Disclaimer: The labyrinth belongs to the Goblin king, foo'z. That's right. Don't argue.

Chapter 7: Here comes the bride… all dressed in pride…

Okay. How many times exactly was she going to faint?!

Frickin' A.

Sarah had dirt under her face this time. The first time she fainted it was sand, and then it had been something like limestone tiles. (She'd never complain about a lumpy bed again.)

Her whole body ached. It had been abused today from lifting and falling and fainting and arguing with a sensitive goblin king and that was all during the time she was awake. Seems like she'd been passed out for most of this trip.

Damnnit! Since when was she a flippin' damsel?

Oh wait…

She had been a damsel everyday of her life before yesterday.

Still.

Fainting was sooo corsets and petticoats. Not that she knew what a petticoat was… that's another one of those English misnomers like sweetbreads.

Ugh.

She was still angry at Karen for Monday's dinner.

Bread was bread and guts were friggin' guts, where was the confusion there?

And-

and…eh.

Where her thoughts going at this moment?

Why couldn't she ever focus on the matter at hand, like maybe where she was??

It was extremely dark. Even the dirt of which she pushed herself up on was as black as charcoal.

She stared down at her hands. Or tried to…

She wasn't even sure she could count her fingers.

Blood began to pump in her forehead. Slowly she reached behind to her bag and slid it down her arm. She first felt a bottle which she immediately took a giant swig of because she felt like she was chewing on her own tongue her mouth was so dry.

She was breathing really hard. Vaguely she wondered why, it's not like she had been running or anything…but then she wondered why it was also the only thing she could hear. Why was everything so quiet?

Her fingers began shaking as they found their goal.

She flicked her flashlight on.

At least she knew wasn't lost anymore.

Although, gazing into the thin stream of detail her light was giving her, Sarah began to wonder if that was a plus.

She was definitely in a forest.

A very foggy one.

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Her flashlight wasn't enough. It was too dark and whatever she did pick up was thickly covered in fog.

Hadn't both Jareth and Pecker warned her about this place? Jareth had described it as the most lethal place in his Labyrinth.

Apparently it was, maybe it was so quiet because everything was dead.

Hob Forest seemed to have even killed the wind.

"Hoggle?" She called out. It felt like her voice sank into the darkness. Like something around her absorbed it.

"Sir Didymous...Ludo?"

Those sank in too.

This wasn't good. She couldn't see anything.

She was scared to go anywhere. She guessed it had been about forty minutes and she had maybe moved forward ten feet. It was just too scary.

She was shocked at her own bravery, but she was willing to wage it wouldn't last.

Well, glass being half full maybe she'd faint again.

"Hoggle?"

(('crack!'))

What was that????? Her useless light flied over in the sound's general origin. Not that anything appeared, all she could see was grey.

But she had definitely heard a crack.

"Hello? I know you're there…no use hiding!"

'Please don't eat me' she added silently in her mind.

Nothing came out.

She waited for another fourteen minutes and then she heard another crack. This time behind her.

She spun around.

"WHOSE THERE?!"

Nothing.

This wasn't good.

She was visibly shaking now and Sarah was biting her lip to keep from crying.

She began to taste blood. Perhaps it was better to cry.

"Aww gawd…" she cried weakly "…leave me alone.."

"Orders, orders, orders darling… you are truly a selfish girl."

Huh?!

A light flashed and suddenly the whole surrounding area was covered in a perfect line of fire completely controlled by magic.

He looked terrifying. His eyes looked hotter than the flames and shadows seemed to crawl like snakes over his commanding form. "Really, you challenge me and then ask me to leave you alone? Tsk tsk tsk, not going to happen…"

"Jareth…" Sarah breathed. It upset her, but she was relieved. The fire made it possible to make out the trees and vines. They were black she realized, it wasn't just because it was dark.

He turned from her and mumbled something. He was ordering a small black creature to do something she realized. Was everything here black?

The spiny creature crawled away like a crab until it burrowed itself in the dark soil. Ick.

"Sarah. If you could have anything, what would you wish for?"

"What?"

"Your dreams, Sarah, what are they?"

"Jareth…" She wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't turned back around to her so she was conversing with his back. "Did you bring me here?"

"Answer my question first, Sarah-selfish girl."

"Uh…?" She really didn't know what to say. But she did know that he was getting at something that was going to be very important and it was happening now. "…I thought you knew my dreams, Jareth…"

He glanced back at her with a tiny smile.

"I did know, Sarah. They were similar to my own…"

"Ah."

"You're so beautiful, you know. You could make Venus cry…"

"Huh. Not exactly on my list of things to do…"

"Sarah." He struck in quick and smoothly to stare in her face.

"What do you wish for?"

She couldn't answer. Her head began to slowly shake unconsciously. His eyes were so intense, she could almost feel them. Maybe he could touch her eyes with his… whatever it was it was making her heart pound.

He was beautiful… and she knew, angry right now. At her, about her…

She had to look away and what she saw were her friends.

"Wha…wha…guys!"

They were all awkwardly gathered behind Jareth. The spiny black thing had obviously herded them there. Probably what Jareth had ordered it to do.

Hoggle and Ludo were both gagging and lumbering where they stood. They both had what looked like make shift nose plugs shoved painfully into their face.

Sir Didymous stood farther away grinning and waving cutely at her. "Milady! You're here!" His little tail wagged excitedly.

"Sir Didymous!" Sarah rushed past Jareth eager to embrace him. "Oh my gosh, guys I'm so happy to see you…Oh my gawd what is that smell?!"

Sarah fell down and she, Hoggle and Ludo did the same little lumbering dance.

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"YOU TOOK A BATH???!!!"

"Yeees! E'did! E'did!" Hoggle hollered aguishly.

"Smell baaad!" Ludo wailed.

"In the Bog. Of. STENCH. You took a bath?

Sir Didymous did a happy little shrug, completely oblivious to the agony of his friends.

"But of course, Milady, after our conquest I was covered in victorious perspiration!"

"Sweat?!"

"Indeed!"

Jareth was standing back, mostly watching her reactions. "Amazing…" He whispered next to her ear… "In nearly a thousand years I have never seen any of my subjects enter the bog willingly…"

He whispered willingly sensually, his tongue moving to every syllable.

She pretended not to be affected.

Wait.

"Did you just say a thousand?" Jareth raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Sarah, ya must have sumethin in your world for smells right? There ain't nothing besides 'is highness that can fix it 'ere." Hoggle began. It was a bit hard to understand because his nose was so plugged.

There were so many questions spinning in her head at the moment she wasn't sure which one to focus on.

"I'm not sure, I mean, this place is magic after all…"

"You ain't got magic in yours world?!"

"No, we don't." Sarah replied sadly. She then glared at Jareth for smirking at her. She knew what it was for.

"Ah man, den we dinnit need to contact you at all…"

"Hoggle."

"Yeah, Sarah?"

"I'm elated to know you're okay and that the message was from you, but don't you dare tell me that this is why you asked me to come here…"

"Eh…"

"Hog-gle."

"Gee Sarah, ya want me to lie to you?"

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A/n ehn the title of this chapter was misleading eh? Sorry. Matrimony will happen in the next chapter because Jareth is a… Chapter 8: Impatient King