Sarah.

She took a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly, relaxing in Jareth's arms. Just one more night. One more night and it would all be over with. The Dryn would be gone, Alryn would be gone, and she, free of the marks as she somehow was, would be safe. One more night.

If forever was 'not long at all', one night should pass in a heartbeat...right?

There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes...

Jareth was singing softly to her, his face only inches away and his eyes locked on her own. Between the way he looked at her and the intense music that was washing over her, Sarah felt like she was floating through a heavenly dream. Jareth guided her through the other dancers and her feet moved automatically to follow, a beatific smile on her face. She remembered the only other time they had danced like this, three...or a hundred...years ago.

As the world falls down...

Last time she had fallen completely under his thrall, barely able to think at all, when he had leaned closer and her fogged mind knew he was going to kiss her. But at that moment, something made her look around. The other dancers had gathered around their king and were laughing and jeering at her. Frightened, she had pressed closer to him before pulling away entirely as she realized what she was doing.

It hurt to run from him, but she had no choice. Toby needed to be rescued and she was the only one that could do it. It was her duty and responsibility. Nothing else could come before that.

Not even-

Falling...falling in love...

Jareth pulled her closer, his arms strong and solid around her back and his fingers lost in her curls. Her arms automatically twined around his shoulders, teasing the wisps of hair at the back of his neck. Part of her mind wondered if he was getting glitter on her satiny white dress.

Another part of her mind was rather preoccupied by the fire burning in his eyes. The cold, empty things she had seen in the Goblin King were fading away and she felt a thrill of pleasure at knowing she had done something to help him instead of hurt.

He was leaning towards her...

A sense of deja vu swept over Sarah and she felt the need to turn away as she had last time. Stubbornly, she ignored the little voice in her head. Her eyes fluttered shut and she felt Jareth's breath warm on her lips.

Cold fingers wrapped around her upper arm and she stiffened in shock as she was pulled bodily from Jareth's embrace. Her eyes snapped open just in time to see his startled expression before he too was pulled back into the frenzied crowd. She thought she heard him yell her name, but her attention was focused more on the robed figure dragging her through the mob. She stumbled, tripping over the hem of her long gown, and tried to wrest her arm free, but the Dryn had a vice-like grip and hefted her easily back to her feet. Whipping her other arm around to strike him, she only succeeded in knocking his hood back.

To her surprise, it was not Alryn that had grabbed her. Seeing her confused expression, the unknown Dryn gave her a sly smile. Before she could react, he released her and gave her a powerful shove. She squeezed her eyes shut as she flew backwards, waiting for the hard impact with the marble floor, but instead she was caught by strong arms around her middle. She opened her eyes cautiously to see bloodless hands gripping her, lightly stroking her stomach just below her breasts. She shuddered.

Another Dryn.

Sarah was hauled to her feet and then tossed back like a rag doll where still another Dryn was waiting. She was getting dizzy as they spun her back and forth between them, their hissing laughter chasing her on all sides, their caresses sampling her body without blatantly violating. Were there four Dryn or forty? She couldn't tell anymore. It was all a massive blur of robes and hands and whispers. Where was Jareth? What was going on?

She cried out as she hit the floor at last, the space around her suddenly clearing. The blur seemed to recede, leaving her alone in the center of a circle of Dryn. One hand firmly planted on the cool marble, Sarah told herself firmly that the floor was not moving. She cradled her pounding head with her other hand and willed her vision to clear.

As the room slowly spun to a stop, she realized she was not alone. Most of the Dryn hung back at the edge of the circle like flickering shadows, but one Dryn was right out in the middle, only a few lengths away from her.

Sarah thought he was wearing maroon robes until he turned slightly and she realized he was holding a woman tightly against him, her full skirt spilling over him haphazardly and her head lying limply against his shoulder. She saw one of his hands was buried underneath the voluminous folds of the skirt and shuddered. With a soft sucking noise, Alryn lifted his face from the girl's neck and grinned at Sarah with bloody fangs. The girl's head lolled backwards, glazed eyes starting at Sarah without seeing.

Sarah's stomach heaved. "Emily..." she whispered.

Jareth.

He had been so close!

He beat and kicked at the grasping hands that pulled him away from Sarah before remembering his magic. Instantly he vanished and reappeared a small distance away, blessedly free of the the traitorous mob. Most of them were female, he noted, probably jealous of Sarah's closeness to their king.

Jareth cursed. Would he never be allowed to finish a dance with that girl?

The women had noticed his escape and were now eagerly scanning the room for him, so he slipped gracefully through the twirling dancers, losing himself from sight. Unfortunately, he also completely lost track of Sarah.

In his mind, he pulled at the necklace he had given her, but it traced back to his rooms. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't recall if she had been wearing the thing when she arrived. If she had shunned the dress he gave her to make her own statement, why not the necklace as well? It certainly wasn't the perfect accessory for the unusual style of gown she had chosen. (If nothing else, Jareth did have a keen fashion sense.)

He cursed Sarah's independent nature and cursed himself for not explaining to her that the necklace was more than just a trinket. Tensely, he scanned the crowd.

Sarah.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from Emily's limp form. Even as a goblin, the girl had been such a beautiful, lively, intelligent child. Of all the strange and wonderous things she'd seen in the Underground, the most disturbing and unnatural was the broken rag doll in Alryn's arm.

Give me the child.

Her hands reached out unconsciously and her pale, trembling arms caught her attention, distracting her focus from the girl. She drew back into herself. There was something dark and hopeless in her eyes as she glared at the Dryn.

Alryn smiled at her, neat white teeth flashing below bloody lips."Come now, Sarah," he said quietly. "It's not all that bad. This child can still be...saved." His mouth twisted around the word, but he effected a regretful expression. "I do hate to take one so young and innocent but alas, I am denied any other." The Dryn stroked Emily's blonde curls gently and Sarah lowered her eyes as his piercing gaze filled her with shame, confusion and disgust.

He lowered his face to the girl's neck, nuzzling it gently as he inhaled her scent. "She's so close," he breathed, baring his fangs. "Just one more little sip, and then-"

"Stop!" Sarah hissed.

A triumphant grin twitched at the corner of Alryn's mouth and was quickly smothered as he paused, fangs lightly brushing Emily's neck, and raised his eyes. Sarah had her head bowed and was staring so fixedly at the floor that he could not make out her expression at all. She lifted one arm to him imperiously. "Come here, Alryn."

With a smirk, he took a step towards her.

"Stop!" she commanded again, face still turned away. "Leave the girl."

Obligingly, he opened his arms and the girl slumped bonelessly to the floor. Stepping over her, he continued forward without another thought for her crumpled form.

His fingers brushed Sarah's outstretched palm and curled around her wrist possessively. He wrapped his other arm gently around her waist, the trembling she had been concealing now apparent to him. "Very good, Sarah," he murmured, feeling her muscles tense beneath his hands. "I knew I could persuade you in the end. So innocent, so foolish."

He inhaled the scent of her fear, burying his face in her curls as he whispered maliciously in her ear, "This will destroy him, you know..."

She went momentarily limp at his words and he pulled her tightly back against him. She did struggle then, but he had her firmly pinned. He swept aside her hair from the base of her neck and she felt his breath warm against her cheek. "Jareth!" she screamed.

And he appeared, bullying his way through the rows of Dryn. "Sarah! Alryn!" The warning was plain in his tone, as was the naked pain on his face.

Alryn grinned at him, fangs bared above the pale skin of the king's beloved. Then he lowered his face...and bit.

Author's Notes: Wow, I think I got Alryn's perspective there for a bit...that was unexpected. Hm, this was supposed to be the end, but it looks like there will be a bit more. I can't promise there won't be a months-long delay again, but I don't think there will be. I've been writing this bit by bit over my lunch break at work, mostly over the past month, so as long as I don't lose my job or start going out for lunch everyday (unlikely), it shouldn't be more than a few weeks until the next chapter is ready.