Disclaimer: The Labyrinth and all its characters are the wonderful creation of Jim Henson and Co. I own nothing (except my beloved DVD and some kick-ass pics of Jareth!!)

A/N: This chapter kind of ran away from me. I hope the changing POV's aren't too annoying, but this was the way the characters wanted to tell it. At this point, I'm still fleshing out characters and setting up plots. We get more Hoggle, some Didymus, and lots more S/J angst. I suppose I should warn you that while I am 100% a HEA kinda girl, I love long, slow-burn kind of journeys. Thanks to all who continue to read and review!! Longest chapter yet!

Chapter 5

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Sarah's POV

We'd barely moved beyond the hedge portion of the Labyrinth when I saw her. Still wearing tank top pajamas and no shoes, she clearly did not belong to the Underground. The girl couldn't have been much older than I was when I'd visited before. She sat crumpled in a ball against a tree at the edge of the same forest where I'd encountered those horrible Fiery creature-things. Lines of tears were dried on her cheeks and her legs and bare feet were covered in bloody scratches. Apparently, her trial was not going well. My anger flared in sympathy. He could've at least allowed her to put on a damn pair of shoes!

I turned to warn Hoggle to approach carefully, but realized with annoyance that he had disappeared. He had a terrible habit of doing that. I sighed and faced back towards the terrified girl. "Hi, I'm Sarah…you look like you could use some help," I approached her cautiously with my palms open and flat.

She actually flinched away from me, not that I could blame her. "Get away from me!" She shrieked while scrubbing her hands over her bare arms like she was covered in ants or something.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you, I promise," my voice soothed.

"Have you come to laugh at me too?" She was nearly maniacal. She stood suddenly and offered me her wrists. "Here. Just get it over with. I can't take it anymore!" Wild sobs escaped her.

Just what the hell had he done to her? "You misunderstand me; I want to help, I know what you're going through. It'll be alright, we'll get the baby back, I promise."

"No! I don't want that horrible creature back, ever! I just want to go home. Why won't you let me go home?" Her frantic eyes implored me. She looked about two steps away from a complete mental breakdown. I knew the Labyrinth could be impossibly frustrating, but it hadn't ever made me look or feel like she apparently did.

"How long have you been in here?" My eyes scanned her form again. She was trembling and looked as though she might pass out at any second. I peeled the extra shirt I was wearing over my head and held it out to her, leaving me in a simple white tank top. Thank goodness it seemed to be summer in the Underground. She stared at me for several minutes before snatching it from my hand and putting it on.

"I don't know. He just dropped me at the gate and said I had thirteen hours or --"

"Or the baby became a goblin, right?" I finished.

Her entire expression changed. Now she seemed to be regarding me. "N-no, I don't care what happens to it, I just want to go home. He said he'd make me a goblin if I didn't figure this out! I-I'm only eighteen, I have my whole l-life ahead of me, th-this can't be happening," she began to wail inconsolably again.

My reaction was torn in two different directions. "You don't want…wait, what? A goblin? But you're the wisher!" Something was not making any sense about this situation. Apparently my confusion was too much for the girl. She began inching her way further into the woods with the distinct impression that she was going to bolt the first chance she got. I reached out a hand, "No! Don't go that way! There're these things that will try to take your head…"

Just then, a flash of white fur tore past from an opening in the trees, followed closely by a tiny, but obviously very annoyed, fox creature in a blue hat, waving a red rapier furiously in the air. "Ambrosious, get back here! Some loyal steed you are!"

He stopped abruptly as he noticed he was not alone in the clearing, though his attention was entirely directed at the frantic girl before me. She shrieked again at the sight of him. If I wasn't so surprised, I'd have probably laughed. Ambrosious, the shaggy white dog, cowered between my legs as my old friend advanced on the girl with righteous indignation. "Ah, even in thy haste, thou cannot outrun Sir Didymus! I challenge thee to a duel, for none may pass without my permission!" His beady right eye flashed excitedly, the left obscured by an eye patch.

"Sir Didymus?" I asked in disbelief. Ambrosious whimpered softly and rubbed at his face with a paw.

The little knight's head jerked sharply at the sound of my voice. His entire posture changed. "My lady! What bringeth thou to this unfortunate scene?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but unfortunately, the girl chose that moment to start her high-pitched screaming again. She reached down and grabbed a smooth stone. Her hand reeled back in preparation to throw it, but the stone suddenly vanished.

"Shit. This is not going to be good." I didn't need to turn around to know who was standing behind me.

Jareth's POV

The throne room was nearly in chaos when I finally descended from my chambers. I knew the dwarf would take his time leading her back to the castle – he was too fond of her for his own good – but immediate preparations needed to be made nonetheless. The ornamentations needed to be stripped, the goblins briefed, as well as they could be, and the babe had to be dealt with. It was not even noon and this had already proven to be an excruciatingly trying day.

"Your Majesty, I believe I have located a suitable family for the human child," Aetia's soft voice greeted my presence.

I strode through the crowd of goblins, not caring that a few needed to be forcefully removed from my path, and sank into my throne. "That is excellent news, Aetia. How soon will they be ready to receive him?"

She frowned slightly, turning her face to the bundle in her arms. "Not until the dusk, Sire. Though, you needn't worry; I will care for the babe until then."

I smiled tenderly. Aetia had been the only blessing in my six years of waiting. Her everlasting patience and goodwill had been the necessary balance to my anxious brooding. "I could always summon Raelle," I spoke off-handedly.

Aetia grinned impishly. "I'm sure she is quite distracted at the moment, Your Majesty."

I chuckled and flashed my own grin, thankful for these few moments reprieve from the disaster surrounding me. Naturally, the peace could not last.

The door to the throne room crashed open with a resounding bang. A half-dozen chickens squawked in outrage sending a cascade of feathers into the air and a whirlwind of goblins chasing after them. My eyes narrowed at the panicky creature standing before me.

"Well, if it isn't you. What's wrong Higgson?"

"It's Hoggle," he mumbled, wringing his hands back and forth. "Pardon me, yer Majesty…but, I think we's got a problem."

"Oh? And what might that be? Hmm? Don't tell me you've lost the girl." I turned my wrist to gaze into a crystal.

"Uh…er, well, no. But she's sort of found sumthin' she wasn't s'posed to..."

I cut him off as I viewed Sarah standing over the wretched mother in the Labyrinth.

My glare was nearly murderous as I turned my attention back to the dwarf in front of me. Remembering how fond Sarah was of him, it took all of my self-control to stay seated as I spoke, "I gave you one simple directive; return the girl to me, unseen, by the quickest route possible. And what do you do? I warned you last time that I would not be so forgiving if you were to defy me again, Hogsbreath. I'm not sure even Sarah can save you this time."

"I….I t-tried to talk her out of it! I swear I did! He tripped over his own feet as he shuffled away from me.

I grabbed the dwarf around the collar and transported us both to the edge of the Dark Forest. The scene awaiting us might have been comical if not for the possible implications which could result from it. Sarah stood several paces in front of me, her legs and arms bare to the point of distraction. A large mutt cringed between her ankles. Beyond them, the wisher was facing down one of my smallest guards. Snarling, he held a rapier pointed in her direction with all the might he could probably muster. She in turn, held a large pebble in her palm, clearly readying her own attack.

With a silent missive, the stone disappeared. I noticed sadly that Sarah's back stiffened before she turned slowly to face me.

"It's about time you showed your face again!" She snapped.

"Ah precious, I have missed you too," I teased, though I felt certain she'd be able to tell my heart wasn't in it.

Sarah's eyes moved over my figure, eliciting a rather pleasant burn throughout me, before settling on the dwarf crouching at my knee. "So that's where you disappeared to. I'm really quite disappointed in you, Hoggle."

The dwarf groaned pitifully.

"Your Highness," the fox knight bowed dramatically with a sweep of his hat. "I found this human girl attempting to cross through the Dark Forest without Thee's permission. Naturally, I thought it best to detain her after such a violation."

"You can't be serious…" Sarah's voice held acidic amounts of exasperation. I lifted my gaze to see her rolling her eyes.

"Does the display of proper respect distress you so, Sarah?"

"What have you done to them? It's like they're brain-washed or--"

Her words were cut short by the war-cry of the hedonistic girl behind her. With a shriek that could challenge a Banshee, she darted across the open space, hands raised in front of her, with the obvious intent to strike me. I simply side-stepped her advance and opened a portal for her to fall into.

Stunned silence rang through the glade. I watched cautiously as Sarah looked back and forth from where the girl had stood to the empty space by my heels. Slowly, her eyes found mine. I wanted to shrink from the accusations flooding them.

"Where did she go?" She asked with frightening calmness.

"To the beginning of the Labyrinth. She clearly has not learned her lesson."

"You'll condemn her simply for daring to stand up to you?" She snorted. "Yeah, I guess you aren't taking any chances with that anymore."

With the flash of a crystal, I froze time. The wide-eyed surprise of the insolent dwarf and the effervescent posturing of the knight and his steed stilled unnaturally. Sarah gasped in shock, before narrowing her eyes with outrage. My own anger had bubbled to the surface so swiftly that stars flashed in my vision. I closed the distance between us and grabbed her flush against me. "You know nothing of what you speak!" I hissed.

"Get your hands off me!" She spat.

She lifted her palms and pushed roughly against my chest. I let her step back a few paces before grasping her wrists between my palms. "Careful, Sarah. I have warned you that I can be cruel."

"So I've noticed!" Tears were beginning to shine in her jade-like eyes. Her gaze challenged mine before she turned her head away. An enormity of emotions hung between us, but neither of us spoke. The anger softened, and twisted into a tension entirely different. I was suddenly very aware of the softness of her flesh beneath my fingers and the heated flush spreading over her porcelain cheeks. Carefully, I released her arms and turned away.

When she spoke again, her voice had returned to a careful, logical tone; "You have to stop this. You have to send her home. She may have wished for horrible things, but she got her punishment. She might not realize it now, but one day she'll have to live with the choice that she made and it will eat her alive with guilt."

How very wrong she was. Could she still not realize how quickly memories of the Underground faded once mortals returned to their non-magical existence?

"You judge me so harshly for my supposed crime without knowing the situation?" I implored her sense of fairness. Despite the charm of her childhood fantasies, I was not willing to be portrayed as the villain without due cause.

"Don't I? I seem to recall making a stupid mistake like this once myself. But at least I was given a chance to fix my error."

"Tell me then, my dear Sarah, what would you have had me do? Hmm? A young mother - so incompetent and resentful in her duties as a parent that she couldn't be bothered to feed or groom her child, nearly killing it in the process - screams her hatred for the boy and happily offers it away to become a goblin so that she can go back to her life of mindless fun?" I stepped closer to her. "What would you have done?" I repeated softly.

She swallowed thickly and a mix of doubt and disgust crossed her expression. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Come, come, come, Sarah. You can do better than that." I drawled.

"She's so young…"

"And that excuses her actions? Or is it that you refuse to see me as anything but a monster."

She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it before any words released. Her eyes drifted to the ground. I stepped closer and raised her chin with the palm of my hand. To my surprise, she didn't automatically cringe away, though a quiet defiance blazed in her jeweled eyes. "I assure you, precious. The babe will be well cared for. Children are treasured in the Underground."

"And the mother?"

"She has been given a fair chance, Sarah. Even more so than your own trip through the Labyrinth. The laws of the universe command that she answer for her misdeeds. Her fate is now within her own hands."

"She's never going to make it. You know that."

"And perhaps that is how it should be," I whispered.

"How can you be so cold?"

I caught myself before I could flinch at the sudden remoteness in her eyes. She really meant what she said, and the result was like a rush of ice through the hole in my soul. I swallowed thickly.

"I take my leave, now," I bowed low, though my eyes never left hers. "I imagine you'd prefer the company of your friends now to my own. You already know the way," I turned quickly, intending to vanish, but her voice stopped me.

"Wait!"

Sarah's POV

"Wait!" I blurted almost a moment too late. His back had already turned and I could see the crystal forming in his hand. He angled back towards me so slowly it seemed exaggerated. "Send me back home…please." For once, I didn't even care about the pathetic tone of my voice as I begged.

"I can't."

"Can't, or won't?"

He merely smirked at me, though it only seemed half-hearted.

I sighed loudly. "What the hell am I even doing here, Goblin King? You say I lost to the Labyrinth, yet my brother was returned and you let me go home for six years. You say you don't want to be cruel, but then you throw me in an oubliette and fight with me every chance you get. I think I've made my own feelings pretty clear, and I just don't understand why you're even bothering with me!"

"I don't think you're quite ready to discuss why you are really here, Sarah," his eyes darkened, but not in anger. "Just know that I couldn't send you back even if I wanted to, so you may as well make the best of it."

"What exactly am I supposed to do with myself?"

"For now, consider yourself my guest. Would it be so terrible for us to get to know each other better? We hardly met on the best of terms."

"I already know all I care to know about you."

"Things are not always as they seem, Sarah," he sighed. He suddenly looked as weary as he had on our last parting. I wanted to continue questioning him, but he raised a slender hand in objection. "I must check on the babe. I will see you at dinner. I hope by then, you are willing to look beyond your own preconceived notions to form a true opinion."

He vanished before I had a chance to respond. As soon as he was gone, Sir Didymus, Ambrosious and Hoggle reanimated so suddenly that they fell to the ground.

"Sarah!" "My lady!" They cried in unison. I helped them to their respective feet and tried to put on a brave face, but my insides were churning with emotional overload. I think if I'd been on my own I might have just huddled down and cried. What did he want from me? What did I really want from him? Nothing was making any sense anymore. And then he just poofs away as usual, leaving me with more questions than answers. Well not this time!

"I need to get to the castle. Right now," I demanded. Hoggle and Didymus looked between themselves as if a silent conversation was passing between their eyes.

"Eh, are yeh sure about that, Sarah? Seems like His Royal Ratness could use some time to calm down, unless sumthin' changed when he messed with time like that," Hoggle's voice warbled more than usual with his nervousness.

"I don't really give a rat's ass what he wants. Just point me in the right direction."

Sir Didymus cleared his throat. "Of course, my lady. It would be my deepest honor to escort thee to the castle post haste," he bowed as respectfully to me as he had to the Goblin King. "Ambrosious, come!"

An hour later, I stood glaring upon a sight that six years ago I would've never believed I'd see again. The Goblin Castle was as massive and threatening as its name implied. In my rush to beat the clock, I hadn't really taken the time to appreciate it. The solid stone structure rose from the center of the Goblin City like the peak of a mountain. The jagged walls gleamed in warm tones of gold and brown with frequent window slits. A lone turret emerged from the south side with a large balcony. I tried to calm the rush of my pulse at the thought of whose room that likely was.

I shook my head and closed my eyes, willing my strength to return to me, or at the very least my acting skills. I was emotionally and physically drained despite the relatively early hour, and a lot of my heated energy and determination for answers had faded during the long walk. Our final stretch of the Labyrinth had been a silent affair. I just didn't know what to think of my companions. They both seemed pleased to see me, but their loyalties were not clear. To be fair, I had only known them for a short time, while they had likely been subjects of the king for ages. But that didn't mean their actions were any less hurtful. I felt so out of place. More and more of my previous visit had been coming back to me, but I was finding the memories to be false. Either that or everything I thought to be true had changed, or had really just been a mystery all along.

"Yer sure about this? Yeh could always come stay with me, at least for tonight," Hoggle offered.

I smiled softly. "Thank-you Hoggle, but no. I still don't know why I'm back in the Underground, but something tells me I need to be here at the castle to find out."

I eyed him suspiciously as he began wringing his hands in front of his waist. "Well, then, should you need us…"

"Yes, should you need us…" Sir Didymus echoed.

"I'll call. I promise." I bent and kissed both of them on the cheek before ruffling Ambrosious' fur. I laughed when I saw Hoggle brace himself before cracking open one eye to verify that he was still in the city, and not the Bog of Eternal Stench.

I watched them depart before turning back towards the massive doors in front of me. With a deep, cleansing breath, I pushed the solid wood doors open and retraced my long ago steps to the throne room.

My eyes nearly fell out of my head at the sight before me. Goblins of all shapes and sizes were jumping and stamping along with the rhythm of a sort of rock anthem all throughout the room. And in the center, stood his majesty, playfully tossing a baby in the air while singing about some sort of dance magic.

I froze as I began recognizing the lyrics: "What kind of magic spell to use…Dance magic dance. Dance magic dance."

Ever since he'd been old enough to utter his first words, Toby had hummed this same song throughout the house. I'd always thought it was some little tune he'd come up with himself. Had he actually learned it from the Goblin King himself? Why? How? He wasn't supposed to be nice.

I felt very conflicted. Clearly he still had possession over the abducted baby, but rather than locking it up in some goblin pen, as I'd always imagined he did despite what he said earlier, he was playing with it, comforting it. The baby was smiling and giggling with pure delight.

And Jareth was…smiling too. His already impossibly handsome face seemed to radiate pure magic with the expression. His beautiful eyes were filled with light and laughter as he gazed at the child. He looked somehow younger, and all the more entrancing. The air rushed out of my lungs at the intense pull which suddenly materialized within me. My feet moved a step forward of their own accord before I stopped myself. Before anyone noticed my presence, I dashed back into the corridor and braced myself against a wall. My chest felt like it was on fire. What the hell was wrong with me?

A/N: Reviews are lovely and welcomed