Chapter Six: A Love That Will Last

It is hard to measure exact time in the Underground, but a short while later, Sarah opened the door. She turned her head over her shoulder towards the dejected ball of misery curled up on silken sheets. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that it happens to lots of guys."

Although he was ageless, this Jareth seemed so much older than the confident King who had carried his conquest into his room. He lifted his head. "Sarah… my Queen. You just have to wait for a minute."

She turned back to face him, her face carefully blank. "Uh, about that. You see, I was thinking. It might have been for the best. I mean, you are the villain. Maybe we should just be friends."

The blood drained from his face. "Friends? Friends!? Tra-la-la?!"

"Yeah, you know. It might be nice to just keep things friendly. I mean, I wasn't really thinking straight, what with all of the craziness, but it would have really complicated things between us. Ha, lucky really."

He sat up in the bed, pulling up the sheets up to his chin in an attempt to gather his dignity. "Sarah. We are not made to be friends. We have been dancing with each other from the first day we met. We have played out righteousness and revenge; purity and power. I've been hot and cold, attentive, possessive, obsessive, enticingly enigmatic, irresistibly otherworldly and on rare occasions, breathtakingly tender—I have done everything for you!"

"Yes, yes. You've been… great," Sarah soothed.

"More than great! I bloody well deserve more than "significant-pause great"! I have single-handedly cultivated a sexual tension here so thick you could spread it on toast and feed a family of fifteen! I mean, lately, any time I've even looked at you… well… you know. It's not like my pants leave a whole lot to the imagination."

Sarah rolled her eyes and made a move to walk out of the room.

A note of desperation crept into his voice. "Sarah, love. Give me another chance. I'm only human!"

"No you're not—you're…." she wrinkled her brow as she thought of how she could classify him. "…an immortal magic fairy goblin-man."

He raised one eyebrow. "Yes, well. Even we have our off days. And even you have to admit that it is hard to perform at your best with everyone watching."

"Who?" she looked around the room.

"Ah. I keep forgetting that you cannot see those other worlds. We are being watched, I assure you. From beyond the fourth wall." He sighed, mournfully. "They all expect so much from me. Just because I've got a slightly sinister edge, they expect I must be mind-blowing in the bedroom…"

"Jareth? What are you talking about?"

"Not to mention the concentration it takes to make sure that time flows the right way in this land. It's alright for you—you only have to deal with the here and now. I mean, bloody hell, woman. I am a King. I have duties. Responsibilities. I'm under a lot of pressure here—it's hard enough to find the hours to do everything I need to get done in a day, even before I put in all of the high-maintenance stalking I do for you."

Sarah snorted. "That must be tough for you."

"Yes. Thankyou for your empathy. I'm sure that all of the pressures you face as a…" His nose flared slightly as though he had caught a faint whiff of bog-water, "…university student... means that you can understand the burdens of ruling an entire ever-shifting Kingdom."

He had wanted anything from her but pity and he was pleased to see that he had stung something closer to anger.

She gritted her teeth. "I work hard. Damn hard."

"Yes, of course. Working hard to become what? You'll have to remind me. A teacher, is it? Or is it something else, equally mundane?"

She flushed. "You know what? You can find out by looking through your stupid crystal balls, because from now on that is the only way you're going to see me." She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

It seemed as though all the air in the room left with her. Jareth slumped down on the bed. He sat for a long while; alone with his grief. Just staring at the dirty bandage on his hand. Then, he squeezed it so tightly that the rags cut into his skin, turning it white; bloodless.

Eventually he mustered up enough energy to flick his wrist, conjuring three crystals into the palm of his uninjured hand. He set them spinning, faster and faster until they projected a single clear image of his true mate—his Sarah—stepping through the large mirror that led her out of his world.

He felt a spreading numbness as he stared down at the glass globes.

"Balls."

Hi! natzone here.

Well, you can probably guess where I am. Please excuse the smell. Turns out, when I wrote this version of Jareth, I forgot to give him a sense of humour.

I have been politely (but firmly. VERY FIRMLY) asked to read this prepared statement:

This story is just an invention of the fevered mind of the author, who thought it might be funny to play with the idea of the Goblin King being "exhausted… trying to live up to the expectations" of the readers of his fanfiction. However, the author would like to make it clear that it is merely a fabrication. It would be obviously well within Jareth's considerable powers to have made Sarah his Queen that night. He added that if she doubted it, he would be pleased to extend her a kind invitation to put him to the test.

Ok, I read the thing you gave me. Can I get out now? Hello?

Anybody?

Aw nuts.