Disclaimer: nothing Labyrinth related is owned by me. For realsies. ;D

Major Shoutouts to: She Who Dreams of Tomorrow, Princess of the Fae, coolgirl9680, and ! You guys are wonderful and fabulous!

Big shoutout to everyone else who read my story during their busy day! I love you all and CHOCOLATE BROWNIES FOR EVERYONE! XD

Chapter 5: Just Peachy

Awestruck, Sarah stood staring uncomprehendingly at the image before her. There was enough peaches in this secluded area to feed the entire goblin city. Twice. How could she have missed this last time? An orchard like this definitely had to take up a major chunk of the intricate maze.

Stepping warily towards the cluster of trees, Sarah was surprised to find that she could no longer hear the sound of her shoes hitting stone. Glancing down, she found that she was standing on what had to be the greenest grass she had ever seen. The emerald stalks moved with a life of their own as they softly swayed to a nonexistent breeze.

With a mischievous glint in her eye, Sarah bent down to remove her shoes. Secretly languishing in the feeling of the springy blades of green, Sarah closed her eyes in contentment.

Why was she here again? Where was she? Did she even care?

Look how peaceful and serene this place is Sarah, she thought to herself. The peach blossoms were a becoming shade of pink and everywhere was a lingering peach fragrance.

Ludo would love this, she thought absentmindedly as she wandered further into the peachy paradise.

Hold the phone. Ludo! Hoggle! Sir Didymus! What was she doing?! She was here to save them, not to take a vacation!

Disgusted with herself, Sarah crammed her shoes back on her feet and began to sprint as fast as she could through the the deceiving getaway.

"This must be another one of the Labyrinth's tricks...and as far as tricks go, this is a pretty good one." Sarah admitted in between heaving breaths.

Slowing down only to catch her breath, a glint of something caught Sarah's eye. Hand on her knees and breathing heavily, Sarah squinted to get a better look at what she had seen.

Her heart plummeted and she broke out into a cold sweat. Jareth. Or rather, Jareth lying on the ground. Motionless.

Ignoring the burning in her lungs that came from already having run so far, she flung herself through the myriad of trees that had become troublesome obstacles towards his still body.

Stopping mere paces away from where he was lying, her legs finally gave out and she crumpled to her knees.

He was just sleeping. He had to be. He couldn't be dead...right? Banishing the thought from her head, she dragged herself closer. Placing her head on his chest she tried to feel the subtle movements of breathing.

After a few tense moments, she finally felt the steady rise and fall of his chest. Tears flowed freely down her face as she felt her heart settle back into its' normal rhythm. The adrenaline that had coursed through her body at the sight of the Goblin King now left her shivering from exhaustion.

He was asleep. But why wasn't he waking up? She had known people who were sound sleepers, but really, this was ridiculous. Normally, someone crying uncontrollably would wake even the soundest sleeper, and she really doubted that the Goblin King was that type of sleeper.

So what was Jareth's problem? Searching the area around them, Sarah found a peach that had a bite-sized chunk taken out of it. Damn.

Sarah screamed in frustration. She had sworn to herself that she would never taste a peach again. Ever. The last time she had struggled with remembering why she was in the Underground, and she feared a repeat performance.

"Okay...the peach will be plan B." Sarah told herself aloud. "Now to come up with a plan A..."

Sarah then proceeded to nudge, push, and even slap the Goblin King's face, but to no avail. Nothing she tried would wake him up, it only made her become more angry and frustrated.

"Ugh!" she cried as she fell to the grass beside him. Not wanting to go with her makeshift plan B, but acknowledging that she had little choice, Sarah felt her eyes tearing up again.

What if she forgot again? What if she couldn't make it out this time. Why did things like this always happen to her?

Sarah brightened. She wouldn't let herself forget! Determinedly looking around her, she picked up a fallen peach and squeezed until the sticky juice ran down her hands. Stretching her pants leg out in front of her, Sarah began to drip the names of her friends onto the material. Proud of her resourcefulness, she wiped the remaining liquid onto the stalks of grass around her.

Keenly aware of the searing pain in her legs, Sarah haltingly stood up and plucked a ripe peach from a tree. Drugged peaches they may be, but if this is what it took to wake up Jareth, then this is what she had to do.

Hoping for the best, Sarah bit off a piece of peach and slowly, her vision blurred and she sunk back to the ground.

As the pain sweeps through...makes no sense for you...every thrill he's caused...wasn't too much fun at all...but I'll be there for you-ou-ou...as the world falls down...

Perfect, she had made it to Jareth's intoxicating bubble of dreams. "Now, all I have to do is find him, wake him up, and then enlist him in the search for my friends. Piece of cake." Realizing what she had said, she inwardly cringed. The last time those words had escaped her mouth, the cleaners had been sent on her and Hoggle.

Moving and finding that the white dress that Jareth insisted upon her wearing every time she made an appearance in the ballroom was NOT gracing her womanly figure just now, surprised her. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she had decided to come of her own free will this time.

It also probably meant that Jareth was not expecting her like he had been the last two times. Great.

"How am I supposed to find the Goblin King in a room full of masked people?" she muttered under her breath. The answer came to her so fast that she was amazed at herself for even asking the question.

"By looking for the best dressed person here. " Sarah stated amusedly. Laughing to herself, she turned around and ran straight into someone.

Closing her eyes in embarrassment, and making ready to apologize to the man she had just rammed her face into, she stilled as the sound of his amused voice could be heard in her ear.

"Good to know that you think me well dressed princess." He said as his hands found her hips. "I told you I would be waiting..."