Checked for continuity, grammar, and spelling: May 3, 2011.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Let Us Walk

"It is a bit of a walk to where we need to be, to be fair," Jareth told Sarah, "so I hope you aren't terribly hungry."

She shook her head. "Not terribly, no." She paused, considering briefly. "If I were, would we have just poofed to wherever it is we are going?"

"Poofed?"

"Yeah, you know, with your magic. Going from one place to the next instantly. One minute you're here and the next," she waved her free hand, "poof! You kept disappearing and reappearing out of nowhere when I was here before."

Jareth blinked down at the young woman who was looking at him expectantly. "Poofed." He half expected her to burst out laughing at any moment from such teasing before it dawned on him that she was completely serious. "It is a bit more complicated than that, especially when including someone else, you know."

She shrugged, turning her attention back to the foliage as they walked. "Hm. I suppose so. But surely you must be so well-practiced at it by now that it would come as second nature."

"Would you... prefer to, er, poof there?" He was having a hard time wrapping his brain around the idea that a magical ability he had perfected to carry off with finesse had been reduced to such a simple and inelegant word.

"No, not particularly. This way I can see some of the castle. Hoggle mentioned there have been changes to it and to the city. Besides, last time I wasn't able to meander through and take in the sights. I just thought it might be interesting to zip around the way you do."

First poofing, now zipping? Jareth could not decide if he wanted to laugh at it all or sigh in resignation. "There will be other times for a tour, Sarah."

"Mm," she agreed, her gaze turning upwards as they walked through a tunnel made of vines blooming over arched frames. "I suppose by that token, there will be other times to go by magic."

"True." He could not hold back another smile at her offhand acknowledgment that she would return again.

Sarah gave a small sigh of contentment. She had been nervous about the idea of returning Underground since the moment Jareth had reappeared. Her hesitation over the issue had waned the more she was in his company, to be replaced by a desire to return that had been growing so slowly she was hardly aware of its presence. However, she had not been sure of what would greet her if she were to make that journey.

Her trip to the Labyrinth of nine years previous was not merely an exciting adventure that met all the expectations of a fourteen-year-old girl. It was also an experience that had frightened her, one that taught her some things about the harsh realities of life. Whether or not she wanted to return to the Underground was secondary to her worry that, should she return, it would prove to be as harsh and frightening as before, perhaps even more so. She was also still worried that this was all another game or, perhaps, another dream. She did not want to believe this was so, in fact she had come a long way toward fully believing the opposite, but the thought still arose unbidden at the most random and inopportune moments. Compounded with the recently added complication of being spied upon by other Fae, she was certain she was involved in something that reached far over her ability to comprehend. No matter what her feelings for Jareth might be, something she was still trying to both understand and define, the weight of everything else loomed over her shoulder.

Here in these gardens, however, it felt as though the sun shone too brightly to allow such shadows to cloud her enjoyment of the moment. Even Jareth's presence at her side, something she was normally hyper aware of, felt natural. For the first time in her life she felt as though she was in a place where she simply belonged, with no need to prove herself or validate her claim to the position.

Bringing herself back to the moment, she angled her head to peer up at Jareth. "Has the inside of the castle changed as much as things out here?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. There was more than a little destruction to both castle and city when you left. I could hardly live in a state of disrepair any more than I could expect my subjects to do so."

"Oh." Sarah looked away during the heavy pause. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Jareth's eyebrow quirked inquisitively, both at her comment and at the sudden seriousness in her mood. "Whatever for?"

"I didn't realize that things were so... greatly affected."

He chuckled. "How could you have?"

"Well I -" she stopped abruptly, logical reasons escaping her completely. "I mean, I..."

His smile widened as she floundered for a response. "Exactly. In all honesty, I doubt anyone expected anything to happen the way it did. I certainly did not." The dry comment drew a smile that lit her eyes once again. "But, as it happened, things turned out well enough. In fact, having a demolished castle and ransacked city on my hands was something of a relief."

Sarah was not sure she wanted to discuss this. Revisiting her first encounters with the Labyrinth and its inhabitants, not to mention its master, still felt like shaky ground. Yet curiosity got the better of her. "How do you mean?"

"It gave my Goblins direction. In truth, it gave me direction. You see, after you were gone, a choice lay before me. I could have taken the easy route, simply return everything back the way it was before you arrived."

"With magic?"

"Yes. Alternatively, I could do something I had not bothered to do before."

"And what was that?"

"Work."

There was a beat of silence. "Are you serious?"

"Oh yes, quite." He turned when she stopped, taking in her stunned expression, and gently shrugged. "Magic had always come easy for me. Why should I bother to walk down the hall when, with a flick of my wrist, I could be there instantly? Why lift a finger of my own when someone else could do it for me? Why work for what I wanted when I could just have it on a whim."

"Wow." Sarah shook her head in wonder before continuing to walk, led on Jareth's arm once more. "I can't imagine living like that. I mean, I had it easy as a kid, but even I had chores to do. And, though I complained in abundance, I did them."

"Oh, it was quite the easy life."

Sarah giggled at his lofty tone. "I'm sure. Why did you decide to do it differently then, after all that time?"

"For one reason only: I realized it was high time I stopped behaving like the childish, spoiled prince I had always been and become a king in the truest sense."

It made sense, and somehow reminded her of something. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Oh," he hoped he succeeded in nonchalance, "just an overheard comment that rang true one day."

"Hm." Sarah mulled this over for a moment. I wonder which of the two of us has changed the most over the years... "And has it been worth it? This... change in lifestyle, I guess you could call it?"

"Definitely." And in more ways than you are yet aware. "I have come to understand that, although instant gratification certainly has its perks, it cannot compare to a well earned sense of accomplishment. If it is not worth putting forth some amount of effort," he shrugged, "I find myself now wondering if it is truly worth doing." At this, he paused and then chuckled. "I suppose it was the last true lesson of adolescence, though perhaps a little late in the learning."

"Adol-" She cut herself off, shaking her head. "I find that difficult to believe."

"The Fae live... for a long time. It is easy for us to get caught up in the ease of life and the comforts we have for ourselves. But the lesson remains that because of the amount if time we have to do anything, the time taken has value. Great value."

"Okay then, perhaps not difficult to believe. More like... difficult to picture you as an adolescent at any point in our acquaintance."

Jareth threw his head back with the force of his laughter. "I see," he continued, once he was able to speak again. "In any case, once repairs to the Goblin City had reached a point where my people could begin moving in again, I turned my attention to the remodel of the castle. And as you can see," he led Sarah around a corner and gave a flourish with his hand, "it is much changed."