Chapter 22. Mistletoe and threats

Sarah felt the air being sucked from her lungs as she dropped the orb and whispered "Goblin King." She expected to hear the sound of the orb as it hit the floor, but it instead just hung in the air the image within it giving her a triumphant smile. She sank down against the door and sat on the threshold still gasping for air.

"Sarah," He inclined his head slightly, giving her that lopsided smile he was so famous for. "You look… well." His voice was saucy, and challenging. "All flushed with color and sitting under the mistletoe just waiting for me."

Leaning back on the door for support, she looked at the floating orb with dismay. "What do you want?"

"Now is that any way for an old friend to be greeted?" He teased laying back on his bed and looking at the crystal in his hand. "And here I've gone to such trouble to give you my holiday greeting."

"Keep your greeting," she growled at the orb. "I don't want it!"

"Did Toby like my little gift?" He asked ignoring her insulting tone.

"I knew it!" she snapped then looked up the stairs to make sure none of the family found her arguing with the floating globe. "I knew it was you." She looked toward the street to be sure none of the neighbors found her sitting in the doorway. "What do you think you're doing, giving Toby a dog he can't keep?"

"Why on earth should he not keep the dog? You had a dog, Merlin if I recall correctly." He argued back.

Sarah crawled to the inside of the foyer, and closed the door. Placing her back on the door she looked up toward the stairs. "My dog didn't come from goblins."

A cryptically smile swiftly moved across the lips of the Fae King. "Are you sure?"

Sarah felt the back of her head thud against the door. "Stop that." Her skin tingled, just as it had the night she'd confronted him in her parents' bedroom. "What do you want? Why are you back?"

He rolled over on his bed and gazed into the orb not floating before his face. "Same thing I wanted before." He curled up his nose at her. "And perhaps more…"

Sarah felt the color flood her cheeks. "Forget it!" she looked up the stairs. "That boat has sailed as they say."

"If that were true," he teased, "I doubt I'd get such a lovely reaction from you."

"Go to hell," she hissed.

"Come with me, I'll keep you nice and… warm." He pursed his lips suggestively. He felt his pulse race as he toyed with her.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" She squeaked and placed a hand over her mouth worried she was getting too loud. "Go away."

"Not on your life, precious." He teased feeling hunger in a place he never felt it before. "I'm here to stay."

"I beat you," she looked past the orb. "Now be a good loser and beat it."

He laughed; the sound was like tinkling bells. "Sarah, you impertinent disrespectful little creature… is that any way to address your king?"

She could hear the blood pounding in her ears, and to her own shame she was enjoying his insane flirting with her. "You're not my king." She heard the breathiness in her voice, and was stunned.

The eyes of the image in the orb were focused on her lips. "Of course I am… I have been…" He swallowed hard, "from the moment you stepped though the window on my challenge…." He touched the orb before him, stroking it as if it were her jaw line.

"No," she mouthed.

"Why don't you be a good little girl, and bring me back what you took from me?" He teased.

Shaking herself free of the memory of his arms about her, she glared at him. "I beat you, I won back my brother, end of story…"

"Hardly," He murmured. "Come back to me, sweet Sarah."

"Go to hell," she gathered her confidence. "I'm involved…" She placed a hand on her tummy that was not doing summersaults.

Jareth pretended to just notice her girth. "I thought you'd filled out." He growled in an aroused tone, grinding his hips into the bed.

Sarah batted her hand at the orb. "Stop that!" she ordered. She got the distinct impression he was doing something she didn't want to think about. The orb dropped into her lap and the image disappeared. Sarah closed her eyes to the point of causing tears to form. "No, not again."

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Jareth lay on his bed, buried his face in the pillow and spoke the dark, dirty, over sexed thoughts that she'd caused to appear. He buried the words in the pillow, thinking of how good it was to just see her and be seen by her. "No physical contact," he said as he raised his face. "But oh how she's going to want it."

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Sarah stayed on the floor for a moment longer than she needed to. Reluctantly she picked up the crystal ornament and thought again about hurling it out the door. "Don't even try it." She heard as she picked up the orb. She drew herself up to her feet, marched into the parlor and placed the ornament back on the branch she'd taken it from. "Go to hell," she whispered and swore she could hear laughter.

In the morning when she arose, she found Karen holding the box the crystal ornament had come in. "Look what I found," she trumpeted.

Sarah looked at her in mild amusement; she was holding a finely crafted ornament stand. "Figures." She murmured as she approached. She took the stand and the instant she did felt a strange surge of energy pass through her. She would have dropped the stand but didn't wish to draw more attention to herself, better they should watch the antics of Toby and Juniper. The intricate details of the stand were not lost on her. It was covered in Ivy and Holly filigrees. Had it come from anyone else she's have marveled at its beauty. However one didn't marvel at a gift from the Goblin King she told herself, one ran for the hills.

Removing the ornament from the tree, her back to her family she closed her eyes and opened her fingers to let it drop. There should have been the thud of it hitting the floor, but there was dead air instead. She looked down to find it suspended in mid air, and the glitter in its heart swirling about like a storm. Grabbing it out of the air she carried it to the stand and placed it on display for the family to enjoy.

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Hoggle entered the palace with trepidation, but the sounds of the King's laughter could be heard down to the bog. He saw Goblins cowering and scurrying out of the throne room. He also saw a woman there pacing, one he'd seen there before. "Can't you do something about him?" He asked sounding like he'd just accused her of some crime.

"As a matter of fact, no," she looked up toward where the sounds of the King's laugh was originating and winced. "I wish I could."

"He's up to no good!" Hoggle growled deciding to take things into his own hands. "Well I'm going to do something about it, see if I don't."

Nicole felt a tremor as the palace reacted to the threat to its King. "Oh-oh."

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Sarah sat at her vanity, brushing her long hair and letting her mind drift. She found that her room was the only place she felt safe away from the orb, not since she'd tried to bury it in the closet had it appeared up here. And that was nearly a week ago. She felt peaceful here in her room, and began to relax.

"Sarah," the voice was quite and pensive, and very familiar although she'd not heard it in a few years. "Sarah…" it repeated her name.

Sarah looked up in the mirror and standing behind her bed, just as he had been the night she bested, or thought she'd bested the Goblin King, stood the first friend she'd made in the Labyrinth. "Hoggle," she choked out, suddenly feeling guilty about not having seen her friends for awhile.

He looked franticly about, "You're in danger again!" he warned as the earth beneath his feet shook and his image vanished.

Sarah stared, and cried out, "Hoggle!"

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Jareth held the dwarf up by the ear, suspended over the bog. "Tell me again why I shouldn't just drop you in and forget you ever existed."

"Because if you do," the dwarf kicked and screamed. "Sarah will never forgive you."

Thinking over the implied threat and being amused by it, Jareth tossed the dwarf to the grassy knoll. "There is that," he admitted. "But see here you scummy little excuse for a henchmen, your ass is mine! There be no more attempts at giving warning to my girl."

"She's not your girl!" Hoggle spat at him getting to his knees. "She belongs to herself, not to you, not to me, not to…"

"She belongs to the Labyrinth," Jareth cut in decisively. "Just as I do… and let me correct you Hoggle, she very much belongs to me." Jareth produced the orb he used to keep tabs on Sarah. Shoved it under the dwarf's nose; "I suggest you take a good look at her."

Hoggle gasped when he did, "You're a monster!" he croaked out. Didymus, watching from a safe distance wondered what it was that Hoggle had seen but knew better than to ask. Hoggle wept, "This is my fault," he moaned. "If I'd just taken her back to the start…."

"I'd have gone after her anyway." Jareth dismissed the blame, he raised the orb. "I was drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. Just as she is drawn to me."

Hoggle glowered, his brain too fevered with hate to think straight. "She'll not thank you."

Jareth looked at the dwarf, needing to hurt him deeply, for he was the one person Sarah had kissed during her stay in the Labyrinth. That fact kept Hoggle alive, and in constant danger; "I don't want her thanks, you stupid dwarf… I want her anguish."

Nicole looked over at Sir Didymus, their eyes met and both felt pity for the king.

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Sarah was not surprised when her father told her they were having guests in to celebrate the New Year. She was however surprised when the Fred Greyly's were mentioned. She had no idea her father was familiar with the Greyly's. Her father and Karen often had guests in on New Years Eve, and even hired a serving staff so they could enjoy their guests.

Sarah dressed in one of the new outfits that Dido had created for her, a lovely emerald green jersey dress that while it didn't disguise her condition, it seemed to glorify it. She felt softly feminine and extremely womanly in the flattering outfit. She had heard the doorbell and knew guests were arriving, but took her time. Not rushing just wanting to be totally at ease.

Fred Jr. was introduced to Sarah's father and stepmother by Jeremy. He was complimenting them on their home, when the woman descending the stairs drew his attention. His mouth dropped and he could not speak for a moment. She smiled at him, taking his breath away.

"Good evening." She greeted the guests, some of whom greeted her back. Only Fred Jr. moved to where she stood. "Hello, Fred."

He took her hands as she stepped off the stairs. "You look enchanting."

"Thank you." She said sweetly, wondering if he had any idea of how sweet he was.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year," He murmured as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

Sarah heard the sound again, the clear sound of shattering glass. She looked up and wickedly smiled at Fred, "Fred is that the best you can do?" Firmly she pulled him to stand with her under the mistletoe and she planted a kiss firmly on his more than willing lips. She smiled to herself when she heard a thunderous roar accompanying the tell tale shattering sound.

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Nicole took cover behind the throne, hiding along with a half a dozen Goblins who were trying not to make a peep. Jareth roared with every fiber of his being, then sunk to his knees and fought for breath. "I swear I'll make her pay." He vowed.