Author's note: Another offering for your reading pleasure. The same disclaimer still applies. Please review!

Jareth returned to his study after a brief foray outside. He brushed the dust off his tights and sat down in his desk chair. Propping his feet up on the desk, he reclined in his chair, folding his hands behind his neck. That bout of explosive laughter had had a wonderfully relaxing effect on Jareth. He allowed himself the luxury of a large yawn and a few minutes rest before he reopened his eyes. It just so happened that the first thing his eyes alighted upon put an end to his peaceful respite. Jareth sprang from his chair and stepped quickly to the window.

Impossible! How had he missed the gloom of his passage outside a few minutes ago? The sun was setting. That meant that his trip to the Aboveground had lasted the same amount of time here in the Underground as Above: the two worlds were back in synch. But why?

His calm shattered, Jareth paced as he tried to logically attack the problem. Time couldn't have changed by itself – something had to trigger the change. That meant that sometime in the time between when he sent Hoggle to fetch Sarah and the time he himself traveled to the Aboveground, something had occurred that had elicited time's return to normalcy. Jareth stilled himself, fighting to restore his prior state of calm. He needed to be rational. He couldn't solve this problem if he let the panic and despair rising within overwhelm him. After a few deep breaths, he continued his train of thought.

What events had transpired in that interval of time? Jareth turned back to his desk, grabbed a quill, ink, and parchment and wrote:

1. Hoggle to Aboveground

2. Sarah to Underground; Hoggle returned

3. Jareth to Aboveground; Spell cast; returned to Underground

That was all he was aware of. Below that list, he made another, this one of all the events surrounding the initiation of the break in time.

1. Jareth to Aboveground

2. Sarah, Toby, Jareth to Underground

3. Sarah navigated Labyrinth successfully, defeated Jareth

4. Sarah, Toby returned to Aboveground

5. Jareth to Aboveground; later returned to Underground

6. Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus to Aboveground; returned before next day

Jareth put his quill down and read his list. He drew a line through every item that didn't occur in both lists, excluding anything to do with Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Toby. That left Hoggle, Sarah, and himself, and any of their respective travel between the two worlds as a cause. He could exclude himself, as he'd traveled back and forth between the two worlds thousands of times, and cast spells on many of those occasions and never once had the very fabric of time been altered so. That left Hoggle and Sarah. To his knowledge, the first time the dwarf traveled Aboveground was directly after Sarah returned triumphantly. But he also knew that the dwarf had been in contact with Sarah in the interim, and yet no change in time had occurred then. It wasn't enough evidence to absolutely exclude Hoggle as the source of the change, but it would do for the moment. He could, he supposed, send the dwarf to the Aboveground now and leave him there for a while to see if time changed again. Perhaps in a mortal zoo. His fingers itched to do it, to summon the requisite power; when Jareth had returned and found Sarah under the mound of goblin-children, Hoggle had been nowhere in sight. Even though the children wouldn't have managed to harm Sarah, not seriously at least, he personally would never have left Sarah in such a predicament. That Hoggle had done so was both expected and unforgivable.

He'd consider Hoggle later. For now, Sarah was the last option. She was the common factor, the only one he couldn't exclude. And yet he could exclude her: Sarah had been to the Labyrinth before. It was so long ago, more than ten years before she wished her younger brother away. She didn't remember, not consciously. What her subconscious knew was a different matter. When she had returned to her room the night she defeated him, Sarah had looked at all of her things, seen how they could have inspired a dream about the Labyrinth when really it was the other way around. He'd watched her over the years. At first he had thought it was coincidence, a doll that looked like a goblin, a book that talked of wild things. As those coincidences had added up, he'd realized that it couldn't be coincidence: the objects that garnished her room were inspired by her brief time in the Labyrinth, a time she didn't remember save but in her dreams.

But that was beside the point. What mattered now was that when he had returned her to the Aboveground all those years ago, time had continued its synchronized dance. If she was indeed the cause of the current problem, why hadn't it occurred then? What had happened when she returned to reclaim her baby brother that hadn't happened when she'd been in Toby's place? Then the answer came to him, a voice in his head whose truth he couldn't ignore: She defeated the Labyrinth. She beat you.

Yes. That had to be it. He'd already come to the conclusion that the problems in the Underground were caused by Sarah's triumph over himself and his Labyrinth. Perhaps that was the reason behind everything – the problems with the Labyrinth, the darkness, and time's inconsistencies. It didn't make sense that the flow of time would be dependent on her comings and goings, but nothing else could explain it. It had to be connected to her. That settled it in Jareth's mind. The changes in the Labyrinth, the disturbances in time, the darkness…they were all connected to Sarah.

Jareth waited. The feeling of accomplishment never came. It wasn't enough that he'd figured out what had caused the problems. The question now was how was he going to fix the problems, and he didn't have an answer.

----------------------------------------------------

Sarah sat back in her bathwater, resting her head on the rim of the tub. For all the castle looked ancient, it featured surprisingly modern furnishings. The bathroom, aside from its high, vaulted ceilings and stone walls, was every bit as comfortable and modern as her bathroom at home. There was a large sink set into a smooth marble surface. Above the sink was a large mirror which allowed her to see how truly bedraggled she had been before hopping into the tub. The commode was exactly like the ones found in the Aboveground, though Sarah wondered where its contents disappeared to when flushed away. The tub was a porcelain, claw-footed basin, with polished silver handles and a tap at one end. It had been full of hot, steaming water when she entered the bathroom behind Mrs. Chartha. A soft, fluffy rug had tickled her un-shoed foot, and she had taken the other shoe off along with both socks to feel the soft fibers between her toes. As with the great hall downstairs, a thicket of faeries lit this room, providing soft and white light while Sarah stripped and sank blissfully into the hot water. Mrs. Chartha, whose reticence was such that Sarah'd had only a handful of words from her so far, had taken Sarah's soiled clothing away. And here she was again, carrying another bundle of clothing, this one of clean clothes.

Sarah pulled the plug from the cooling water and stood up, hurriedly covering herself with a towel before Mrs. Chartha looked up from putting her bundle down.

"Thank you, Mrs. Chartha," Sarah said, as she secured her towel and made her way over to investigate what items of clothing were in the bundle. Jareth's housekeeper nodded her head absently and then headed back into Sarah's chamber. As Sarah dressed, she noticed that Mrs. Chartha had selected a dark green sweater for Sarah to wear, one that was certainly Sarah's, but something that Sarah most definitely did not pack. She finished dressing quickly and strode into her room, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

The sight of the short, goblin-woman wiping down a familiar shoe brought Sarah up short. "My shoe! Did you go to the trouble of getting my shoe back from those goblin-children?"

Mrs. Chartha shook her head. "'Is Majesty fetched it while you was bathin'." That said, she put the freshly-cleaned shoe down next to its mate.

"Oh," was all Sarah had to say. That was nice of him. She watched Mrs. Chartha's capped-head disappear into a large wardrobe, reappearing with a pair of thick socks Sarah recognized as her own. Sarah looked behind the goblin-woman, into the fully-stocked wardrobe. It looked as if every scrap of clothing she owned was neatly crammed inside. How could that be?

"I didn't pack those socks, Mrs. Chartha. I didn't pack any of this. How did my entire wardrobe come to be here?"

"It were 'is Majesty. 'E brung the 'ole lot down from yer world. Said you might need warmer clothes, and not to fuss, 'e didn't go through naught."

Jareth again. Sarah shivered, noticing for the first time how chilly it was in the room. He had a point: she hadn't packed for cold weather. When she'd been here before, the Labyrinth and Goblin City had been comfortably warm both during the day and at night. It was thoughtful of Jareth to look after her needs like that, and if he said he'd not gone through her things, then she'd take his word for it. As Hoggle had so eloquently put it years ago (or was it months?), "What choice have you got?"

"Is there anything else from His Majesty?"

Mrs. Chartha pointed to a table a few feet away. On the table was a place setting for one, a pewter plate, knife, fork, and goblet, and a large serving tray covered with a silver domed lid. As she approached, Sarah could smell an irresistible and yet impossible scent emanating from that silver dome. Her right hand on the warm handle of the dome, Sarah lifted it up and found the source of the delicious smell: pizza. Not just any pizza either. Her favorite pizza, one she hadn't had in years: cheese, pineapple, ham, and green bell peppers. Sarah wondered vaguely how Jareth had known this was her favorite before grabbing a slice and taking a wonderful first bite. After that, she lost the capacity for coherent thought. Three and a half slices later, Sarah replaced the dome, took a last sip from her goblet (of soda, surprisingly), and then stood up.

Mrs. Chartha had lit a fire in the giant fireplace opposite Sarah's huge, canopied bed. She stood, wiped her sooty hands on her apron, and started collecting Sarah's dinnerware. Sarah cast her gaze out the window and noted the darkness of the skies. She wondered if Jareth would still be awake, and asked Mrs. Chartha.

"'Is Majesty's always awake, and you can find 'im in 'is study. 'E's always up to summat in there."

"Would you please show me the way to his study, Mrs. Chartha? If it's not too much of an inconvenience, that is." Sarah got the impression that Mrs. Chartha wasn't in the least bit thrilled to be tending her, and she didn't want to impose anymore than she had to.

Mrs. Chartha gave Sarah a penetrating look before saying, "It's on me way. Follow me."

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Jareth leaned against the side of his study window, twirling three crystals in one hand absently, his thoughts elsewhere. A partial solution had come to him, one that was dubious at best, but it had a simple logic that he couldn't ignore. From his position at the window, he could see the entire eastern quadrant of his Labyrinth, and within it, the darkness. Although night had fallen and what he could see of the Labyrinth was due to a few beams of pale moonlight, he could still clearly see the darkness. It sat malevolently, comfortably cloaked in the inky night, waiting, taunting him. He would find a way to banish that darkness, he told himself again. He had to.

His head turned when a timid knock sounded at the door, and, his thoughts still dwelling on the darkness, he threw a casual, "Enter," over his shoulder. There was the sound of the door opening, soft footsteps, and then the sound of a feminine throat-clearing. Jareth immediately stood up straight and faced Sarah, the three crystals disappearing with a quick flick of his gloved hand.

"Ah, Sarah!" Jareth greeted her in a bright voice, determined to keep things light. "Good to see you again. I trust you were able to find your way without any difficulty?"

"Yes, -"

"And have your rooms proved agreeable?"

"Yes, and -"

"And your facilities met your satisfaction?"

"Yes, but -"

"And your dinner was to your liking?"

"Yes, Jareth, thank you." He fell silent at her use of his name. Sarah continued. "Everything is wonderful. Thank you for my clothes, the pizza, my shoe – it was all very thoughtful of you. You've gone to a lot of trouble for me and I want you to know that I really appreciate it." Sarah stopped, her gratitude sounding awkward and gauche to her ears, not to mention she'd had the audacity to address a king by his Christian name, if indeed they had Christian names in the Underground, which Sarah doubted.

Jareth belatedly realized she had stopped talking and supplied the expected response, "You're welcome. Please have a seat." He indicated a leather-upholstered wooden chair facing his desk.

Sarah did as she was asked and looked around the room. She'd never been in a study before. A library, yes. An office, yes. This room seemed to be a combination of the two. Bookshelves lined the wall, crammed with leather-bound volumes and wax-sealed scrolls. His great, ornately-carved wooden desk dominated one side of the room, and it itself was dominated by towering stacks of opened scrolls, slips of parchment, and ancient tomes. The room was lit by tiny orbs of light hovering just below the ceiling.

Jareth walked to the opposite side of the desk and began clearing away the clutter. A few waves of his hand later and several neat stacks of books, resealed scrolls, and piles of ordered parchment sailed off the desk to land somewhere behind Sarah. Sarah couldn't keep the fascination off of her face as she saw him exercise his magic. It was so exciting to see realmagic!

Jareth sat in his chair, facing Sarah from across a desk that now held one scroll of parchment, an ink well, and a few quills. He tented his hands and addressed her. "No doubt you have found the Labyrinth much changed since your visit before." Sarah nodded; he continued. "Here is a list of everything that has happened since you left eight months ago." He handed her the scroll of parchment. "I don't expect you to read it now, or to read all of it, but if you are curious about just what has transpired, that is your best resource."

Sarah took it and looked it over before saying, "I'm sure it is, but Jareth…I can't read it." Sarah held the paper up and he could see his neat writing. Of course, she couldn't read it; it wasn't written in English.

"My apologies, Sarah. I have forgotten myself. It's written in Slyven, which of course you can't read. Here." He conjured a crystal and rolled it across the desk. Before she could touch it, it became a silver pendant, similar to Jareth's but much smaller, on a simple chain. "If you wear that, I think you'll find you'll be able to read any text and understand any spoken language here in the Underground."

"Thank you. But why is it I can understand goblins, and Hoggle, and my other friends, and you without this translator?" Sarah put on the pendant, pulling her slightly damp hair out of the way so the chain rested comfortably around her neck.

Jareth looked away from the mesmerizing sight of her long, chestnut hair. "That's part of a spell I cast when you first came to the Labyrinth. I cast it without your knowledge, but – and I think you will agree – it undoubtedly worked in your favor." Ah, there was the awkward silence he hadn't been missing.

Sarah sat back in her chair, unsure if he was deliberately bating her or if he hadn't meant anything by it. She decided to ignore it, partly. "Yes, and speaking of that, I spoke with Hoggle today and he – as you have informed me – said that eight months had passed since I was last here in the Underground-"

"But considerably more time has passed in the Aboveground, correct?" Jareth cut in.

"Yes," said Sarah, relieved that he knew what she was talking about, "eight years. Is that normal?" Sarah wasn't going to take it for granted that time should be the same in both worlds.

"No, it is not normal. I myself wasn't aware of the discrepancy until you arrived today," Liar, he thought to himself, "But now that I am aware, I have discerned what I think is the cause. For whatever reason, I believe your triumph eight months – or years – ago triggered the change in time. I can tell you that the situation has since been rectified. That is, our two worlds have returned to the same passage of time."

"How did you fix it?"

"I didn't. You did. Somehow, by returning here, you have restored time to its rightful flow. I see by your puzzled expression that that was unintentional on your part." He smiled to let her know he was teasing and his heart gave a little jolt when she returned his smile. How was it she could still affect him so?! It wasn't fair, and that thought threatened to bring an ironic grin to his features. Before it could, Sarah spoke.

"Could you have fixed time? If I remember, you said that you had reordered time…" She let her sentence trail away, unwilling to refer directly to something that had caused him pain.

She needn't have bothered; Jareth knew exactly what she was referring to. "I can reorder time; that much is true. But no, I couldn't have fixed a problem of that magnitude. It is beyond my power."

Sarah couldn't help but wonder how if it was beyond his power, how she had managed to right time.

"It doesn't make sense, not with what we currently know, and we can only hope that we discover the reasons. But for now, let us turn to the immediate situation: the Labyrinth. You have told me that you want to help."

Sarah nodded, leaning forward in her chair, his scroll clutched in her fingers.

"Well, I suppose this is the part where I tell you just what to do, but I can't. I don't know what to do. I have an idea, and that's what we'll start with, if it is amenable to you. I suggest we travel through the Labyrinth. Tomorrow, we can start at the north city gate and see what happens. I know it doesn't seem likely to do anything, but things are not always what they seem." Jareth wasn't sure why he wasn't telling Sarah all the details of his plan. He didn't know why he was keeping the logic he'd discovered a secret, but it was done, and amazingly, she was nodding in agreement.

"Tomorrow, then. Will any of my friends be joining us?" Although Sarah had seen Hoggle just a few hours ago, she was anxious to see Ludo and Sir Didymus.

Jareth had a different thought: of course she wouldn't want to spend the day alone with him, and he'd been a fool to suggest it. Jareth stood, feeling their meeting drawing to a close. "That can be arranged, if you wish. I will ask Sir Didymus and the silicant Ludo, as well as your dwarf friend … Hedgewart, to accompany us tomorrow."

Jareth's deliberate confusion of Hoggle's name drew another smile to Sarah's face. She stood, and raised the scroll in her hand. "May I hold on to this for a few days?"

"Of course, keep it as long as you like." Jareth sensed her hesitancy to leave and made a stab at the reason why. "Shall I show you the way back to your rooms?"

"Please. I'm afraid I don't quite know my way around your castle yet."

Jareth opened the door and gestured for her to precede him into the hallway. He struck a leisurely pace and she fell into step beside him.

After a few moments of silence Sarah asked, "What's a 'silicant'?"

"A silicant is a creature that bears the ability to call rocks. As far as I know, Ludo is the only one of his kind."

Sarah nodded. In the chilly hallway, she could feel the heat emanating from him and it sent heady shivers down her spine. A few minutes of harmless small talk later and they arrived at Sarah's door. Jareth gave a courtly bow and said, "Goodnight, Sarah."

Sarah, unsure of what the proper protocol was for bidding a king goodnight, if such a protocol existed, simply said, "Goodnight, Jareth. Sweet dreams." She then ducked into her room, closing the door quickly behind her. When Jareth was safely out of sight, she let her body go slack against the door, exhaling greatly. It was good she had requested the company of her friends tomorrow; a day alone with Jareth would be…dangerous. He was so different than she remembered, no longer taunting and sneering. Instead, he was attentive to her every need, doing his best to make her comfortable. The fact that he was as gorgeous as ever didn't help matters. No wonder she'd never been able to keep a meaningful relationship: no mortal man could ever compare to Jareth.

Banishing those thoughts, she readied herself for sleep. Nights were always hard for her, the empty silence before she slipped away into her dreams always made her feel so dreadfully alone. Tonight was no different, and she found herself thinking longingly of her family. What were they doing this very minute? What sort of excuse had Jareth conjured for her absence?

Sarah sighed. Strangely, her thoughts of family didn't dispel her loneliness. Sitting up, Sarah parted the curtains around her bed so she could have an unobstructed view of the night sky to tempt her into sleep. She was just in time to see a snowy white owl fly away from her balcony.