Whoops! Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing Labyrinth related. At all.

Hello my lovely readers! Can I just say Ahhhhhhhh! The response I got from last chapter made my week! I'm sorry for taking so long on this chapter, but it took a while until I felt satisfied with my end product. Holy cow I have quite a few brownies to give away this chapter, so here goes nothing. ;)

Extra big shoutout to: F. 78, shreiking beauty, shm429, Princess of the Fae, fare-thee-well, black-heart-green-eyes, sheniyag, fanaticallyFictitious, Buggus264, A Gumshoe, and Kami74! You guys rock my socks! Baskets for fresh brownies for you all! ;D

Others I would love to graciously thank are: BadWolf49, The Queen of Water, trudes193, LittleLottie187, Domino2, KLM4521, BLetMeRestInPeaceS, gothicrocker2, and Valkyrie69! Brownies for you all!

And another great big shoutout to all those who took the time out of their busy day to give my story a chance! Boxed brownie mix for you all!

Chapter 7: Visions and Reality

Breathtaking... Lovely... Gorgeous... Sarah.

Jareth hadn't seen Sarah for four long years. Having ruled over the Goblin Kingdom for almost one thousand years, he was used to the meticulous passing of time, but these last four had seemed to stretch for an eternity.

Once her fateful words had been said, Jareth had honestly tried to distance himself from Sarah. Unfortunately for him, his head and his heart disagreed. Torn between the girl he loved and his wish for her to be happy, he had grudgingly left her side.

How was he to have known that his Labyrinth would mourn her leaving?Slowly, the finely crafted maze began to deteriorate. Brick by brick, it was crumbling. No longer did the forest sparkle and shine, it's once healthy leaves took on a mottled brown hue.

In fact, the only section untouched by the overwhelming gloom had been his peach orchard. Unable to bear his need to see Sarah, Jareth had finally succumbed to his heart's demands a few days ago when he had sent her the dream.

"Which is what got me into this mess in the first place," He thought to himself angrily.

Seeing her after four years of silently pining literally took his breath away. No longer was she the small fifteen year old girl that had captivated his heart She had matured into a fully developed woman that, if she wanted, could keep his heart bound in blissful slavery.

As she woke up with his message, Jareth once more felt bereft, but he now had hope. Hope that she would come back and be with him. It was this particular hoping and dreaming that had been his downfall. Jareth had been so distracted by his thoughts of Sarah, that he hadn't noticed that he was surrounded.

With the dying of the forest, the Wild Gang and several other fierys had become dark and bitter. Seizing their chance to make Jareth suffer for letting the forest fall into disrepair, they had overtaken him quickly. Tackling him to the ground, all he remembered was a low voice telling him to "chilly down" before another enchanted peach was shoved forcefully into his mouth.

"So embarrassing." Jareth told himself. "To think, having ruled over nine hundred years, and the first time I let myself daydream about my future wife, I'm overthrown. Pitiful really."

It had seemed an eternity until his vision of loveliness, Sarah herself, had come into his ballroom for the second time in a week.

Jareth had been astonished at having someone slam into him until he realized with a jolt who it was. The intense need to wrap his arms around her possessively and kiss her right then was a hard instinct to repress.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you help me?"

Now she was standing before him and his beautiful, brave, courageous Sarah was crying.

All of his life, Jareth had been able do anything he wanted, but realizing that none of his magic could stop the one woman he loved from crying, the Goblin King felt powerless.

Suddenly, the ballroom felt too crowded. Overwhelmed with an unavoidable need to comfort her, Jareth raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and willed the twirling guests away.

Feeling as if his heart would break if he watched another tear streak down her face, Jareth strode towards his love, pulled her face towards his, and pressed his lips to hers.

Oh how he had yearned for this moment. Warmth flooded his body at the feel of her soft lips. Hearing her quiet moan, Jareth guided her body towards his and reveled in the way she felt against him. Something inside of him shifted, and with a start, Jareth realized that his impetuous action had just sealed their fate.

Slowly, he pulled away. Pressing his forehead against hers, Jareth closed his eyes and grinned.

"How is that only you can make me forget to be a gentleman?" Jareth said.

"Jareth..." she whispered softly.

Opening his eyes, he saw that Sarah's fingers were brushing her lips in wonderment.

"What did you do to me?" She asked, confused.

"Well, I'm not sure what it's called Aboveground, but down here, it's called a kiss." Jareth said smugly. "And before I get screamed at for kissing you, please know that I only meant to give you comfort."

He could almost hear the two-headed guard say, "ooh what a lie!"

Suddenly Sarah's eyes darkened as she snapped out of her Jareth-induced-stupor. Snapping her head up to look at him, Jareth registered the fire in her eyes, and wiped the smug look off of his face.

Jareth could almost see the fury and confusion emanating from Sarah as she walked up to him.

She took deep breaths and Jareth could have sworn he heard her slowly count to ten before she finally addressed him.

"Okay. I'm not sure what that was, but let's just pretend that the last minute didn't even happen. In fact, why don't you go and reorder time do that it doesn't happen."

"Unfortunately Sarah, that is one wish that even I cannot grant."

"And why the heck not?!"

Satisfied with himself, Jareth smirked. "Two reasons. Firstly, I don't want to. And secondly, what we just shared cannot be unshared."

Scoffing, Sarah continued. "What exactly did we just share Goblin King? Because I'm pretty sure that a kiss isn't too big of a deal..." she stated confidently before doubt wormed it's way into her thoughts. "It wasn't a big deal, right?"

Slightly disgruntled at her so flippantly waving away one of his most treasured moments, Jareth attempted to answer.

"Sarah,"

"-you know what, I don't even want to know." She interrupted while closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

Jareth could see her physically calm herself and for the second time that day, was unsure of just how to act around her.

"You know what, just forget it. I came here to ask for your help Goblin King-"

"-Call me Jareth."

"- and so that's what I'm going to do. For the second time, will you help me?"

Damn. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this. What would she think of him when he told her? Unsure of whether his pride could hold up under Sarah's judgmental gaze, but not wanting to deceive his beloved, Jareth decided to speak the truth. Sighing defeatedly, he answered her.

"I...cannot."

The moment the hope left her eyes, was like a physical blow to him.

"Why can't you? You're the King! You have to do something!" Sarah screamed desperately.

Wincing at the words that she spoke, he continued. "Princess, I would if I could, but I am not in control of this dream. The peaches in my orchard are extremely potent, and I cannot break free from their magic by myself."

"Then why did you take a bite?!"

Pride already bruised, Jareth willed himself to keep speaking. "I was...distracted...and the next thing I knew, I had one of my own peaches in my mouth." Ending, Jareth was shocked to find that he sincerely felt embarrassed.

Refusing to accept that she would have to help her friends on her own, Sarah began to figuratively grasp for straws.

Nodding her head, Sarah narrowed her eyes in concentration as she mumbled to herself.

Oh how he loved her! She would have to know the consequence of their kiss eventually, but now was not the time. Frankly, he was perfectly content to stare at her from top to bottom, until she figured something out.

Hearing her sigh of determination, Jareth once more focused on her lovely green eyes.

"Well Goblin King...looks like I'm going to have to find a way to help you free yourself from your nasty, drugged peach's magic." taking a deep breath, she continued. "My first question is, can I help you while I'm still here?"

Answering her, Jareth stated rather formally, "While in the ballroom, there is nothing you can do to wake me up."

He saw renewed light kindle in Sara's eyes just as she followed her first question with a second one.

Her voice became thoughtful as she asked a second question.

"Can I help you if I wake up?"

Knowing the pain that this would cause both of them, but also knowing that it was the only way he could help in the quest for her friends, Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Hogwash, calmly he answered in the affirmative.

They both stood rooted to the spot, staring at each other until Sarah raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Send me back."

Wanting to prolong her stay, Jareth smiled and said, "Say your right words."

Shutting her eyes Sarah shook her head with a small smile. "I wish that I would be free of this dream and return to the orchard."

The powers that he had given her long ago now helped in granting her wish. Ever so slowly, Sarah began to disappear. It wasn't until she had completely faded away that the pain started.

It was like daggers were plunging into his mind. Dropping to his knees with a yell, Jareth clutched at his head.

Moments passed, when finally, after minutes of agonizing suffering, the ballroom exploded in a flash of white.

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