about me!" She walked over to a set of stairs and sat down. "I don't want to relive anymore of this. I want to go home."

"I want to go home, I want to go home." He repeated mockingly. "And what good will that do? What will you have learned?"

Sarah looked up at him, "Learned?"

Jareth sighed. "I think I've figured this spell you cast out."

"I didn't cast a spell!" She shouted. "All I said was I had wished…Oh forget it."

The Goblin King moved closer. "Sarah Williams, you'd better listen to me." He warned. "We are trapped here, you and I, in this labyrinth within your mind."

"Labyrinth within my mind." She repeated in a mocking tone.

"Listen to me," He pleaded. "We are trapped within your mind until you face your desires." He pointed at her. "This is your doing!"

"Face my desires?" She growled. "I've done that!"

"You obviously have not." He snapped back.

"I wanted you to kiss me, to hold me.." she said franticly. "I face it! I wanted you…I wanted you."

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah." He said sadly. "Until you face your deepest desires this will not end."

Sarah looked past him, to the spot where she'd taken a leap of faith. "Want to bet?" She dashed past him and jumped over the edge, just as she had when she rescued her brother. She began to fall; only this time she was barefooted and covered in a long gauzy flowing gown. The fact that she was naked under it was unmistakably visible. She landed on the cold stones of what was left of the Escher like room. There was a breeze; it blew the gauze against her skin.

"We end this now." She said firmly.

Jareth in the white owl cape and pale garments came out of an archway; his face was long and drawn. He looked wounded, unhappy and in anguish. "Do you really think you can end this?"

"Though dangers untold and hardships unnumbered…" she began to speak.

"Oh yes, say the words…little girl." He taunted.

"I'm not a little girl!" she announced harshly. "Because of you I'm not a little girl anymore."

Jareth looked down at her; the fabric covering her only seemed to make her maturing body even more desirable. "I offered you your dreams, what do you offer me?" He moved closer, his hand stroked her cheek. "What do you offer me?"

"I couldn't….I had to save the baby…" she began to make excuses.

"There is no baby…not this time, Sarah…Don't you understand even now?" He breathed deeply. "This is about your desires."

She could feel the heat of his body, so close but not nearly close enough. "What..."

"The Labyrinth is using your mind…trapping us…" Jareth breathed her in. "Oh little girl, set me free." He begged.

"The Labyrinth…" She blinked, "I beat the Labyrinth…I won Toby back…This can't be happening…"

"Silly little girl," he teased easily. "No one beats the Labyrinth…even if you reach the center…."

"You'll never get out…" Sarah finished. Hoggle had warned her of that when she began her journey. "How….how could it use my mind?"

"You're part of it now, little girl." The Goblin King placed his hand to her throat. "You are part of the Labyrinth, and my subject."

"NO." She pulled back. "I beat you; I beat you and the Labyrinth."

"Did you?" He asked looking down at her with lustful eyes. "Poor little girl." He crooned.

Sarah stopped. "I am not a little girl!"

"Prove it." He challenged. "Prove it."

Sarah moved forward, grabbed on to his open shirt ruffles. She yanked him closer to her, as her lips moved up to seek his. His arms captured her, held her close as his lips crushed hers. His mouth forced hers to part; his tongue found free passage into the deep warm cavern of her mouth. He growled as he hard-pressed her down to the broken stones beneath them. He ripped the fabric covering her away; he tore off the satin gloves covering his hands. Hungrily he kept kissing her. His hands moved over her like the waves of the ocean crashing on a beach. Her body reacted to his touch with ferocity, her hands knotted in the long hair at his neckline. The cape covering them fluttered in the wind like feathers on a wing. He pressed his knee to hers. "Open to me, witch!"

Sarah felt his hardness pressing against her then his heat was within her. "Jareth…" She moaned his name as his mouth took hers again. "OH Jareth."

He buried himself in her, "You are part of the Labyrinth, part of me…"

"How long? For how long?" She moaned into his mouth.

"Forever." He clung to her, shuddering as he brought them both to an explosive end. He looked at her, as he emptied into her. "You belong to me."

"Yes…" She closed her eyes and accepted what she had to force behind her before. "You…have….power…over …me."

"Yes, Sarah…I do…" He empted the last of his seed deeply into her.

"Jareth," she whispered with eyes closed, one tear at the corner of her eye. "Forgive me…"

He lowered his face to hers, caressed her cheek with his, moving his lips to her ear. "Never." He whispered in a long drawn out sigh. "Never."

In a dark explosion, the world fell away.