Niamh slept better that night than she had in months. Judging by her son's reaction to the news that Sarah had started found a mate, she was certain he'd have her in his castle by morning. Jareth had never, to the best of her knowledge, been rejected by a woman. She knew that the fact that Sarah had chosen her freedom over him ate at him and she used it to her advantage. When the morning light started to stream through her windows, Niamh moved to her ornate wooden desk and picked up the small hand mirror sitting in the middle. She just wanted to be sure that Jareth cooperated. She held it up to her face and said, "Sarah Williams." The surface swam with colors as the magic searched for her. Niamh's eyes widened with panic when she saw the girl sleeping soundly in her bed Aboveground. Jareth hadn't gone to her.

""""

Ceara crept along the corridor, careful to step only on the rug running the length of the hall so that her footsteps would be muffled. Servants were starting to buzz around the castle, but none but the queen's personal attendants ever came down this corridor and it was too early for the queen to start the day. Her dark red hair fell in wild curls to the small of her back, sweeping along her plain brown skirt as she moved. As she neared the queen's silvery door, shimmering in the morning light, she slowed even more and pressed her body against the wall. As she moved closer, voices started to float out of the cracked door. The queen's velvety voice was easily recognizable, but the other was less familiar. Ceara tilted her head toward the opening and closed her eyes to listen. It was a male voice, but not deep enough to be the High King's or the Goblin King's. The corner of Ceara's mouth lifted when she thought of telling the High King that his queen had another man in her chambers. Oh, how she'd love to see the woman punished. She dared lean even nearer to the door to try to catch what words were spoken. The queen sounded upset and Ceara could hear her pacing, her heels clicking against the floor.

"…watches her constantly. I'm terrified that the King will discover it, it isn't as if Jareth's being careful."

The man said, "But how did he even meet her?"

"You know that the Goblin King can travel between worlds. I think he's been doing this for years, but he's serious this time. I think he means to make the girl his queen."

"That would explain why he hasn't taken one of our women. But what do we do?"

The queen heaved a heavy sigh. "We'll have to do whatever necessary to keep the High King ignorant of it until we can convince Jareth to set the girl aside. After all, she's already run the Labyrinth and it's only a matter of time before he completes the process…"

Ceara jerked back in surprise. She stood frozen to the spot for a moment before hurrying toward the King's quarters, moving as quietly as she could in her haste.

""""

Niamh tilted her head to listen to the footsteps retreating down the hallway and smiled.

""""

"Yer Majesty! Majesty! Sire! King Jareth!" A goblin came sprinting into the throne room, screaming his little head off for his king. Jareth hurried toward the goblin, who then shouted up at him, "The High King is at the gates!"

Jareth stood for a moment and gathered his shocked thoughts before barking at the room full of goblins, "Gather the troops in the courtyard, but do not attack unless I say." Jareth pulled his magic close and quickly wove a protection spell around himself as he walked toward the entrance hall. As the door opened, he caught his first glimpse of his father in a year. He looked the same except for the murderous rage on his features. Jareth noticed that the king came alone and he signaled to the goblins to stand down. "Father, what a lovely surprise," Jareth called, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You should have written first, I'd have tidied up a bit."

Instead of responding, Tiernus marched toward his son with fury in his eyes. As he drew nearer, Jareth started to feel the magic pouring off of him. Had he not bothered with a protection spell, he would have been blown off his feet. Still, he stood his ground in the face of the High King's storm. As he got closer, Jareth had to really concentrate to keep his defenses up against the hostile onslaught of magic. Jareth's jaw was clenched so tight that his ears were ringing, but he forced his expression to remain calm. Once Tiernus was close enough to have to look up to meet his son's eyes, he shouted, "Don't you dare speak to me in that tone, you filth! I am ashamed to call you my son. The only reason my army isn't here to burn this disgusting kingdom to the ground is that I refuse to bring shame to my bloodline by admitting what you've done!"

Jareth's own anger broke loose at this disrespectful speech. "Take care, Majesty, you are in my kingdom and my magic is a match for yours. You will not address me in such a manner. Now, kindly tell me what the hell you're ranting about."

Jareth had thought it impossible, but Tiernus's rage intensified and his magic thrust out so that Jareth actually had to take a step back. "You would pretend ignorance," Tiernus growled. "I'm talking about that human dog you've been flaunting about your kingdom! Where is she? I will see that thing's head on a spit!" Tiernus whipped his head around, searching as if the girl would be standing in front of the castle, waiting to welcome him.

Jareth tried to think of a response to his father's accusation, but he was caught completely off-guard. How did he know? And who would have told him? The only ones who knew about Sarah were his loyal goblins and his mother. Niamh wouldn't have told Tiernus, first and foremost because she hated her husband with a passion, and second because she would have been implicated as well. It seemed that Jareth had taken too long to respond because Tiernus said, "Answer me, Jareth! Have you brought a human Underground?!"

"Where did you hear this?" Jareth asked.

"So you admit it!"

"I can tell you with the utmost sincerity that there are no humans in my kingdom."

Tiernus narrowed his eyes. "Do you think me a fool? I know evasion when I see it. A servant overheard your loving mother speaking of the human you intend to make your queen."

Then it was Jareth who narrowed his eyes. How could she be so careless as to let something like that slip in front of a servant? Something wasn't right, but Jareth couldn't see what. "I've told you countless times," he said, stalling, "I do not intend to take a queen, human or no. It would be foolish to break your law for something I don't even want."

"Enough! You will marry and produce an heir to carry on our bloodline, and you will marry a fae. If you don't, I will kill you myself." Tiernus jabbed a finger at his son's chest.

Jareth rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You can try, but then who would be your heir? Why kill me if you want your bloodline to continue so badly?"

"I would rather it die out than have it tainted with human blood, and I would rather kill you than see you make a fool out of me by remaining a bachelor too pathetic to do his duty as king!" Tiernus turned his back on Jareth and started to walk away. "I will find out who this human is, and I will not stop until her head sits on the spike of my castle gate. If you'll excuse me, I would hate to keep your mother waiting in the dungeons."

As his father disappeared, the breath rushed out of Jareth and he nearly collapsed. He'd seen the techniques Tiernus used to extract information and they never failed. His mother would tell him about Sarah and Jareth had no doubt he would make good on his promise to kill her. As far as his mother was concerned, she knew the consequences of what she was doing. After all, she was the one who sought Sarah out in the first place and it was her slip that brought Sarah to the attention of the High King. Jareth wouldn't waste time or energy on some kind of rescue attempt for Niamh. Sarah on the other hand, was defenseless without him. As he thought of his father hurting her, Jareth's stomach dropped and he felt sick. He couldn't let him do it. But what could he do? She didn't want to stay with him, she made that quite clear. He wouldn't keep her at the castle against her will, and to do so would certainly invite Tiernus to try to dethrone him. He ran a hand through his hair as he paced in front of the castle, trying desperately to think of a solution. He had to think of something that would keep her safe while placating Tiernus. While he did think Tiernus wouldn't be able to take his throne, he would be a fool to assume it was impossible.

As Jareth paced, he knew that Tiernus would have been back in the fae castle by then, maybe even interrogating Niamh. He didn't have much time before he would know where Sarah was. Panic surged up in him and he knew what he had to do. He had to bring her back to his caste. The wards were strong enough to keep even Tiernus out long enough for Jareth to think of some way out of this. He couldn't let her die. "Damn it!" Jareth shouted before shifting into his owl form.

""""

"I don't understand, what's going on?" Sarah asked Kyle.

"I just feel like you're hiding something from me, Sarah! You're always distracted and whenever we're here, you're staring at that mirror like you're waiting for something." Kyle and Sarah sat on her bed, deep in conversation. "It feels like you don't care about us anymore."

Sarah was shocked and confused. Last night had been another perfect date night and today, out of the blue, Kyle was mad at her. He had been quiet since he arrived at her house and when she finally asked if he was okay, he told her he thought they should break up. She automatically went on the defensive. "Kyle, you're the only thing in my life that feels right, please don't do this. I'm sorry if I was distracted, I didn't even realize."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's the point. You don't realize because you're never a hundred percent with me. You're thinking about something else all the time and you won't even tell me what it is. I mean, is there someone else?"

"No! God, no. Kyle, I guess… I don't know. Just please don't—"

"Sarah you still won't talk to me. I mean, really talk. All I want is for us to be honest with each other, but you don't seem to want that." Kyle got up and started to walk out of the room.

"Kyle, wait!" Sarah said, her eyes starting to fill with tears. Kyle stopped, his hand on the doorknob, and turned his head to look back at her. "You're right, there is something I'm not telling you." Sarah took a deep breath. She would just have to hope that he loved her as much as she loved him and believe that he would trust her. Kyle walked back to the bed and sat down, looking at her expectantly. "Before I start, you should know that this is going to sound crazy. There's a reason I haven't told you, and it isn't because I wanted to lie to you. When I was fifteen…" Sarah told Kyle all about wishing Toby away to the Goblin King and her run through the Labyrinth. Kyle's face remained calm throughout the entire story and he never once interrupted. Once Sarah told him about the goblins being ripped out of her room and trying to summon them back through the mirror, she stopped and stared at Kyle, trying to gauge his reaction.

He sat and looked at her with a guarded expression for a few seconds before he said, "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Now you can understand why I didn't want to tell you." Sarah reached out and put a hand over Kyle's, but he pulled away.

His eyes widened and he said, "I would say you're making this up to make me break up with you, but that doesn't make sense. So, I have to think that you really do believe all this. I think you need help, Sarah." Sarah's eyes filled with tears and she dropped her head as Kyle once again rose to leave. "Until you do get help, I don't want to see you anymore. I'm sorry, but I think you might be very sick." This careful, resigned voice he was using hurt her more than if he yelled that she was crazy. He was treating her like someone who was standing on the edge of a cliff about to jump.

"Then go," she whispered, her hair hiding her face. She heard him open and close the door as he left. With a sob, she lay back on her bed and curled up on her side facing the wall. She should never have told him, she knew how it would sound to someone who didn't have proof. Now the boy she loved thought she was crazy, just like she knew would happen. After a while of crying, her stepmother knocked on her door.

"Sarah? It's time for dinner. I thought Kyle was staying?" Irene said.

"I'm not hungry," she called.

"Are you okay, Sarah? Did you and Kyle have a fight?"

"Please, just leave me alone," she said, starting to cry again. After a few moments, Sarah heard Irene's footsteps on the stairs. For the first time since she met Kyle, Sarah felt alone again. She felt like an alien in her family. Toby was too young to be of any real comfort so she felt like she had no one to talk to. She couldn't call a friend and tell her about her fight with Kyle because she had to keep her adventure secret. Now more than ever, she knew that she would never again be able to share what had happened. What she wanted more than anything was to talk to Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. She felt a fresh rush of hatred for Jareth for keeping them from her. Sarah welcomed the anger, she was tired of being sad. Wiping the tears from her face, Sarah marched over to her vanity and sat down, looking at her determined expression. "Jareth, I need to talk to you," she said, her voice strong.

The owl perched on the branch outside her window started. Jareth had been rooted there, watching her. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She had grown up into a lovely woman, her body and face longer and leaner. Her black hair was still long and straight, but it was styled with layers, framing her face and making her look soft. Even with her eyes puffy from crying, they were still bright and beautiful. He had been wondering how best to approach her when she called out to him. She didn't seem to know that he was there, and instead was trying to reach him through the mirror. He couldn't decide if this was lucky or not. He tried to think of how best to handle this. Should he tell her what danger she was in? Or should he just act like he was answering her call? He supposed he would go with whichever plan made her leave quicker. Jareth took a deep breath and flicked his head to the side, causing her window to fly open.

Sarah jumped and whipped toward the window, shooting up from her seat and backing toward her bed when a white barn owl flew through the window. She stopped breathing as the owl turned into the man who starred in a lot of her dreams. Most were nightmares, but some… were not. She hated him for stealing Toby and keeping her from her friends, but couldn't deny that he was obviously attractive. He looked the same as always. Wild blond hair, heavily accented blue eyes, and he was in the same clothes he had been when she first met him, some kind of armor and cape. She stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. She didn't know how to feel about his being there.

She expected him to laugh at her, but he looked unusually grim. "Well, well. Sarah Williams. It's truly an honor," he said sarcastically. "You called?"

Sarah gulped. She tried and failed to keep her voice steady as she said, "I want to see my friends."

He stared at her, his expression never changed. "Fine, let's go see them," he said quickly and held out his hand toward her.

Sarah backed up another step, but he still held out his hand. He wasted too much time outside her window, Tiernus had no doubt learned her identity by now. Sarah sounded panicked as she said, "No, I'm not going back! I mean, I want them to visit here."

Jareth let loose a frustrated huff and dropped his hand. "If you want to see them, you must return with me."

"Why would I go back?" she said.

"Let me put it this way, why would you stay?" he countered.

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't think of anything. Honestly, Kyle was the only reason she would want to stay here. The only people left who loved her just the way she was lived Underground. She clenched her jaw and thought for a few seconds. While she was distracted, Jareth glanced out the window, looking for any signs of his father. He sensed they were running dangerously out of time and his heart started pounding as he looked back at Sarah. She finally met his eyes and said, "Promise I can come back."

Jareth glanced out the window again and said, "You have my word." He held out his hand again. The moment she put her slender hand in his, her room dissolved around them and she was standing in the throne room of his castle. Jareth visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumped and a weary sigh escaped his lips.

Thank you for all the great reviews! I've had some questions about the pacing of the story and all I can tell you is that things will start to pick up more soon. Things are about to throw down in the next chapter, so don't worry.