Thanks to Aliano, AvitarGirl, notwritten, aeenc, and Lunarain.

This chapter contains some info that needs to be established for the rest of the story, and it may be a little confusing, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Chapter Five: Lesson

After the bath, Sarah was toweling off behind the curtain when Faydra's hand appeared to the left, with a small red box in it. Sarah tied the towel around her body and stepped out from behind the curtain before taking it.

"What is it?" A tingling of dread began to crawl up Sarah's spine. She had seen boxes like these before. They often littered Karen's vanity, left from whenever Sarah's father bought a new ring or new earrings for Karen.

"My Lord bid me give it to you." Faydra motioned for Sarah to open it.

"Oh. He did, did he?" Sarah rolled her eyes, and prayed that what was inside wasn't what she thought it was. Carefully she lifted the lid off, and sighed when all she saw was shiny white cloth. She looked to Faydra, who only told her to continue, and began pulling on the fabric. But it wouldn't stop coming out. She had a good foot and a half out before she looked back at Faydra in confusion, but yet again she only told Sarah to continue. After much pulling and tugging and a couple of forceful yanks, the box fell to the floor and promptly disappeared, along with the pile of clothes she had been wearing when she arrived.

"It's a…dress." Sarah held the white garment up to herself, looking at it in the mirror that was the left wall of the bathroom. "It's a slutty dress."

"A what?" Faydra maneuvered over to see the dress for herself.

"Never mind. Does he really expect me to wear this?" Sarah held it out in front of her like it was contaminated. The dress was full length, but had a slit up the side that would probably reach her mid-thigh. On top of that, the top was a low cut corset with gold threading, and no straps.

"It's the only garment available for you right now; the rest of your new wardrobe isn't finished yet." Faydra took the dress from her and began unlacing the corset.

"But I never asked for new clothes…" Sarah stared at the dress for a little longer, and wished that it was a little less revealing, but nothing happened.

"Wait a minute. Jareth told me that whatever I wish for will come true, but I just wished the dress looked different and it didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry m'lady, but the dress was made to resist magic. You cannot change it, but it will protect you in case anyone tries to cast a spell upon you. Here, I'll help you put it on." Sarah sighed in defeat before taking the unlaced dress and stepping into it, pulling it up as high as the tight waistline would allow. As Faydra tightened the laces of the corset, Sarah studied the material of the dress, noticing it was almost the same as the fabric her sheets were made of, except much thinner and shinier. Suddenly Sarah yelped in pain and her hand flew out against the mirror to steady herself. "Too tight! Too tight!" she gasped

"Oh! I'm sorry m'lady, I didn't realize!" Sarah's pain was alleviated immediately, and she tested how deep she could breath.

"Well, as long as I don't do anything strenuous, I should be fine." Faydra tied a neat bow with the ends of the laces and stepped away so Sarah could check herself in the mirror.

"I almost forgot, here is your, ah, undergarment…and your shoes." She handed Sarah a pair of white slip on flats and a pair of lacey white panties that she blushed to be holding. Sarah snatched them quickly and slid them on before the shoes.

"I hope not all of my new clothes are like this," Sarah said loudly when they left the bathroom.

"If they are, I'll certainly have a thing or two to say to about it." Hoggle stood from the chair he had been sitting on for the last few minutes, and Sarah immediately rushed over to him, dropping to her knees to hug him properly.

"Hoggle! I thought I'd never see you again!" Suddenly the look of joy was replaced with confusion, and she pulled away from him to look into his eyes. "You stopped coming to see me. All of you. You just stopped, without a word. For six years I sat at my mirror, wondering why…" Sarah stood and moved away, stepping out onto the balcony, the memory of those first months of abandonment by her only friends coming to the forefront of her mind.

"I'm sorry Sarah, we wanted to visit, we really did…" Hoggle took his hat off and sat in the chair again. "But after Jareth found out what we were doing, he put a stop to it. He put us all back to our jobs and never allowed us to visit you again."

"Oh. I see." Sarah came in from the balcony closing the doors behind her. "He just likes to control everything, doesn't he?" She shouted at the ceiling, knowing Jareth would hear her. "He brings me here against my will, invades my dreams, orders me new clothes when I certainly don't want them, and now I hear about this!" Sarah began pacing angrily around the room, as she had naught else to do. Hoggle turned to Faydra, motioning her dismissal, and she promptly left, taking the silver breakfast tray with her.

"We need to talk Sarah," Hoggle said quietly. Sarah wasn't listening though; she was still pacing and mumbling to herself. "Please sit down," he said loudly in an annoyed tone, rubbing his brow. Sarah turned towards him, somewhat surprised, and then sat on the edge of her bed.

"What's wrong?"

"The thing is Sarah…I don't know if he told you or not…Jareth plans on keeping you here in the Labyrinth. Forever."

"Yes, he did mention it." Sarah's eyes looked towards the ceiling and she crossed her arms.

"Well, if you're going to live here, there are certain things you need to learn. Our history, laws, customs and such…and I elected to teach you."

"I don't see how this is a 'we need to talk' sort of issue." Sarah said in an unintentionally mocking voice. "What I mean is, you speak as if this is bad news when it's the best thing I've heard since I got here."

"Well I haven't gotten to the part that may upset you. I talked to Jareth just before I came in earlier. He told me there was just one condition to me teaching you."

"Uh oh. Do I really want to know?" Sarah closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Jareth says that if you want me to teach you instead of the man he had hired in the first place…once a week, on a day of your choosing…"

"Oh, here it comes." Sarah threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"You have to spend the entire day with him. It'll be you and him, no one else. From dawn until midnight."

"What!"

"That's only if you want me to be the one to teach you. He said if you're 'absolutely appalled' by the idea, then he'll hire someone else, someone you don't know, and who, in my opinion, wouldn't really give a damn about you."

"So, it's either enduring one day a week with a man I abhor, or abandonment for god knows how long."

"So it would seem." Sarah paced the room once more while Hoggle sat staring at the floor and playing with the brim of his hat. To him it felt like an hour before Sarah finally answered.

"I suppose I'll have to accept the condition then. One day a week can't be very bad."

"Very well then." Hoggle jumped down from the chair and walked over to Sarah. "Now starts Lesson One." He tugged her down and whispered in her ear to do something.

"But won't he…"

"Don't worry about him, just do it." Sarah eyed him curiously before letting her gaze drift to nowhere in particular, and in an instant, they were standing outside the gates of the Labyrinth. The area that had looked completely dead the first time Sarah had been there was now beautiful and green and brimming with life. Fish swam in the pond, small creatures that resembled deer were darting in and out of the bushes, and tiny faeries were hovering around the flowers. Hoggle sat on a nearby stone bench while Sarah took the opportunity to look around.

"Jareth won't even notice we're gone. Not yet anyway. He's probably out on his morning constitutional by now," Hoggle said, checking his pocket watch before taking out a coin from his pocket and tossing it into the pond. Sarah snorted, scaring away a faerie who had landed on the flower Sarah was now holding.

"Morning constitutional? You've got to be joking." Hoggle shook his head. "Where does he go?"

"Oh he mostly takes a walk through the Labyrinth, or he goes horse back-riding on the beach that's beyond it, sometimes he even goes to the human world….really depends on his mood I suppose. Today, I'd say he's out on the beach." He watched Sarah as she contemplated this new information about a man she assumed was nothing more than a manipulative bastard. She shrugged after a little while but didn't say anything, choosing instead to wander around and pick flowers.

"Anyway, lesson one." Hoggle pulled a few flashcards and a large pair of glasses out of his coat pocket and slipped the glasses on before reading from the cards. "The Labyrinth, though it is huge and encompasses many areas of differing terrain and climate, is only one of many kingdoms in this realm, as well as this realm being just one of many. I believe in your world the realms are referred to as 'dimensions' or 'alternate universes'. As far as anyone knows, there are five realms. There's this realm, which is referred to by outsides as "The Underground" due to the dull light and the fact that you can't see the sun, which caused by weather related phenomena that I'm sure does not interest you. Then there is the human realm that is sometimes referred to as "The Aboveground" for obvious reasons. The other three realms have been shrouded in mystery since even before King Jareth was born. Everyone knows they exist, but only those who have high positions in society truly know what lies within each realm, as they are the only ones who can travel there."

"Has Jareth ever traveled to any of them?" Sarah asked softly, so as not to disturb a small chinchilla-like animal that had come out of its nest in the ground to investigate Sarah. Hoggle took the oversized glasses off and put them and cards back where he got them.

"I believe so, but it was many, many years ago, when I was just a child. He announced he was leaving to one of the Other Realms and would return shortly. A month went by and he finally came back, looking stricken and disturbed. Even during the short time I was his assistant in the castle, he refused to speak of the time he spent there."

"Hmm…why did we have to come out here for you to tell me this?" Sarah stood up from the ground and made a small growling sound when she noticed her dress had dirt all over it now.

"I assumed you'd be in need of some fresh air and space to really stretch your legs. Also I thought you might like to see how much this place has changed," Hoggle smiled and plucked a flower from the ground near the bench, handing it to Sarah who added it to her growing bouquet. "Anyway, Jareth gave you powers Sarah. Anything you wish for will come true. I'm sure he told you that he only just gave them to you, but he lied. He tends to do that. A lot."

"Why would he lie about something like that? And if he didn't give me the power just now…"

"He's trying to hide the truth from you."

"Truth about wh…"

"Never mind about that." Hoggle shook his head and Sarah looked confused. "You've always had the power, ever since you were young. But the little magic left in the human world is so incredibly weak that it couldn't support the amount your power needed, so it never worked."

"Is that why when I wished to go home, it didn't work?"

"Sort of. Travel between realms is complicated. For a being with very simple powers magic must be very strong in both realms. Long ago, the magic of the human world was just as strong as it is here, and travel was easily accomplished by everyone. But then, something happened and the magic there went away… Once that happened, no one but Jareth and the creatures of the Labyrinth could travel there, we're the only ones strong enough."

"If you can go between worlds, then you can take me home!" She rushed over to him and knelt before him hopefully.

"No, I can't," Hoggle said sadly. Sarah immediately stood and sat next to him.

"Why not?"

"Jareth controls us all. He can give powers, and he can take them away." Hoggle hung his head. "It's what I meant earlier, when you asked why we hadn't visited."

"Oh. I understand."

"Anyway, we'd better get back to the castle. If Jareth left when I think he did, he should be returning about now." In an instant they were back in Sarah's room. "I think that was a good first lesson, don't you?"

"Yes Hoggle, it was very good. Thank you." Sarah bent down, kissed his cheek, and stuck a blue flower in Hoggle's vest.

"Well, I think we'll pick this up tomorrow, I've got something really special planned. For now though, I've some shrubbery to attend to." With that, Hoggle left and Sarah was left to her own devices.