Chapter 17: The Decision

"Lady Sarah, wake up," a soft voice whispered. Sarah groaned, but made an effort to rouse herself. "Come, come, girl. If you want to see Lord Jareth before his trial then I suggest you get moving."

Jareth… the name brought her to full attention and she sat up, stretching a little as she did so. She looked around, remembering why she was here then she looked down to see Hermaphroditus still coiled around her upper arm. Good morning, Sarah, the dragon greeted.

Mornin' Herm, she replied. She glanced back up to see Healer Orin examining her curiously. It was obvious that he was holding back questions. Normally Sarah would have told him to ask, but just then she really wanted to see Jareth. "Shall we?" she asked standing.

Healer Orin raised an elegant eyebrow, "Yes, we shall," and led the way out of the healing quarters, leaving a still sleeping Jackie behind.

Sarah followed him out the door, down the hallway, up two flights of stairs and down another couple of hallways until they reached a door guarded by two burly fae. Healer Orin showed them a pass of some kind and they stepped aside, allowing entrance. The heavy wooden door swung open on silent hinges. Sarah stared in awe at the royal sitting room. Extravagant tapestries hung from the walls, depicting colorful scenes of men on horseback hunting. One in particular drew her eye; it portrayed a ballroom full of lavishly dressed people dancing. In the center were two individuals, one dressed in blue, the other in pristine pearly white. The way they gazed into each other's eyes was almost heart wrenching. "Sarah?" Healer Orin drew her attention back.

She followed him from the sitting room into a small library. The shelves were completely full, thick books, thin books, tall, short, brightly colored, drab… Sarah even thought she saw a few books by Aboveground authors. However her attention was drawn to the settee before the massive fireplace. A familiar tuft of winter blond hair was sticking up from the other side. Sarah slowly moved around the settee; Healer Orin stayed back, apparently examining the books along one shelf. Jareth was sprawled out on the settee; his head rested on the arm, but his feet remained on the floor as though he'd fallen asleep and simply tipped over.

Sarah approached the fae and kneeled down before him. His face looked contemplative even in sleep. His upswept eyebrows and furrowed brow made her smile. She gently ran her fingers along his cheek and leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. He grumbled and shifted before his eyes fluttered open. Catching sight of her, he sat up abruptly, groaning as the blood rushed from his head. "Sarah," he whispered.

"Morning sleepy head."

"How… how did you get in? There are guards…" he trailed off at her small chuckle.

"I have my ways. I am the Lady of the Labyrinth after all." He smiled and pulled her up onto the settee beside him. One arm stayed behind her shoulders and hugged her close against his side. Without a single word, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, expressing that which he could not in words at that moment. Sarah worked her lips against his and raised a hand to tangle into his hair. The moment she touched his scalp though, he hissed and pulled back. "What? What is it?" she asked slightly panicked.

Healer Orin was immediately at their side. "The back of my head… hurts like a devil," he grumbled.

"Hold still please," Healer Orin requested and gently ran his fingers along the back of Jareth's skull.

He hissed in pain again and Sarah fumbled with her hands not knowing what to do. "Is he alright?" she asked.

"He'll be fine. Just has a nasty contusion back here. I have a potion for it down in my quarters. If you'll excuse me, your Highness, I'll be right back," Healer Orin excused himself.

"You look like hell," Sarah said after a moment.

Jareth chortled, "I didn't get much sleep." She nodded. "I can't say that you look much better, my dear," he commented.

"Ah, yeah, well Herm and I had a late-night conversation."

"Herm?"

"Oh, yeah, Jareth, meet Hermaphroditus… Herm for short," she waved her hand toward the quicksilver dragon wrapped around her arm.

Jareth peered down his nose at the dragon. "We've met," he deadpanned. "Hermaphroditus?" he asked looking back up at Sarah.

"Yeah, it said that it didn't really have a gender as we know it, so that made me think of Hermaphroditus from Greek mythology who was both male and female."

"It said?"

Yes, I said…

Jareth looked back at the quicksilver dragon in surprise. "You speak?"

Technically… I'm actually tapping into your mind and your auditory sensors think they hear me, but in actuality I'm not using vocal cords of any kind.

"Huh…" Jareth puzzled. Sarah tried to hold back her laugh, but was unsuccessful. "What?" he asked, his attention drawn back to her.

"Nothing… just I don't think I've ever seen you speechless."

"Yes well, I've never met a telepathic dragon before. Most dragons communicate by flashing images at the intended recipient, not actual words."

"Still funny…" she giggled.

Her laughter was cut off though as Healer Orin returned. They watched as he marched back into the room, a clear glass bottle with an opaque purplish liquid held in one hand and a tumbler in the other. "This should help with the pain and reduce some of the swelling," he said as he opened the bottle and poured some of the liquid in the short glass.

Jareth took the glass, toasted Sarah, then tossed it all back at once. He grimaced at the taste and handed the tumbler back to Healer Orin. "Not as bad as your usual concoctions, Orin."

Healer Orin raised an eyebrow, amused. "My… concoctions… are not meant to taste good, Lord Jareth. They are meant to heal."

"Never could take a joke," Jareth mumbled to Sarah who grinned.

"Lord Utgard asked me to tell you to make yourself ready. You will be leaving for trial shortly," Healer Orin said putting the stopper back in the bottle of medicine.

This statement sobered them both immediately. "May I request a proper dress be brought for Lady Sarah?" Jareth asked.

"Whatever for?" Healer Orin asked.

"Since it was she whose custody I was in, I have a feeling the High Council will wish to question her."

Healer Orin nodded. "Lady Sarah, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to a guest room where someone will provide you with a gown."

Sarah agreed and rose to follow, but not before pressing another kiss against Jareth's lips. "I'll see you soon," he said, his hand running down her free arm.

She nodded and moved to follow Healer Orin. He led her out the door and down the hallway into another room. This one was smaller and slightly less extravagant, but still more than Sarah was used to. "A maid will be in shortly," Healer Orin said before backing out the door.

Sarah took the time to examine the room more thoroughly. There was a sitting room just as one entered, like in Jareth's chamber, but it was slightly smaller and there wasn't a library, just a small bookcase with a sampling of tombs and a few other knickknacks. An ornate doorway led to the bedchamber; it was decorated in blues and silvers. The bed itself looked like a four-poster cocktail of textures, silks, velvets, brocade... It made Sarah want to just flop down on it and soak in the feel.

She could sense through her mental link with Herm that it was taking in all this as well. She could also tell that it was using her memories to help it understand everything. They both waited in companionable silence for a moment until a click of the door opening and closing announced the maid. "Healer Orin sent me to help you dress," the young blond fae woman said. Sarah took in her plain garb and figured she must be a servant in the castle. She stood and the maid approached. "My name's Sophie, ma'am and if you please I think a quick bath first would be best. Lord Utgard said we have about an hour before departure, so we'll have to be quick."

Sarah nodded and followed Sophie through a door she hadn't noticed upon her initial examination of the room. It blended so well with the surrounding wall the eye was tempted to skip right over it. On the other side of the door was a bathroom of sorts. It held a decent size bathtub, a toilet, and a sink. Sophie had already filled the deep tub with steaming water. "How…?" Sarah asked looking at the tub.

"Magic, ma'am," she answered simply. "Come, I'll help you out of those…. clothes," she said looking at the hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants Sarah was still dressed in.

"I think I can manage to get undressed."

"As you wish ma'am. Would you like help in bathing?"

Sarah blushed, "No, I'll be fine."

"As you wish… I'll wait outside then. Please be quick."

Sarah nodded and Sophie left. She looked down at Herm who was curiously silent. Um… Herm, do you think you could uncoil yourself from me for a while? I need to bathe.

Herm looked up at her then without a word loosened its hold on her arm and climbed down her side. The dragon crawled over to the stack of towels on the counter near the sink and curled up on the soft white terrycloth. Sarah tried to ignore the fact that there was another sentient being in the room as she disrobed and climbed into the pleasingly hot water.

She was tempted to just sit there and soak in the warmth, but Sophie seemed like the kind of person who would barge right in if Sarah took too long, so she scrubbed her body with a cloth and soap and washed her hair with a sweet rose smelling concoction. She was finished in a little under ten minutes and rose from the tub to grab one of the towels Herm was laying on to dry herself. Herm chose to stay curled up on the extra towel and Sarah just used the one she had to dry her hair a bit.

Wrapping the towel around herself, she exited the bathroom to find Sophie pondering over a gown hanging in mid-air. It was a lovely shade of emerald green with a corseted top and an A-line skirt. The long sleeves were loose and looked to be made of chiffon. Gold embroidery accented the corset in lovely little Celtic knots. "That's beautiful," Sarah exclaimed.

Sophie looked up from the dress, "Thank you, it's not my best work, but it will have to do on such short notice. Now come on, lets get you into it and see if it fits."

Sarah moved forward and Sophie handed her some undergarments, which Sarah tried to discreetly put on while keeping the towel covering the necessities. Sophie merely rolled her eyes and muttered something about humans. Once the undergarments were on, Sarah let the towel fall and Sophie moved to slip the dress on over Sarah's head then walked around to her back and started tightening the laces. When she was finished, Sarah felt as though she could barely breathe. "Could you… do you think you could loosen it a bit?" she asked hesitantly.

Sophie let out an exasperated sigh, but made a minute motion with her hand and the laces all loosened just enough so that Sarah could breathe properly. "Sit down in front of the mirror there," Sophie indicated the chair in front of the large bureau.

Sarah sat and Sophie began to comb through her hair, pulling and tugging it into shape. Sarah winced a couple times, but she had to admit that by the time Sophie was done, the elegant chignon made her look quite lady-like. With a spritz of perfume that smelled similar to the rose shampoo and a pair of soft doe-skin slippers, Sophie declared Sarah to be ready.

Just then, Herm emerged from the bathroom. Sophie let out a little screech and backed up several steps. "What is that?"

"That's Herm, and it doesn't like high-pitched noises," Sarah answered sensing Herm's discomfort with the pitch of Sophie's screech. It scurried over to Sarah and climbed up her skirt to her arm. "Do you think you could maybe split the sleeve from the shoulder to the wrist? Herm likes to see things," Sarah patiently explained. Sophie looked like she was going to argue, but changed her mind and waved a hand at the sleeves, which were magically split, allowing Herm to remain coiled around Sarah's upper arm, but poke its head out when it wanted. "Thank you," Sarah said.

Sophie nodded, "If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the party who'll be going to the High Court."

Sarah moved forward and Sophie led her out the door and down the stone passage. They made several turns and went down a couple sets of stairs before they reached their destination, a place Sarah recognized from her first visit to the kingdom, the throne room. It was much cleaner than the last time she'd been there, no drunken goblins, no chickens, no dirty un-swept corners. In the middle of the room stood three fae guards, Jareth (who was dressed in his usual Underground clothing now), and another fae who Sarah supposed was Lord Utgard. Sarah automatically moved to stand beside Jareth, who grabbed hold of her hand and laced his fingers with hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Nice of you to join us, Lady Sarah," Lord Utgard said. It wasn't sarcastic or angry, just a comment. Sarah bowed her head slightly, but didn't say anything. "Now that we're all here, shall we?" Lord Utgard waved a hand toward the three guards.

Two of them moved to stand on either side of Sarah and Jareth, grabbing on to their arms. Sarah was about to protest, but then everything went blurry and she felt a swooping sensation in the pit of her stomach. It all happened so fast and it took her a moment to realize when it was over. She let out a breath and turned to the guard beside her. "Warn a girl before you do that," she growled out between gritted teeth.

The guard gave her an apologetic look and let go of her arm. Jareth chuckled beside her, and she felt Herm loosen its too tight hold it had claimed when the transport had occurred. No one said a word, but Lord Utgard led the way through a set of doors and into what looked like an antechamber. "Best be seated," Lord Utgard said indicating a set of chairs and a settee. "They'll call when they want us."

Jareth pulled Sarah over to the settee and sat down with her. "There's a few things you should know before we go in," he said. Sarah nodded and indicated for him to continue. Herm perked up from under her sleeve to listen as well. "You will be expected to sit with Lord Utgard until they call for you to stand witness. When you are called to the stand, only speak when spoken to… and try not to let your emotions get the best of you. They'll most likely ask you some personal questions in order to judge your character."

"Okay," she swallowed, trying not to take offense at his assuming that she would allow her emotions to get the better of her.

"Just be your usual pleasant self," he smiled.

She smirked back, "Of course, your Majesty."

"The High Council will see you now, Lord Jareth," a page called from the double doors leading to the High Council's chambers.

Everyone rose and followed the boy into a large open room. It was very similar to a courtroom in the Aboveworld, except instead of a judge and a jury, there were thirteen fae sitting along a high panel. Lord Utgard in front of Jareth and Sarah, bowed low to the Council before taking a seat. Sarah and Jareth did the same, except that Sarah curtsied then he moved to sit in a solitary chair before the Council and she went to sit next to Lord Utgard who nodded in acknowledgement of her. The three fae guards remained in the back near the doors. "The High Council will now review the case of the Goblin King, Jareth le Roi," the elderly gentleman in the middle of the High Council spoke. "This Council last met on this matter twenty-seven days ago. We will now reassess the subject." The fae turned to face Jareth. "Lord Jareth, it has come to this Council's attention that you did not complete your punishment of twenty-seven days in the mortal world. You returned early. Would you care to explain?"

"I would, High Council Master," Jareth said confidently standing to address the fae before him. "I was content to remain in the Aboveground for the duration of my punishment however an UnSeelie fae by the name of Todd stole away the human of whose custody I was put into."

There were mutters among the Council members at the mention of word UnSeelie. "Order!" the High Council Master called out. The muttering ceased. "Please continue, Lord Jareth," he said judiciously.

Jareth nodded in thanks, "With the help of another mortal, I called upon Titania, Queen of the Fairies, for help in going to retrieve the mortal, Sarah Williams." At this, Jareth gestured back at Sarah.

"You do realize, Lord Jareth, that instead of going after her yourself, you could have called upon the High Council about the matter?"

"Aye, however not knowing precisely what Todd had in plan for Ms. Williams, I felt that I needed to act with haste." The High Council Master frowned, but nodded. "I entered the Goblin Kingdom two days ago in search of the UnSeelie and the mortal. I succeeded, as you can tell."

"And where is this Todd now?"

"He escaped, High Council Master."

"I see. We'll come back to this matter. As it stands now, we are merely examining whether your sentence was completed satisfactorily. The High Council calls Ms. Sarah Williams to bear witness." Lord Utgard stood and helped Sarah up then led her to stand before the Council beside Jareth. "Ms. Williams?"

"Yes, your honor?"

"Please describe Lord Jareth's behavior whilst he was in your custody."

"He was a perfect gentleman, your honor."

The fae raised his already exaggeratedly high eyebrow and gave Sarah an amused look. "Is that so, Ms. Williams? That doesn't sound like the Goblin King at all." Sarah blushed and looked down at her twisting hands. "Please, Ms. Williams, we all know Lord Jareth would rather play mischievous tricks than be a proper gentleman."

Something seemed to click in Sarah's head and she looked back up at the High Council Master with a determined expression. "I beg to differ, your honor. Lord Jareth, while being young and playful at times, is perfectly capable of being a gentleman. Perhaps it is your expectations of him that he is reacting to?"

The High Council members started to mutter angrily at Sarah's implications, but the High Council Master's face remained calm. In fact, Sarah could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth twitch upward a bit. "Silence please," he called out. The other members settled. "May I ask for an example of this gentlemanly behavior?" he requested.

Sarah consciously tried to relax herself before diving into her example. "Lord Jareth showed gentlemanly behavior many times during the twenty-five days he was in my custody, but none so much as when I was physically injured and given bad news."

"Please elaborate."

"Lord Jareth and I were ice skating together when I fell and injured myself. He helped me to a medical facility where he stayed by my side the entire night. In the morning, the doctor… erm… healer…"

"We know what a doctor is, child."

Sarah nodded and continued, "The doctor delivered the news that I had a tumor that morning and the possibility of surgery to remove it. I was…" at this point Sarah lowered her eyes and stared down at her hands again. "I was terrified. I don't like hospitals, or doctors to begin with and needless to say the news that I would have to come back repeatedly and be subject to multiple invasive tests and most likely brain surgery scared me to no end. Lord Jareth was there though to reassure me and give me the alternative that I might be able to be healed here in the Underground by his own personal healer."

Quiet filled the Council chambers and Sarah looked up to see the High Council Master examining her curiously. "Lord Jareth should not have promised something like that, but I can see how it would bring hope at a time like that. Please confirm for the Council… you are the mortal who defeated the labyrinth ten years past are you not?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you now remember the entire journey?"

Sarah wasn't sure where this was going. "Yes, sir. It all came back shortly after you put Lord Jareth in my custody."

The High Council Master nodded. "You may be seated, Ms. Williams." Sarah nodded and turned to sit next to Lord Utgard again. She allowed a hand to brush against Jareth's as she passed. "The High Council will now adjourn to discuss the matter amongst ourselves. Court will resume one hour hence," the High Council Master stood and the rest of the Council followed suite, filing out a door behind the panel.

After a moment, Jareth came to stand beside Sarah. "Come on then, we might as well have tea while we wait," Lord Utgard said leading the way back to the antechamber.

Sarah and Jareth followed in silence, holding hands to reassure each other. They were seated in the antechamber and tea was served to them after Lord Utgard had a word with one of the servants. The steaming tea was served with small pastries and little triangular cucumber sandwiches. Sarah ate, not realizing how hungry she'd been. Is there not any meat? Herm asked sliding down her arm into her lap.

Afraid not, she answered.

It gave a small snort of displeasure, but jerked its head toward one of the sweat pastries; I'll take one of those then.

Sarah selected one and put it on a napkin on her lap so Herm could eat. Jareth gave it a look and rolled his eyes. "You really don't mind him? Even with what it's done?"

Sarah looked up at him. "No, I don't think it had much of a choice in the matter, Jareth. Herm said it was mostly instinct that was guiding it from the moment it woke. Laying blame on it would be like scolding a cat for playing with a string… it's instinctual."

"But you're not a string, Sarah. You are a person," he said grabbing up her hand.

"I know, Jareth," she sighed. "It was just an analogy."

He squeezed her hand and let out a sigh of his own. "I think I see what you're trying to say, but it's going to take me a while to reach that point, Sarah. You didn't see how much pain you were in when it first started the link."

Sarah dropped her eyes to her lap. "No, and thankfully I don't remember much of it."

Jareth let the subject drop seeing as Lord Utgard was still in their company. "Lord Utgard," he addressed the fae. "I would like to thank you for the care you have shown my castle."

Lord Utgard swallowed his tea. "You're welcome however I'm afraid I do not deserve too much thanks. The castle was easy to clean up, but the labyrinth continued to wither while you were away. I believe only the true master of the labyrinth will stand a chance at restoring it."

Jareth nodded. "I think you're right. However if the Council decides against restoring my title, the honor of being master of the labyrinth may fall to you anyway."

Lord Utgard shook his head. "Nay, there is only one true master of the labyrinth and I'm afraid I could never live up to him. Despite your recent temper tantrum and failure to keep the labyrinth in working order, Lord Jareth, you are able to manipulate the entity of the labyrinth with incomprehensible ease. It would be exceedingly difficult to any other fae, including myself, to do what you do on an ordinary day. So while I am happy to play steward to your kingdom, let us hope it does not become permanent."

Jareth smiled and raised his teacup toward Lord Utgard who returned the salute. They spent some time silently sipping their tea and munching on the provided food. After a while, Sarah addressed Jareth again. "Do you think Jackie will be alright?"

"I would not worry too much about her. While a nightmare curse is serious business, I have every confidence that Healer Orin will find a counter to the curse. Besides, it appears that Jackie may be stronger than we believe."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally victims of the nightmare curse are driven to madness and start tearing at their own flesh in attempt to rid themselves of the demons plaguing them. Jackie did no such thing. She remained still in a catatonic state almost. It was bizarre to say the least, but it is hopeful that she will be able to beat back the curse easier than a fae could."

Sarah smiled at his encouraging words. "See… humans are tougher than fae," she smirked.

Jareth snorted, very un-kingly, into his tea and gave her a wide grin, "I never had any doubt, my dear."

She blushed and busied herself with pouring more tea. Lord Utgard smirked as well. Another ten minutes later, the page boy came to fetch them. Jareth stood uneasily and Sarah grasped onto his arm trying to give him some confidence as they walked into the High Council's court. They resumed their seats from earlier once the Council members had been seated. "Rise, Lord Jareth," the High Council Master ordered. Jareth rose, his lean form exuding calmness, but Sarah could see the slight tremble in his form that gave away his nervousness. The High Council Master looked down at the young fae before him, his face not showing any sign of what the Council's decision may be. "Lord Jareth, we the High Council have made a decision on whether you should be allowed back your title and powers. He have examined what the mortal, Sarah Williams, has said in your defense as well as your own testimony regarding the breech in your punishment, and despite the obvious change in your attitude, we have decided against restoring your title and power. This decision was not made lightly, however we felt that because of the obvious breech of your punishment and the other options you had to solve the issue as well as what the mortal, Sarah Williams, has said about her remembrance of her previous trip to the Underground, it was necessary.

"You are hereby revoked the title of Goblin King and will be exiled to live in the Aboveground as a mortal. We charge you with the protection of Sarah Williams so that no other may find their way through the labyrinth as the UnSeelie fae, Todd, did. In regards to that, you will be granted a small amount of power to help you in this aspect, but it will not include the ability to traverse between the Underground and Aboveground. This is the High Council's decision on the matter."

o O o O o O o

A/N: Don't you just love a good cliff-hanger? lol... sorry, the next chapter will be out by Friday. :)

Labyrinth (c) Jim Henson & Co.