Chapter 19: The Astral Physical Plane

"GAH! I can't do this!" Jackie cried out, burying her face in her hands. She curled in upon herself on the settee she'd been seated on for the past hour, clutching at her hair and trying to not completely fall apart.

"Jackie, we've only been at this for a couple of days. You can't expect to master something in so short a time," Healer Orin, who was seated across from her in his own plush chair said comfortingly.

The two had been working together for the past two days, attempting to work through Jackie's insomnia, a result from the nightmare curse. Healer Orin had expertly put together a potion to take away the most harmful aspects of the curse for Jackie the day after Jareth was restored his powers and kingdom. It'd taken another day for her to wake, and since then she'd not been able to sleep for more than thirty minutes at a time. It was evident that the small dark skinned woman was exhausted, but her mind would not allow her to rest. Orin was reluctant to give her more of the dreamless sleep potion for fear of her becoming dependent on it, but if she didn't get some rest soon he would have to.

He frowned at the young woman. Her exhaustion wasn't helping her concentration, making what he wanted her to do more difficult. They'd been practicing clearing the mind of all thought, image, and sound. Entering a complete meditative state would allow Jackie to relax, hopefully enough that she would fall asleep and stay asleep for a few hours. Unfortunately, it didn't look like that was going to happen today. He rose and moved to sit beside her, placing a long fingered hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I just can't seem to help it," Jackie mumbled, looking up at the elf now seated beside her. "I'm honestly trying to clear my mind, but as soon as I think I've got it the nightmares come back."

Orin nodded, "I understand, but you need to try harder. When you see them, try to push them away. Pretend you are a rock, a solid stone in a stream; let all thoughts and images flow around you. You can observe them as they float by, but let them go. Don't let them take control. Now try again."

Jackie took a deep breath and resumed her cross-legged position. She relaxed her shoulders and let her hands sit limp on her knees. Closing her eyes, she took another deep breath and let it out slowly, imagining all thought leaving her with it. The silence of the library was only broken by the crackling fire in the hearth nearby. Healer Orin watched with hopeful eyes as she stayed still, eyes closed, for twenty whole minutes. He rose from the settee to retrieve the scroll he'd brought to take notes. However the moment he'd left the settee, Jackie let out a scream. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped for breath. Orin sat back down beside her, taking in the terror that was evident in her features.

To his surprise, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sobbed against his chest. He sat still for a moment, unsure of how to react. Deciding that the weary girl had finally snapped, he wrapped his arms around her trembling shoulders, trying to give comfort. She cried and whimpered, letting out her fears and soaking the front of his tunic with her tears. He gently held her, stroking her back and making soothing sounds. Eventually she quieted, her shoulders stopped trembling and her breathing slowed. Orin looked down at the girl to see she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

He remained still and silent, not wanting to wake her. If she was to sleep, he didn't want anything to disturb her; she needed her rest. However it felt quite awkward being her pillow and he did have other things he could be doing. Cursing himself if he woke her, he slowly extricated himself from her arms and slid a pillow beneath her head. Quietly, he picked up his scroll with his notes and turned to leave the library when he heard Jackie whimper again. He turned back to her; she was shifting around on the settee and making small frightened sounds. He moved back to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and she stilled almost immediately.

His brow furrowed. Curious, he moved away again toward the door and she started whimpering and shifting about. He walked back to her side, placing his hand back on her shoulder and she stilled. His eyes widened. Was it merely the presence of someone else she needed or was it his presence? Either way, it was evident that she took comfort in his being there, so he settled himself back on the settee, used magic to conjure a blanket for her, then used more magic to summon a book from one of the many shelves in the library. Making himself comfortable, he settled in to see how long she would sleep with him there.

o O o O o O o

"Sarah, you're not listening to me," Jareth interrupted the brunette in the beginning of what was sure to be a fantastic tirade. She turned to glare at him, hands on hips, lips pursed, and eyes narrowed. "You keep insisting that we send out search parties for Todd. While I agree that he needs to be apprehended, I'd be willing to bet that lowly piece of scum has already secluded himself in the most deserted cave he could find."

"So send a search party there! Find him!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "Precious, I've already explained… there is a search going on for him, warrants for his arrest have been sent to every part of the Seelie kingdoms as well as with those of our kind who live Above. He will be apprehended; it just takes some time." Sarah turned from him and sat on one of the chairs in the King's sitting room. Her shoulders drooped as she sat and it looked like she'd just been defeated in a great battle. Jareth furrowed his brow and slowly approached her, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder from behind. "What is it, dearest? What is it you're not telling me?"

She took a deep breath and let it out before answering in a quiet voice, "Nothing, I just want him to be found."

Jareth's frown grew, he could tell she was lying to him, but he couldn't understand why. He didn't press the issue though. If there was one thing he'd learned about Sarah, it was that she was just as stubborn as he was. She would talk about what was bothering her when she was ready. "And he will be, Sarah. Don't worry about it. Todd will be caught."

She nodded, but didn't make any more issue of it. "I'm going for a walk." She stood and made to leave.

Jareth took a step forward. "At this hour? Sarah, it's almost midnight."

"I know, but I'm not tired and I just need to think, okay?"

He studied her face for a moment. "Would you like company?"

"No," she smirked. "I can't always think when you're around. I've even asked Herm to stay here as well," she said gesturing toward the silvery dragon who was curled up by the fireplace.

The corner of his lips twitched upward. "I can assure you, I know exactly what you're talking about, love." He crossed the distance to reach for her. Cupping her cheek he pressed a kiss to the end of her nose. "Don't stay out too late. You have an appointment with Healer Orin tomorrow, remember?"

"I know. I just think he should focus more on Jackie versus the council's request to make me immortal. Really? What's a few weeks going to do?"

"Oh believe me. He and Jackie are making progress," he commented remembering Lord Utgard's report to him of finding the pair sound asleep on a settee in the library. Jareth had asked Lord Utgard to stay on as his chief of staff, of which Utgard had happily accepted. He'd said that for some unknown reason, he'd become rather fond of the goblins and he liked the Goblin Kingdom enough to become a citizen.

Sarah gave Jareth a curious look then shook her head. "You know what, tell me later. I'll be walking around the gardens until I can get my thoughts to settle down."

He smiled and kissed her once more before letting her leave. She leisurely made her way down to the first floor, then out to the King's private garden. Unfortunately, the garden was suffering as much as the labyrinth and the once magnificent blooms were brown and withered. Sarah didn't pay them any mind though, seeing as how they weren't the reason she'd come here. She'd come here to avoid sleep. The past two nights she'd been plagued with dreams of Todd. He would appear before her and try to seduce her. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have Jareth's protection in her dreams, and Todd had come close both times to taking her. Of course, they were just dreams right?

Sarah shook her head and sat down on a large marble bench, leaning back against the backrest and closing her eyes. Why was she dreaming of Todd? She wanted Jareth, didn't she? She had Jareth… So what was all this stuff about that rat who calls himself Todd? She very much doubted this was her subconscious telling her she wanted Todd… in fact, in both dreams, she'd been very aware of feeling repulsed by him. Which was why she'd woken up in time to stop him from committing unspeakable acts against her.

Maybe somehow Todd had put a nightmare curse on her? Of course, that led to when would he have done it? She wasn't sure it was possible for her to have a nightmare curse from Todd, after all, the collar he'd magicked onto her neck had disappeared when Herm had linked with her, so any other negative magic from Todd would've disappeared too, right...? Unless it had a delayed reaction? Could fae even do that with magic, put a time delay on it; make it lie hidden until they wanted it to activate?

Sarah mentally shook herself. This line of thought was only going to serve to make her paranoid, and she didn't need any help with that. She tried to think of something else, anything else. Maybe going to sleep without Todd on her mind would help? But there he was again! Like weeds in a garden, his name kept popping back up. "Oh sweet Sarah, how beautiful you look tonight," a soft voice said.

Sarah's eyes snapped open to see Todd standing before her. His hands were folded behind his back and the moon haloed his dark hair. His eyes wandered her form, and she could tell he was thinking concupiscent thoughts. "Todd," she choked out. "What are you doing here? In the middle of the Goblin Kingdom no less… I can't imagine you'd be stupid enough to come out where you'd be caught, but…" she trailed off at the obvious ending.

"Oh no, my dear. You see, I'm not really here."

"But…"

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah… how you forget so easily," he mocked her, moving closer. "How is it we've been meeting these past two nights?"

Sarah's face paled and her eyes widened. "I'm dreaming…" she deadpanned. "I can wake up though and you'll be gone."

"Oh but why would you want to do that? I just got here, that and I doubt you would be able to anyway… I can feel that the Goblin King nor that dragon are anywhere near you."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you figured it out?" he mocked. "Their magic so close to you prevents anything too dreadful from happening to you. However, now that we're alone…" he smirked and one hand came out from behind his back to make a rising gesture. Sarah could feel something pressing against her back, forcing her to stand. She rose as the pressure continued and found herself scant inches from Todd. "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming…" she panted trying to ignore how she could feel his body heat.

"Yesss," he hissed as a hand came up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. It slid down her jaw, to her throat then to her shoulder. "Yes, Sarah… comfort yourself with the knowledge that this is a dream. However it makes little difference, seeing as how when one dreamwalks, what happens in the dream happens in the physical realm as well." He started to move slowly around her, dragging his fingertips along her exposed collarbone.

Startled by the sudden exposure to her skin, Sarah looked down to see she was now wearing a thin silk sleeveless negligee that exposed much more of her chest than she would've liked and clung to her form. "How…" she whispered. She was having trouble breathing as Todd now stood behind her and was using both hands to lightly trail down her arms. "Stop…"

"Hmmm… I don't think you actually want me to do that, do you?" He slid his hands onto her hips and leaned his head down to taste the skin along her neck. She shivered, but couldn't find the will to pull away. "No, I didn't think so."

"I – I need to wake up… I need to – to…"

"Husssshhhhh…" he whispered against her neck before moving to kiss along it. His hands wandered up her ribcage and clasped just below her bosom. His order to hush tightened her throat and she found it very difficult to even think about making a sound. She tried to concentrate, perhaps if she could break his hold… "Why do you fight me so, Sarah? You want this as much as I do," he whispered in her ear.

"Nnn…" she moaned.

"I told you to be silent," he commanded. Her jaw locked shut at this more direct command. "That's better," he muttered before burying his face in her hair and pulling her flush against him. His hands started to move higher, to cover her breasts. She gasped as he started to massage through the silk.

"You're so beautiful, my dear," he muttered.

Come on Sarah, you can do this. Just call out for Jareth. she thought. She wasn't sure why she knew calling out for Jareth would work, but she did. Todd lowered his head to kiss and bite along the bare part of her shoulder. Sarah felt sick to her stomach. He would rape her if she didn't put a stop to it. Concentrate! She carefully ignored Todd's ministrations, simply partitioned off the part of her mind delivering those feelings that told her exactly what he was doing. She could already feel her jaw loosening. Just a little more…

Stronger… she had to make the wall stronger, block everything else out. Her tongue could move now. It's now or never, Sarah… "JARETH!" she screamed out to the best of her ability.

Todd jerked at her screech, completely surprised that she'd been able to speak. "Why you b…"

"I wouldn't finish that statement if I were you, Todd," a cool deep voice said. Sarah opened her eyes to see Jareth standing before her. "Get your hands off her," he commanded. Todd's hands dropped away, but he stayed close behind her. "Come here, Sarah," Jareth said in a much gentler voice.

Sarah lifted a foot to obey, but Todd suddenly pulled her back again, one hand at her throat, the other holding a conjured dagger to her ribs. "I'll do it, Goblin King. I'll kill her."

"Release her!" Jareth demanded, his gloved hands fisting.

"You know just as well as I, what happens on the astral physical plane happens in the real world too," Todd threatened, not letting go of Sarah in the slightest.

"Jareth…" Sarah whimpered.

Todd's grip around her throat tightened. "Shut it!" Jareth took a step closer. "Ah, ah!" Todd warned. "One more step, Goblin King. One more step and I'll kill her."

"What do you want, Todd? What do you expect to get out of this? We're at an impasse."

"I want you to convince the Council to revoke the warrant for my arrest."

"Is that all?"

"I want her too," he looked pointedly at Sarah.

"No."

"I don't think you're in any position to negotiate, King Jareth," he mocked.

"You will not have Sarah."

"Then neither will you…" he said plunging the dagger between Sarah's ribs.

She gasped at the sudden pain, her eyes grew large and her breath stopped altogether as it was too painful to continue. "SARAH!" Jareth cried out and rushed toward her, but she seemed to flicker like an old light then vanished from the dream. Todd stepped away and disappeared from the dream as well.

Jareth closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was back in his bedchamber. He jumped up from the bed and concentrated on finding Sarah. A crystal sphere appeared in his upturned palm that showed him the way. She lay gasping for breath on a marble bench in the garden. With a thought, he transported himself to her side. "Sarah…" he muttered, taking her into his arms. "Stay with me, Sarah," he pleaded.

He was just about to transport to the healer's quarters when a silvery mist descended rapidly upon the garden. In the middle of it, a serpentine form moved and grew to alarming proportions. Jareth watched in wonder as Hermaphroditus emerged from the mist at its full size. My mistress is injured.

"Yes…" Jareth said. "She needs a healer."

Herm shook its large head. Place her before me, Goblin King.

Jareth wanted to argue, but the look in the dragon's cold pale eye negated anything he could think to say. Instead he wordlessly carried Sarah to it and placed her at its feet then stepped back. "Don't let her die," he pleaded, fear consuming him.

Herm gave Jareth a glance that Jareth guessed was supposed to be comforting, but it only furthered his fear and uncertainty. The dragon dropped its head to examine Sarah. It took in the wound that was now bleeding profusely. Herm… Sarah muttered.

Hush, little one. The dragon drew back slightly drawing in a deep breath, then leaned close and blew what looked like tiny ice crystals over her. Sarah felt numb all over and her head was swimming. Wooziness swept over her, making her nauseous. Sleep now. All will be well. Herm bid the woman.

Sarah fell into darkness a moment later. Jareth glanced between the two. "What did you do? Is she okay?" he asked.

Yes, she'll be fine. Though I expect she will sleep for a while. I used her own magic to heal her. Mine would have been too much for her to handle.

"Her magic? Sarah doesn't have magic…"

Herm glanced up at the fae king. I beg to differ Goblin King. Of all beings, you should know of it, for you are the one that gave it to her.

Jareth's eyes widened with comprehension. The words of the story floated back to him. The king fell in love with the girl, and gave her certain powers… Pushing it from his mind to examine later, he approached Sarah. He knelt and picked her up, cradling her limp form in his arms. "Thank you, Herm."

The dragon bowed its head. You are welcome, Goblin King. However she is my mistress…. I would have done it anyway.

Jareth nodded. The two looked at each other a moment longer then Herm shrunk to its smaller size and climbed up Jareth's leg to its mistress and curled about her arm. Jareth waited till the dragon was settled then transported them back to his bedchamber and laid Sarah on the silk sheets. He stripped down out of the armor he'd magicked himself into after hearing Sarah's cry for help then carefully climbed onto the bed beside the sleeping maid.

o O o O o O o

A light prodding along her temples woke Sarah and she groaned. Sleep still weighed heavily on her, but the light prodding continued and it woke her further. "Stop…" she grumbled.

"Hold still please," a calm voice requested. "I'll be done in a moment."

Sarah opened her eyes to see the tranquil visage of Healer Orin looming over her. His eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed in concentration. His long fingers were gently probing along her temples. "What are you doing?" she asked, remaining still as he'd requested.

"Searching…" he replied. "Ah! There it is… yes, I don't think we have anything to worry about though. I am rather surprised that the human's technology picked it up."

"What?" Jareth's concern was evident. "What is it?"

Healer Orin dropped his hands from Sarah's head and turned face his King. Sarah shifted as well to glance at Jareth sitting beside her on the bed before looking back at the healer. "Lady Sarah does not have a tumor."

"What?" Sarah asked trying to sit up, but was held back, when Jareth put hand to her shoulder.

She looked back at him, but he wasn't looking at her. His hand remained on her shoulder though as he continued to look at the healer. "The 'growth' the human's technology detected is not a tumor. It's magic."

"What? How is that possible? I don't have magic," Sarah objected trying to rise again, but Jareth held her back. "Jareth…" she deadpanned looking at the hand on her shoulder.

"You should rest. I mean you were just stabbed less than twenty six hours ago."

As though this reminded her, her hands automatically went to where the wound had been, but she only felt smooth skin under her probing fingers. "Jareth, I think I need some explanations, and I need them now."

He sighed and brushed a hand back through his hair. "I know… I'll tell you what happened then Healer Orin can tell us what he's discovered."

She nodded, "Can I sit up?"

"Fine," he gave in. "But you are not getting out of this bed until I say so." She raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as she sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Todd was doing what's known as dreamwalking. That's how he was able to hurt you. Normal dreams are just that: dreams… nothing can hurt you, but when someone dreamwalks into your dream they are, in a way, astral projecting themselves. Meaning they are using their mind to project their physical body somewhere else. What I don't get though, is how he had so much control over you. Normally that takes at least couple previous visits."

"Ah… yeah. I was going to tell you about that," Sarah mumbled.

Jareth gave her a stern look. "We'll be discussing this later." Sarah lowered her head and nodded. "Anyway, when you called out my name, I was able to sense your distress and was pulled into the dream myself. As you know, Todd stabbed you. A couple seconds after you were stabbed, Todd made himself scarce and you vanished from the dream, meaning you woke up in reality. I transported to where you were in the gardens and was just about to take us to the healer's quarters when Hermaphroditus appeared in his full form." At this, the small quicksilver dragon made itself known on the bed beside Sarah. It popped its head up and crawled into Sarah's lap. She stroked it absently as Jareth continued. "It healed you using your own magic… the magic I gave you when we first met."

"What? What magic, Jareth? I've never done anything magical in my entire life."

"Really? How about being able to summon me? Or defeating the memory spell the labyrinth put on you when you won? Or wishing away your brother?"

"That was different!"

"No it's not. Very few humans actually believe in magic nowadays, but you are an exception, Sarah. We've had this discussion before. You are unique in your belief of the supernatural, and that gives you power."

"Okay, fine, but what are you talking about giving me magic?"

"It was when we first met, I doubt you remember it…"

"Are you kidding? How could I forget how you swooped into my parents' bedroom?"

"That's not what I'm talking about…" Sarah's eyes widened, but she remained silent. "We met prior to that… about five years prior in fact, just after your parents' divorce. You were in that park that you're so fond of. You were crying because you'd just found out that your mother had left." Sarah could recall the time… she'd come home from school that day to find her mother walking out the door. She'd kissed Sarah once on the forehead and told her she wouldn't be coming back this time before getting in the cab waiting for her and leaving. Sarah had stared after the tail lights of the cab until they disappeared then she'd run straight to the park and crashed to the ground beside the obelisk, tears streaming down her face.

"You were so sad… I couldn't help myself. I watched from the top of the obelisk and decided then and there to give you certain powers… the power of wishes," he said quietly.

"Jareth…" Sarah whispered and reached a hand out to place on his knee. "Are you sorry for what you did that day?"

He looked up sharply. "No."

She smiled a little, "Good... neither am I." Jareth returned her smile with one of his own and clasped the hand resting on his knee. They both then turned their attention back to Healer Orin. "Now, what's all this about me not having a tumor?" she asked.

"It's just as I said, my lady. What the human's technology picked up was the magic that has been resting idle inside you for some time now because it hasn't properly integrated with your body."

"Why didn't it integrate?" Jareth asked.

"As far as I can guess, it's because of the limited time she was exposed to the Underground. For some reason, magic needs more than just fertile ground to integrate. It also needs the support of a magical atmosphere. Lady Sarah only spent a grand total of thirteen hours…"

"Ten," Sarah corrected automatically. "Ten hours," she cornered a look to Jareth.

Jareth grimaced, but didn't say anything. "Yes, well either way it was not enough time for the magic to properly integrate." Healer Orin finished, looking between the couple with interest. "I dare say you've experienced headaches over the past few years." Sarah nodded. "They were the result of the magic inside of you trying to integrate unsuccessfully."

"Huh…" was all Sarah said. It was difficult transitioning her mind from the There's-something-wrong-with-me mode. "So… so is the magic integrated now?" she asked still trying to sort things out.

"Yes, almost completely. However you were severely weakened when Hermaphroditus used your magic to heal you, most likely because your power is very new and untried. You will need to rest for a while longer before you feel completely back to normal. I would recommend strengthening your powers before using them for anything really big, else you will find yourself weakened and vulnerable."

Sarah nodded again as Healer Orin stood from his chair beside the bed. He was about to leave the room, when he turned suddenly. "Oh, your majesty. I've been asked to place a request before you," he said.

"Yes?"

"Lady Jackie requests permission to see Lady Sarah."

Jareth seemed taken aback by the request. "Of course! Tell Jackie she is welcome to visit Sarah now if she so desires."

"I will inform her," he gave a short bow before exiting the bedchamber.

A moment of silence passed before Jareth leaned closer to see Sarah's face. "Sarah? Are you all right? Do you want to see Jackie?"

Sarah shook her head to clear her thoughts. "What? Oh, yes! Yes, I'd love to see Jackie! I haven't seen her in what feels like forever."

Jareth flashed her an amused grin, "Not long at all."

A moment later there was a quick tap at the door. The knocker didn't wait for permission to enter though and simply barreled through the sitting room and into the bedchamber. Jackie paused when she caught sight of Jareth and Sarah on the bed, Sarah looking a little paler than usual. "Oh, Sarah…" she gasped out before rushing toward her friend flinging her arms around her.

Sarah wrapped her arms around her friend's thin body, noting that Jackie was a bit thinner than the last time she'd seen her and that she was wearing a simple lavender dress. She'd never seen Jackie in a dress before… ever. "Jacks… God am I glad to see you!"

Jackie sat down on the bed then, pulling away from Sarah, but still clutching her hands. "I'll just leave you two for a while," Jareth said rising. "I'll be in my library if you need me."

They waited until he'd left before launching into their conversation. They both wanted to hear what the other had been going through for the past few days and Sarah went first, filling in her friend on all that had happened with the High Council and Hermaphroditus, (who was snoozing lazily on the bed nearby), and finally the dreams of Todd. "Geeze, Sar! Lady of the Labyrinth for less than a week and you already have an assassination attempt!" Jackie joked. "But no really, I'm so happy for you, honey! I'm glad that you and Jareth are being so open with each other and even though you're technically ordered to, you get to stay with him."

"Thanks, Jacks," Sarah grinned. "I just keep waiting for Todd to strike again though, you know? I mean what's to stop him from trying again?"

The shield Healer Orin put in your mind, Herm's soft but compelling voice said.

Sarah glanced over to the small quicksilver creature. "What?"

Jackie stared at Sarah with a confused look. "What, what?"

"Herm, it just said that Healer Orin put a shield in my mind."

"Oh… it can talk?"

Herm rolled its eyes and puffed out a small bit of smoke from its nostrils. Yes, I can talk. Why is that so hard for you people to believe? It said now including Jackie in the conversation.

"Umm… wow…" Jackie mumbled obviously speechless at the creature before her.

Anyway, as I said, Healer Orin placed a shield in your mind while you were asleep that will prevent anyone from entering via dreamwalking.

"Oh, well that's nice… I suppose. I would've liked to have been asked before he tampered with my brain, but whatever," Sarah grumbled, clearly a little peeved off at the situation.

Do not be mad with the healer, Herm said looking up at its mistress. I requested the shield and in fact, helped him to build it.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Herm, you and I need to have a little talk about a person's rights… very soon I think."

Herm looked confused, but nodded once before curling back up to go back to its nap. Sarah turned back to Jackie. "Well, it's nice to know that I'm looked after I suppose."

"That's one way of looking at it," she agreed.

"So what about you? What's been happening? Are you getting to sleep now?" Sarah asked eager to change the subject.

Jackie blushed a little before answering. "Yeah, I slept completely through last night."

"That's great Jacks! I'm proud of you! How did you do it? Last I heard you couldn't sleep more than thirty minutes at a time."

Jackie ducked her head a bit and twisted her hands. "It's all because of Healer Orin," she started.

"Did he give you a sleeping potion again? I thought he wasn't going to do that."

"No, I mean… I can only sleep with him around." She took a deep breath and waited for Sarah to say something, but she didn't. Jackie looked up to find Sarah staring at her with curiosity. "It's just that… I feel safe when he's around. I don't know why." Sarah smirked. "No! Don't say it, because I know what you're thinking and it's not like that!"

"Sorry, Jackie, but it kinda looks that way from here."

"Well it's not…"

"Uh huh…"

Jackie grabbed up a throw pillow from the end of the bed and tossed it at her friend. It hit Sarah in the head before flopping down on her lap. "You're one to talk anyway, Ms. I'm-in-love-with-a-fae-king!"

Sarah laughed. "At least I'm open about it!"

Another pillow was thrown at Sarah and both girls dissolved into fits of laughter until their ribs protested. They sat in silence for several long minutes, simply enjoying being together again. "So, Rynn…"

"Who?" Sarah asked looking over at Jackie was now sprawled out on the bed beside her.

"Rynn… Healer Orin has a first name you know."

"Oh really?" Sarah made a wiggling motion with her eyebrows.

"Oh shut up!" she hit her with another pillow. "Anyway, Rynn mentioned that you're going to become immortal."

Sarah frowned, "Yeah, Jareth hasn't told me much about it though. Whenever I ask him, he skirts around the answer and changes topics. It's making me a little worried. I mean what all is involved in the process? What's this going to mean for me? How will it affect me?"

Jackie gave her friend a sympathetic look. "Rynn mentioned it in passing, but from the sound of it not many people have undergone the process and it kinda sounds painful."

"Did he tell you what's done to the person?"

Jackie shook her head. "No, sorry."

"It's not your fault. I just want to know why Jareth won't talk to me about it."

"Maybe he's trying to protect you? I mean if it is painful, maybe he just doesn't want you to worry so much?"

"Maybe… but wouldn't it be better to prepare me for it?"

Jackie shrugged. "He's doing what he thinks is best."

"Will you be there for it, if you can?"

"Of course, honey." Jackie sat up and grabbed hold of Sarah's hand, squeezing tightly. "I wouldn't leave ya hanging like that."

Sarah smiled at her friend. "Thanks, Jacks."

The two hugged, clutching each other as though their lives depended on it. "I think I need to talk to Jareth now," Sarah said as they pulled apart. Jackie nodded. "And you… don't be a stranger! Come back and see me!" she teased.

"Wild dragons couldn't keep me away," Jackie replied with a smirk before exiting the room.

A moment later Jareth came back, smiled at her, kissed her forehead, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Jackie said you needed to talk to me?"

Sarah sighed and decided to just dive right in. "Jareth, I want to know what happens during the immortality procedure."

His face fell; it was obvious that he hadn't been expecting the question. "Sarah…"

"Don't give me some run-around answer. I'm the one going through it; I need to know."

He dropped his head, "I'm sorry, Sarah. I should have told you by now. I've been selfish in trying to protect you." He let out a long breath before starting. "The immortality procedure is something rarely done. The risks, to most people, outnumber the outcome." He let out another sigh and brushed his hair back. "In order to gain immortality, you must first give up your mortality."

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked after a pregnant pause.

"It means you have to die."

o O o O o O o

A/N: Wow… so thanks for reading and continuing to review. I'm gonna have to do a big list of people who I'm grateful to soon here. And just an FYI… I don't think chapter 20 will be the last one either because there are still too many loose ends to wrap up… and as requested by so many readers in the last chapter, I am not going to kill my plot bunnies. However this means that they are celebrating by multiplying like… well… rabbits!

Labyrinth (c) Jim Henson & Co.