Authors Notes: Ok well here I am again with chapter nine many thanks to the reviewers although sparse you have given me the ammo that I needed for this (sorry it has been soo long in coming!!!!) chapter so thank you and for all you that read but don't review thanks anyway.

Big thanks to Lady Isithraide for her never ending support and for letting me bounce mad ideas off her like she was a trampoline.

Big (belated now) thanks to my boss at Galadriel's for talking to me about salmonella last night, dunno if I'll use it but who knows, and also thanks to Debbie and Adam who work there for giving me the ideas for the two most difficult characters to write! all hail to you two!

Also a huge huge thank you to Jane, you know who you are your soo much fun and I'm so glad I've met you, hope you enjoy this.

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing all I own are the OC's and even Izzie technically aint mine, but I borrow with permission, and Yes L Isithraide you can borrow Sylvestra with permission and anything else you want to borrow!!!!

Dedication: this goes out to my dear Friend Jane! I know I sound like a mad bint most times but maybe by reading this you'll understand a bit about my madness, thank you for all your advice and kindness the cards were right I think!!

It had been three days since Toby had made his strange but truthful comment, three days of trying to put the Fae King out of her head, and three days of Marisa demanding that she needed to have a shower fixture everywhere she went.

But now she had done it, immersing herself in cataloging some new books that had been delivered and she hadn't thought of him in three hours, which at the moment was a world record.
"Tea?"

"Don't disturb me when I'm busy it's the only time when I get some piece"

"Sorry I'll just make you some and leave it there then shall I?"

Sarah offered her friend a quick smile and then went back to her work

"You know" Marisa shouted from the small kitchen "You'll have to keep busy all the time, you'll be exhausted, and either that or you tell him to sod off"

"I can't" Sarah sighed "And anyway I really don't want to talk about this"

"You have to or else it'll end up driving you cuckoo"

Sarah passed a hand through her hair "I'm beginning to think I already am"

The front door bell sounded "I'll get it ok you just carry on with not thinking about Mr. Goblin King who most possibly may like you"

"Oh Marisa!!!!!!"

"Good morning welcome to Goliaths how can I help you?"

"Good morning and blessings to you" the first woman said, before getting elbowed in the ribs by the second woman

"No Izzie!" said the second woman shaking her head in despair "Let me do the talking"

This strange woman turned to Marisa and said "I am sorry my friend is from out of town and… isn't sure of this dialect we are looking for a book"

"Well we are a bookstore, any particular book?"

"Yes... it's called the Labyrinth, you see my brother had a copy a long time ago but he gave it away and now I want to get him another one, for his birthday"

"Ahh well Fantasy, that's not my genre but I'm sure my assistant could help you"

Turning her head in her friend's direction she hollered "SARAH SOME PEOPLE HERE LOOKING FOR THE BOOK!"

Sarah rolled her eyes Marisa couldn't have made it any more obvious

"Ahh good morning my name's… well yeah you probably know thanks to mighty mouth over there…" it was then as she was walking into the main area of the bookstore that she saw the two women. One had red hair …. And the other, Sarah just managed to stifle a gasp, she could have been Jareth, only her hair was wrong, a dark black instead of the golden locks that the king possessed she realized a little too late that she was staring

"Something the matter girl?" said the strange woman with the raven locks

"You just reminded me of someone for a moment... I just wondered if…" but instead of saying more she shook her head and smiled

"Now what book would you like then?"

"Izzie!" Esmelda admonished in a whisper "You weren't meant to do that, Jareth said no Magic!"

"And what my little brother doesn't know about is no concern of his!"

Esmelda shook her head but said nothing

"Right you're looking for a book?" Sarah asked looking at the table of books that had still to be catalogued "Sorry about the mess, I'm in the middle of… well yeah. What book was it again?"

"The Labyrinth" Esmelda interjected, she really could have done without Izzie on this trip all her 'good mornings' and 'blessings to you' were starting to get on her nerves.

All Esmelda really wanted to do was leave the invite and get out of here, and maybe go for a coffee and something to eat, like chips, she liked aboveground, it was nowhere near as stuffy as the underground where there were all those rules.

"Esmelda, The books binding" Isolde nudged her friend and when that failed she waved a hand in front of her face."
"Sorry Isolde, the book yes. It has read leather all over it, gold lettering, and quite a classic"

The girl, Sarah, went pale and dropped a few books that she had in her arms

"Why do you want that book?" she asked her voice shaking

"My annoying brother Tristan had a copy once. He lost it and now I want to get him another copy, for his birthday." Esmelda said, well it was partly the truth, she did have a brother called Tristan, but that was as far as the truth went.

"Well I'm sorry, but I don't think we have that book any more, I can check the stock room if you want but... well I think there were only a few printed or something…." Sarah realized that she was blathering and shut up.

She instead rushed to the storeroom, and began to dig around in boxes, muttering under her breath about filing systems and the shops lack of one.

While she rummaged the two customers, were taking a look around.

"Well she has done well for herself…"

"Yes Izzie but its not what she wanted she wanted to become an actress, she was born to do it"

"That may be so, but she's managing"

"Of course she is…"

"Although she could do with someone on the till that was a bit more…"

"Color-less"

Izzie nodded and looked sideways at Marisa, as if trying to ascertain which hair color was her natural one.

In the end she declared it a loosing battle and turned back to Esmelda

"There is something not right about that one"

"Izzie, don't be so harsh, I'm sure she's lovely." Esmelda replied. If she was honest with herself she rather liked the idea of the girl's hair and tattoos.

After all everyone was soo… stuffy in the underground, there were certain laws to uphold and some of them were unwritten, most of them really

"I'm sorry Sarah's taking soo much time to find your book, would you like anything to drink while you wait?" asked Marisa from the counter, not daring to approach anywhere near these two foreign women

"Yes I'd very much like a coffee and my friend will have a hot chocolate"

"I will, will I?" Izzie hissed in Esmelda's ear"

"Yes Isolde, you will and you are going to love it!"

Izzie just stood there shooting daggers at Esmelda who had turned her back and was humming serenely.

Marisa watched the interaction with a puzzled expression on her face before walking to the kitchen shaking her head and muttering "and they say I'm strange…."

~~*~~

When Izzie and Esmelda were seated on a battered sofa in the staffroom Sarah came back from the storeroom.

"Mar, that storeroom needs a tidy, looks like a bombs hit it"

"Well it was fine when… oh, ok yeah going to tidy then check you three later" said Marisa sketching a wave with a tattooed hand.

Izzie looked at Sarah; she could see why her brother was so enamored with the mortal, Black hair long and straight, green eyes the like of which Izzie had never seen, never before had she seen a person like this, this was Sarah Williams, champion of Jareth's games.

She had an almost mythical quality about her, as if she was only staying in this world only because someone needed her, at any moment she could cut all her ties and fly away, somewhere different.

But when Izzie shook her head that image of Sarah was gone and in front of her stood a shop keeper, proud and graceful none the less but a mortal.

Jareth would say she was going demented.

"I'm sorry Ladies, we don't have a copy of that book, maybe there is another that I can tempt you with, we do have a wide variety of fantasy books, just this way.

"Go on Izzie, I'll just finish my coffee." Esmelda said pushing Izzie off the sofa

"Vile drink, you'll poison yourself you know" Izzie said with a scowl at the half empty cup in Esmelda's hand

"Of course dear now on you go and find a nice book for your nephew"

Izzie continued to scowl at Esmelda but Esme just smiled sweetly, so Izzie turned and followed Sarah.

"Tell me, of Sarah" Esmelda said cornering Marisa

"Sarah, what do you want to know?"

"Is she... I mean has she a wooer?"

"A wooer?"

"Yes someone she calls her own."

"Oh a guy you mean"

Esme nodded.

"No not really, there was one person though, you could say he stole her heart, she's never forgotten him, he was..."

"She's found a book Mar can you go and cash it up for me while I get their cups to the kitchen"

"Sure I can Sarah" said Marisa already on her way to the till.

Esmelda took that opportunity to find Sarah's bag and slip a small piece of paper into it.

Well that's it for now, chapter ten is in the works, and more characters are coming up, thank you to all who have stuck with me, and I apologize that this chapter has taken soo long

GEfaF