Chapter Nine

Return to the Goblin City

"Not what you were expecting?"-Jareth

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Sarah awoke the next morning to some sort of commotion. She sat straight up out of bed, her blurry eyes searching for the noise. She rubbed her eyes and locked them onto her closet. Lydia was there with a small group of goblins. They seemed to be carrying out cases of clothes out of her closet. Lydia glanced up at Sarah.

"Well good mornin' Miss Sarah, I hope you'll be brushin' that hair of yours before you're off," Lydia teased. Sarah had seen her hair in the mornings, sometimes it wasn't very pretty. Sarah stretched lazily and swung herself out of bed.

"Do I really need to take all of this?" Sarah asked as the little goblins marched out of her closets with box after box of cloths. Lydia just shrugged.

"Ya never know."

"When are we leaving?" Sarah asked as she sat down at her vanity and began combing her hair.

"As soon as you are ready I believe," Lydia put her hands on her hips as she always seemed to do. "Everythin' else is ready to go."

"What would they do without you Lydia?" Sarah smiled.

"They wouldn't be doin' much o' anything, that's what they's be doin'!" She scowled. "Why they all would lose their heads 'round here if they weren't attached..." Lydia babbled on while the goblins finished the work. As soon as the goblins cleared the way, along with Lydia, Sarah changed into her clothes for the day. It was a simple maroon long dress; the sleeves came about three quarters of the way down her arm. Some simple lace around the trim of the dress made it look not too boring. She made her way down to the dining hall where breakfast was just being brought out. She sat down quickly; Terra looked up from her conversation with her brother.

"You're stuck with us I'm afraid," Terra sighed dramatically. Sarah gave her a puzzled look and turned to Jareth.

"My sister is very persuasive," Jareth slightly frowned.

"So I'm not going?" Sarah asked.

"Of course you are," Jareth started. "Just now..."

"We get to go too!" Lynnett smiled triumphantly. Sarah looked over at Jareth who just shrugged.

"Siblings..."

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Soon Terra and Lynnett were packed as well and everything was loaded into two elegant carriages. Both were drawn by the 'horses' Sarah had met a while back. Lydia double checked everything and ran over a few things with Terra. Lynnett tugged on her brother's sleeve.

"Why aren't we just teleporting there like always?" She asked mildly.

"Well Lynnett it's a lot of people, and you know how that will wear me out. Also I thought Sarah might like to see a bit of the scenery," Jareth told her. That was a good enough answer for Lynnett, who just nodded and climbed into one of the carriages. Sarah couldn't help but over hear the conversation.

"You normally teleport?" Sarah asked curiously. "It makes you tired?"

"I'll explain on the way there, we have a long ride so there will be time," Jareth confirmed.

"Everyone all set?" Terra asked, buttoning up the top button on her long winter cloak. Sarah pulled her cloak around her more tightly.

"I believe so," Jareth nodded and looked at Sarah who also nodded.

"Off we go then," Terra turned and climbed into the same carriage as Lynnett. Jareth held open the door to the other one and handed Sarah in. He climbed in as well, sitting beside her. The footman outside the carriage gave a quick command and the horses started trotting off. Sarah glanced around the inside of the carriage. There was the seat she and Jareth were sitting in but also plenty of room still on the back.

"Why did we take two carriages?" Sarah asked.

"It's about a day and a half ride there if we go non-stop, it would be pretty hard to sleep four people in a carriage. Plus Terra snores like a troll." He smiled.

The first few hours Sarah and Jareth kept a light conversation going. Sarah looked out the window a lot though. It seemed there was nothing but forest for miles and miles. A forest covered in snow. She was about to ask why the plants were still growing, it was still winter, but it was the Underground. Nothing much else needed to be said. It was interesting to see all the different plants and such. Some things appeared to be growing sideways or upside down. The colors on some of the leaves and petals didn't seem to match anything aboveground. It was hard to get a good look at anything though with how fast they were going.

"Ah here we are..." Jareth said calmly, nodding in the out his window. Sarah looked over to his side and saw a break in the trees up ahead. As soon as they pasted the tree line there was a valley with hills covered in lush green poking out from the snow. You could see very clearly a Castle setting on the top of one of the hills, it wasn't as big as the castle Sarah was currently living at but it was still grand.

"Who lives there?' Sarah asked leaning a little closer to the window to get a better look.

"That would be Queen Teaila, a widow and the only kingdom without a king," Jareth informed her. Sarah didn't ask any more questions, just observed. As the day went on Jareth pulled out a well packed box of food, no doubt packed by Lydia. It must have been around dinner time anyways. The two snacked for a moment before they started to go through a small town. People seemed to move off the streets quickly, allowing the carriages to go through. Some people bowed their heads while other just lowered their eyes. If people was the right word for it, there were some goblins, Sarah could tell, but also many other creatures.

The carriage came to a halt, one of the horses let out a sigh.

"What are we doing?" Sarah asked as she saw the villagers of the town glanced at them through the window and whispered to one another.

"We are stopping long enough to let the horses eat and get some water. You might also want to get out and stretch your legs," Jareth recommended. He opened the carriage door and climbed out, offering a hand to Sarah. She stepped out as well into the cold air. Jareth straightened out his coat while Sarah pulled her fur lined hood up. She hoped it would give her some shielding from the eyes on her. Terra and Lynnett walked around their carriage to meet them.

"Well there is no point of standing out here in here in the cold," Terra hinted. Jareth just nodded and led them towards the establishment they had stopped in front of. The footmen were tending to the horses. It looked to Sarah like something of a tavern. Everyone went hushed when the four walked in. Jareth calmly walked over to one of the tables and pulled a chair out. He indicated with his eyes that Sarah should sit here. He sat next to her while the sisters sat on the other side of the table.

Sarah couldn't help but overhear the word 'human' floating around the room. Couldn't everyone just get over the human thing? Sarah glanced around the room, getting a better look at the creatures. The creature that seemed closest to a human was sitting at the bar with a few other of its kind. There was even a child it seemed there, it stared at her with wide eyes. Sarah just gave a kind of half smile, the kind you give someone's kid at a restaurant when they stare at you all through dinner. They were closest to human looking though, out of everyone.

Their hair was long and straight, pulled back away from their faces in elaborate braids or twist. Even the men had long hair. Their skin tones were very pale, almost white. She only had a side view of the beings but she could tell their eyes no matter what color were bright and shown with highlights. Almost as if they were glowing. They all were very slim and wore layers of silk fabrics of earth tones. The child was still starring at her. It tugged the shoulder of the adult sitting next to it and whispered something in its ear. The adult glanced over at Sarah before answering whatever the child had asked.

A short man with an apron on walked over to the table, he looked a bit nervous as he started to speak.

"Good evening, Your Majesty," He bowed a low bow. "I am Clice, the owner of the tavern. Is there anything I can get you?"

Jareth looked around at everyone, Terra and Lynnett shook their heads no, he looked at Sarah.

"I'm fine," She said. She couldn't help but noticed the waiter half way gawking at her. Jareth ordered himself some kind of alcoholic drink. As the man went back around the bar he spoke just loud enough for Sarah to catch it,

"See I told you it was the human girl!"

Sarah put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand, annoyed. She glanced back over across the room at the child still staring at her. Jareth seemed to notice the child staring too.

"Those are Elves," Jareth answered her unspoken question quietly, he was almost whispering. "They are exceptionally well equipped creatures. They can see miles away, speak to any animal, are nimble as can be and have an impenetrable sense of hearing. As I speak to you now they can hear every word whether they are listening or not."

Sarah's eyes drifted back over to the little girl who was smiling back at her, obviously Jareth was right.

"Now over there, those are Nymphs," Jareth pointed with his eyes. "There seem to be an assortment of them, but you can tell them apart pretty easily. There are forest, water, fire and air nymphs." Jareth went on about the different kind of groups. His eyes soon locked on the far corner of the room.

"Those Sarah," His lips were almost at her ear. "Those you never want to be around. Ever. They are nothing but trouble." Sarah looked at the corner were three creatures sat together. Their eyes were dark and shifty. It reminded her of shark eyes. They had a sickly color of skin, almost purple with a hint of yellow, like a bruise. They all had black hair, all above shoulder length. They were dressed in all black and seemed to have a sinister feel about them.

"Who are they?"

"Those are Obayifo's. Terrible creatures, they live by sucking the life out of anything they can get their hands on. Animals, other creatures, they don't even stop themselves from children. They have no pity or compassion for anything other than their own kind," Jareth explained never taking his eyes off them. "They also can do something very few Fae's can even do. They can enter the bodies of anything living thing and possess them."

"Your drink Your Highness," The man had brought Jareth his drink, putting an end to the conversation. Sarah looked on at the Obayifo's, even though she knew she was safe with Jareth, Terra and Lynnett, fear was grabbing a hold of her for some reason. Terra struck up a conversation with her brother. Sarah was about to look away from the dark creatures when one of them looked up and locked its dark eyes with hers.

Sarah didn't know what to do; she couldn't pull her gaze away from it, she was almost afraid to blink. It just stared at her, almost as if it were trying to look into her mind. Sarah felt her heart rate pick up; her breath seemed caught in her throat. The creature slowly pulled a smile onto it face revealing a sharp row of teeth, its face was the definition of malicious. As if almost every creature under the roof could hear Sarah heart slamming against her chest, everyone hushed and turned to look at her.

Jareth put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to rip away from its stare.

"Sarah, Are you alright?" He asked quickly. He glanced behind her to the now empty table were the three Obayifo's were sitting moments ago. Sarah seemed to mentally shake herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She pulled her eyebrows together in thought. Everyone slowly went back to whatever they were doing before. Sarah dared to look back at the table where they were sitting, still empty, good. She turned herself back towards the table to find Terra, Lynnett and Jareth looking at the little elf girl standing there next to Sarah.

"So your name is Sarah?" She asked curiously. Before Sarah could say anything, what appeared to the girl's father flew up out of his seat and over to his daughter, pulling her away from the table.

"Nadia! I'm sorry Your Majesty," He bowed low and stayed like that as he talked. "Forgive my daughter for intruding, I shouldn't of let her out of my sight I-" Jareth raised a hand for the man to stop speaking.

"She wasn't intruding, I believe she was only asking a question right Sarah?" Jareth purposely made Sarah give the call. Again the whole room seemed to be watching. After all it was every day that the Goblin King was here, much less with a human.

"Right," Sarah confirmed. The father stood straight up releasing his daughter who took a step closer to Sarah.

"So it's Sarah," The little girl stated. "I'm Nadia," She smiled brightly. Her eyes were a silver blue color and were as bright as the moon. She couldn't have been maybe as old as Lynnett.

"It's nice to meet you," Sarah smiled back. Nadia looked at Sarah for a moment.

"So you really are a human?"

"Nadia!" Her father scolded. Jareth just looked up at the Elven man, silencing him with his stare.

"Yeah, all human," Sarah held out her hands palms up as if it would prove something. Nadia put her hand out against Sarah's, she matched their hands up evenly.

"They scare you don't they?" The elfish girl stated it more then asked. Sarah didn't know what to say. Everyone at the tabled focused in on Sarah and the girl. Nadia's father stood stiff like at any minute his daughter would say something that would get him into trouble. "The Obayifo's."

"Well..."

"I heard your heart beating so fast, and you didn't breathe right for a minute," The elf pulled her hand away from Sarah's to unclasp something from her wrist. "Here..."

Nadia clasped a bracelet around Sarah's left wrist. It was made of a thin string with sparkling gems weaved into it, there was one large stone in the center that matched the color of the girls eyes. Sarah looked over it carefully. Everyone looked quizzically at Nadia.

"This was my good luck charm I got the first time they came to our village. I used to be afraid of them the first time I saw them," She smiled warmly. "Now they arn't around our village as much. Looks like you need it more than I do."

Sarah looked at the bracelet again, then back up to the little girl, she still had the priceless smile on her face.

"Thank you Nadia," Sarah paused for a moment. "Wait right here..." Sarah got up from the table and headed towards the door. Jareth was about to follow her when the Nadia's father got up to move over to the door, as if he read Jareth's thoughts.

"Allow me your Majesty," He walked over to the door to keep an eye on Sarah. She was digging through something in the back of one of the carriages. She found what she was looking for and walked back in and over to the table. She pinned a small hair piece into Nadia's hair. It was silver with crown on it; the crown had three small sparkling gems.

"That's one of my favorite hair clips. I was wearing it when I uh, came here," She didn't want to go into that story. "I wore them almost every day, back home."

Nadia admired the reflection of the clip in Jareth's glass.

"Wow thank you," Nadia smiled.

"Thank you," Sarah tapped the bracelet on her wrist. "I'm sure this will help."

She just nodded and bounced off back to her seat, he father giving a bow before going after her. The Elves began conversing quietly.

"Aw that was so sweet," Terra sighed.

"It's pretty," Lynnett commented.

The footmen walked in and told them that the horses were ready to go. Jareth finished up his drink and paid the man, leaving him a good tip. The little girl gave them one more wave as they headed out the door and loaded up into the carriages again.

They passed a few more town here and then, but didn't bother to stop. The horses wouldn't need to stop till morning, Jareth told her. She wondered how long they could go without sleep. The sun started to set, casting golden rays over the valleys and hills. Soon it was too dark to see anything outside. Suddenly the candles on the walls of the carriage sprang to life, giving off a soft glow.

"Hey you never told me about the teleport thing," Sarah yawned.

"No I suppose I didn't," Jareth said. Sarah looked at him expectantly. "Well as I'm sure you know, I can teleport myself around pretty easily for the most part. Now I can also teleport someone else if they are with me, but it becomes tiring. Even if I use my magic too much with just moving myself place to place can make me a bit worse for wear. The more people, the more magic that has to be used. If I use too much at once, it takes longer for it to regenerate itself so to speak. It never gets to the point where I render myself helpless, but it's a very uncomfortable feeling. Like your missing something."

"So..." Sarah thought for a moment. "You can run out of magic?"

"Technically speaking, yes. But it has never happened to me and I don't intend to let it," He stated.

Sarah just nodded and accepted his answer. The moon hung high in the sky by now and the night seemed to shed a new personality on the lands around them. Everything looked so different, the tree's seemed to be moving, whispers could be heard. Sarah hoped she was just hearing the wind. She glanced at Jareth who seemed oblivious to the new sights and sounds, then again, he was probably used to it.

"You look tired," Jareth spoke up. He noticed Sarah yawning every few minutes and she kept trying to get comfortable.

"I am a little I guess," Sarah confessed. It wasn't very late but riding in the carriage reminded her of a long car trip at home, they just made you tired.

"Why don't you go lay down in the back?" Jareth suggested. "There should be a blanket and a pillow somewhere. Sarah didn't argue and crawled over the seat to the back. She found the neatly folded blanket and soft pillow and made her makeshift bed.

"What about you?" Sarah asked. "Are you going to be comfortable?"

"I'll be fine," Jareth answered leaning against the wall of the carriage.

"Don't you want a blanket or anything?" Sarah couldn't help but notice as the night fell, it brought a chill into the carriage.

"I'm afraid I only brought one," Jareth yawned. "I don't need it though, go to sleep Sarah."

"But it's getting cold in here," Sarah stated.

"I'm alright Sarah, now get some sleep," Jareth closed his eyes, finding himself more tired than he thought. He heard some shuffling about from where Sarah was. Next thing he knew she was leaning against him, pulling some of the blanket over him. He thought he heard her mumble 'stubborn' or something along those lines. He moved his arm to rest around her. Sleep over took him before any other thoughts could invade his mind.

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Sarah awoke, the sun shining in her face. She sighed heavily and turned her face away from the light. She found herself in a more horizontal position then when she fell asleep. Jareth was laying almost flat on his back, Sarah lay half on top of him, his arm was still locked around her. She tried to sit up carefully, but he woke up as well as soon as his arm slipped from her waist. His eyes snapped open.

"Sorry," Sarah apologized as they sat up.

"We should be there in a few hours," He informed her lightly as she stretched.

They carried on talking a bit, Sarah glancing out the window every few minutes. Finally something in the distance caught her eye. She put her face closer to the glass to look out. There was the Labyrinth. Sarah stared at it in deep thought. She wasn't sure what feelings it was bringing to her, something in the mix of anger, sadness and discomfort.

Jareth seemed to pick up on Sarah's sudden mood change, not that he hadn't been expecting it. He wasn't very sure of what she would feel about it but he knew she would be confused at least. They drew nearer to the kingdom, the horses picking up speed.

"What's with the horses?" Sarah asked turning away from the Labyrinth. She seemed a bit alarmed and sunk back in her seat. The horses were taking off now at a breakneck speed.

"We are taking a bit of a shortcut," He informed her, not seeming concerned with the speed they were going.

Sarah looked out the window at the blurs going past them. One second the sun was shining over the hills, the next it was total darkness. She could hear the echo from the horses running almost as if they were in a cave or tunnel of some sort. She felt a hand grab hers knowing it was Jareth. She wondered if he could see her wide eyed stare in the darkness. Then after a few moments, daylight burst back around them again. Sarah clear saw now the gates of the Goblin City opening up loudly.

She wasn't expecting what met her eyes. Instead of the dirt streets, shack houses and dust, the city was far different now. The houses almost looked like little cottages, the streets were cobble stones, and flowers grew in window boxes. The sky seemed bluer, not as dreary. She saw some goblins out and about on the streets, some waves happily as the carriages rode by.

"Not what you were expecting?" Jareth asked her with a smirk.

"Not exactly..." She mumbled still taking in the Goblin City.

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Jareth handed Sarah out of the carriage as his sisters came over to meet them.

"That took forever..." Lynnett mumbled under her breath. It didn't go unnoticed by either of her older siblings.

"Not long at all, hm Lynnett?" Jareth raised an eyebrow at Sarah who seemed to catch the joke.

The footmen started unloading the bags, goblins coming out of the castle as well help. They eyed Sarah curiously as they passed her. Jareth nudged her forward.

"How about a proper tour of the castle?"

While the others unpacked, Jareth led Sarah around the enormous castle. It was almost as big as the family castle; it wasn't at all what Sarah remembered. Just like the City, the castle seemed to have had a transformation as well. Carpets ran along the halls and stairs, chandlers hung in most of the rooms. It was like the other castle with a bit more of a medieval twist on it. The throne room was spotless, and seemed redecorated completely. The only thing remaining the same in that room was the throne itself.

Jareth showed her up to her room where she would be staying for the time and for whenever she was here. He led her down the twisting hallways to a more secluded part of the castle. There was a long hall with three doors lined up on either side. Jareth opened the middle door to reveal her room to her.

"Wow..." Sarah muttered stepping in after Jareth. The room had a high ceiling, a small chandelier handing in the center. The floor was carpeted in a deep maroon. There was a fireplace as tall as Sarah facing the bed covered in a thick silver and maroon comforter. There was also a window in the corner of the room with a reading seat. Two tall doors opened up into a balcony with two chairs sitting cozily facing outwards. Another door was on the far side of the room, Sarah could see it was a bath room. The decor had a feminine touch to it.

"Like it?" Jareth asked knowing the answer.

"It's amazing," She admitted. Before anyone else could speak and cheery voice popped out of nowhere.

"Have a nice trip?" Sarah turned around to find Falken leaning in the doorway smiling warmly.

"I wondered when you would show up," Jareth greeted his friend.

"Well now that your here I don't have to play boss anymore. Sadly I'm a follower," Falken stood up straight.

"Oh joy," Jareth replied in a bored tone.

"My Lady," Falken lowered his head slightly. "Enjoy the ride here?"

"Yes, it was something else," Sarah answered.

The three talked for a while before heading down the Jareth's dining hall to meet up with the girls. Terra and Lynnett were sitting down at the table already covered in food. Jareth sat at the head of the table, Sarah to his left, Falken to his right. Lynnett quickly moved seats to sit next to Sarah while Terra took the empty seat next to Falken.

"Well it's not going to eat itself," Lynnett smiled as she dug into her favorite food. It was a pretty relaxed dinner, everyone settling in quickly. Falken gave Jareth an update of what has been going on around the City. Sarah tried to listen in too since technically half of it was hers. She really felt like she wasn't doing much at all to help.

"Sounds like the same old, same old to me," Jareth said taking a drink of his wine. All through dinner Sarah would see something skim across the doorway quickly. She assumed it was the goblins, she knew there would be a lot more of them here. After dinner they went to what seemed to be a small library and all sat down with some wine or tea. It was almost like the study back at the family castle.

After a while, Falken needed to speak to Jareth about something, Terra wanted to get a bath and change, Lynnett wanted to go play, leaving Sarah to herself. Once everyone was gone she decided to do a bit more exploring. She wandered through the dark halls. It wasn't this dark back at the other castle, strange.

Sarah continued to roam around the castle, passing numerous goblins who starred as she went by. She found rooms upon rooms filled with nothing but books. She opened a few, but most were in some kind of writing she couldn't read.

Sarah lingered in this room for a while, picking up a dust book here or there and opening its stiff pages. As she skimmed threw the shelves one book caught her eyes. It was a tall hardbound book. It bear no title, no marking on the outside, just a plain brown colored book. She opened it to revel yet again a book in an unfamiliar language. This one had pictures though, hand draw in. She flipped threw a few pages trying to disappear the story. She started at the beginning.

The first picture she saw a castle with various creatures. She could tell the Fae's by the eyes. The next page showed a family, the parents, a young boy, a daughter and a baby. It only took Sarah a few moments to recognize this as Jareth, Terra, Lynnett and their parents. She turned a few pages next to see a human boy, maybe a year or two younger than her. The next few pictures showed the boy discovering the wonders of the Labyrinth. She skipped a few pages to find the same boy, back home, Aboveground. She flipped for a few pages, not seeing any more drawings. Then one came up, it seemed to be the high king. He seemed to be holding a list of some sort. There was also an old man standing in the background of the drawing.

"..The old wise man..." Sarah mumbled to herself. Soon this story was making sense to her, for the most part. It seemed to be the story Terra had told her when she first got here. The one about the only other human ever to come here, the human boy that was put to death.

Sarah flipped quickly through the pages. It showed the boy a few more times, then him standing before the high king. Sarah slowly turned the next page to see the image of the boy with a sword threw his chest. The details held nothing back. She quickly snapped the book shut, not wanted to see another picture.

"Sarah?" Jareth's voiced echoed from down the hall. Sarah slid the book back into place, keeping a mental note of where it was. She walked closer to the door to see Jareth coming down the hall.

"Ah, there you are," Jareth said walking closer to her. He eyed the room behind her for a moment.

"Sorry I was just looking around a little more," Sarah explained not wanted to bring up her find.

"Yes well I'm not sure what you would find of interest in there. Nothing is written in English in that room," He stated leading her away from it. Sarah decided to press her luck.

"Why? What kind of books are they?" She asked curiously. Jareth seemed to pause before answering.

"It's the history of the ruling families, written personality by the kings scribes," Jareth stated simply.

"Sounds interesting to me," Sarah hinted. Jareth didn't bite.

"Maybe one day when you learn to read our language, I'll show you a few."

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Just a little while later Sarah found herself relaxing in a hot bath. She assumed everyone else was asleep, it was late. That book weighed heavily on her mind. There were just a few pieces of it she couldn't seem to put together. Well one in particular, the list the king was holding. Now that Jareth had told it that room was where the history of the ruling families were kept, she was sure it was Jareth's family. So what was the list Jareth's father was holding? She wished she could read the text so she could get a better understanding of what was going in the book.

The water in the over sized tub seemed to grow colder by the minute, so Sarah decided to get out. She dried off quickly and changed into one of her long nightdresses that was brought and already hung up in the closets, along with her other clothes. She combed out her hair and was about to crawl into bed when there was a tap on the door

"Come in," Sarah called lightly. Jareth stepped into her room.

"Just making sure you are settled in," He said glancing around her room. "Terra and Lynnett are already asleep."

"Oh," Sarah replied. "Yeah I'm fine I have everything I need."

"Well if you need anything I am right down the hall, or you can ring for one of the goblins," Jareth leaned back against the wall. "Something the matter Sarah?"

"What?" She sat straight up. "No I'm fine." She lied smoothly; she didn't really want to tell Jareth she had found that book. It made her feel like she was snooping, well guess she kind of was.

"You have just been quiet it seems is all," He came over and sat across from her in a chair.

"Just tired from the ride I guess," She supplemented. Jareth nodded, buying her lie.

"That's understandable."

They sat in silence for a moment before Sarah spoke up.

"So what do your parents do in their kingdom?" Sarah asked acting as if it was just conversation. Jareth seemed intrigued at her question but answered it all the same.

"Pretty much the same thing we do here, only a bit busier," Jareth stiffened a yawn.

"But he's the high king, doesn't anything work differently for him?" Sarah pried a bit more.

"He still has his responsibilities and rules to follow."

"Rules?"

"Yes even the kings have rules," Jareth confirmed. Sarah was about to ask what they were but didn't want any suspicion to rise, so she decided against it for the time. She changed the topic.

"The city sure isn't what I expected. It's..." Sarah glanced out her window and she could see the soft glow from the houses in the city. "Really nice."

"Well I'm glad you like it," Jareth leaned back in his chair. Sarah wanted badly to ask more questions about his father or the book, but knew she couldn't. Not if she wanted to know the truth.

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Colleen paced her room for hours on end, every day. She wasn't a very patient girl, not at all. He father decided to drop in on her for a chat. He opened the door to find her grumbling at herself.

"Colleen dearest," He stepped into his daughter's room. "You really mustn't worry like this."

"Yes, I must. It's this stupid girls fault! I get her upset and they banish me," She sat down and crossed her arms.

"That may be true dear but if it weren't for the girl, things wouldn't work out well later," He smirked at his daughter. She raised her eyebrows at him, intrigued to know what was going on.

"Something that will get me closer to Jareth?" She asked slowly.

"Dear, just a few more months you'll have everything you could ever want," He promised his daughter. "Child, I believe I need your help with something."

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Here are those cliff hangers you all looooove so much. Thanks always to my dearly beloved Beta reader 3333333 Please review!