Immediately after arriving, Jareth took a moment to check his magical wards.

They were stronger around the castle, but even the outer edges of the forest were covered. Seeing that they were all intact and strong, Jareth relaxed even more, a grin stretching his face. They were safe for now, at least. He raised his head to throw a smirk at Sarah, who still stood close, watching him. "Welcome back, Sarah," he said, his voice almost a purr.

Sarah's expression turned stern and she took a step away from him. "Where are my friends?"

"Oh, somewhere around here, I imagine."

Sarah sighed, "Don't play with me. Please, I want to see them. I haven't forgotten that you kept them from me for two years, which was a horrible thing to do."

The glow of having Sarah back with him was fading fast as he read the disdain on her face. He sneered at her and said, "Was it? Tell me, what claim did you have on them? Was it stronger than the claim of a king for his subjects? No, truthfully, you have a horrible habit of performing acts that force me to be the villain. You wished your brother away and then claimed I stole him. You coerced my citizens into following your lead instead of the laws of their king, which forced me to punish them. Everything you hate me for, you caused. I'd hoped that you would have grown up a bit more in these two years, Sarah."

Sarah stared at him with her mouth hanging open. She tried to defend herself, but she had to admit there was some truth in his words. Still, she raised her chin defiantly. "Well, I…. Regardless, you promised that I could see them."

Jareth screwed up his face in mock concentration and stepped closer to her. "When did I promise that?" he said.

Sarah's stomach dropped. "Don't do that. You know you told me I could see them."

"I did tell you that, and you shall see them. However, neither of us specified when that would be." He kept moving forward until he was just inches away from her. "Perhaps I should charge a price," he murmured.

Sarah shivered, mostly from fear. "Please, Jareth. It's not fair to—"

He snorted. "I was wondering when that phrase would appear," he said. He leaned closer so that his breath moved the hair over her forehead. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her, sweet and clean, and he remembered the way his name sounded on her lips. Damn it, he had missed her. He tried so hard for so long to forget her, but he couldn't, not really. All he could do was bury those feelings- he couldn't erase them. The last time they'd been this close was in the ballroom. She had been so perfect, open…

Sarah took a deep breath, startling Jareth out of his memories. He was pleased to hear that her breath shook as she released it. No power over you, Sarah? He smiled at the thought. She seemed to be frozen, staring up at him with wide eyes. He drew back enough to meet her scared gaze. Her chest rose and fell with her quick breaths and Jareth's eyes darted down to catch the movement. When his eyes rose back to her face, the air between them seemed charged with tension. His smile was gone and he was sure his intent was written across his face. She wasn't a young girl anymore and she saw the lust in his eyes for what it was. Jareth moved his face toward hers slowly, watching her expression. What he saw made his pulse quicken. His lips were millimeters from hers and he could feel her warm breath on them when shock waves from the ward at the castle gates flooded his mind.

His spine snapped straight and his eyes went wide, causing Sarah to draw back in alarm. He knew exactly who was at the gates and cursed himself for wasting so much time. Tiernus would have been to Sarah's home and found her gone by now, meaning he would be searching for her here.

"Yer majesty! At the gate—" One of the goblins rushed into the room, his too-large helmet falling into his face so that he had to tilt his head back to see.

"I know," Jareth interrupted. "Take Sarah up to my chambers, now!" Jareth grabbed Sarah's arm and thrust her at the goblin.

Her mind was finally catching up to the flurry of events and she shouted, "What's happening?" The goblin tried to yank on her sleeve, but Sarah's feet remained planted.

Jareth gripped both her arms above her elbows and growled, "Sarah, please, for once, do as you're told!"

Maybe it was the desperate tone in his voice or the fear she saw in his eyes, but Sarah allowed the goblin to lead her from the room and up a flight of stairs to the left. Jareth made sure she was out of sight before striding out the front doors to meet the furious figure of his father as he marched toward the castle. Flanking him were two men. One, a stern looking guard in the gold cloak and silver armor of the fae army, the other an advisor to the king, dressed in pale blue robes and hat. Jareth wasn't interested in remembering his name, though he was sure he'd heard it. This time, Jareth hadn't even gotten within twenty yards of his father before he felt the rush of magic against him and he knew it was deliberate. His father was testing any weak spots in his defense.

"Where is she?" Tiernus screamed. Jareth clenched his jaw and stared at his father, willing himself not to reveal anything. He stopped at the bottom of the steps leading into the castle and waited for Tiernus to march toward him, sparks flying from his eyes. The guard and advisor followed, keeping their wary eyes on Jareth. Once again, Tiernus stood close enough that Jareth could feel the spittle as his father shouted in his face, "You will not hide it from me! You are nothing but a traitor, lower than the very goblins you rule. Present your filthy human or I will tear this castle down on you both!"

Jareth's vision blurred with the fury boiling inside him and without even deciding to, he shouted back at his father, matching his fury and his volume. "You will not touch her! I may be your son, but don't forget that I am a king! If you take another step toward my castle, we will finally see if the Goblin King's magic is stronger than the Fae King."

Tiernus took a startled step back from his son and stared up at Jareth's dark expression. For a second, fear flashed in Tiernus's eyes and Jareth caught a scent of victory. However, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Tiernus squared his shoulders and said with forced calm, "You know the law, Jareth. I will not allow you to keep it. Give me the human or I charge you with treason, my guards will witness." Tiernus glanced back at the two fae, who nodded back at their king. "If you choose to protect that thing, you forfeit your throne and I will renounce you as my heir."

Jareth's mind was whirring. He tried to think of a way out of this, but couldn't. He'd broken his father's law, which was tantamount to falling on his sword. He could break from his father and remain Goblin King, but if his magic really wasn't strong enough to protect his kingdom, he would live in constant fear of war and death. No fae would recognize him as next in line to be High King, even when Tiernus died. He would never be safe, and if he wasn't safe, neither was Sarah.

"You can't have her," Jareth said quietly.

"You are a fool, she'll die anyway. I renounce you—"

"She's pregnant," Jareth said, his face a mask of dark satisfaction as he landed on the one loophole that could save them.

Tiernus recoiled as if he'd been slapped. The guard behind him dropped his mouth in surprise and he and the advisor shared a glance. Tiernus took a shaky breath and whispered, "You're lying."

The corner of Jareth's mouth rose in a cruel smile. "I believe congratulations are in order. A grandchild, just what you've always wanted."

Tiernus seemed to fill up with his anger and shouted, "It matters not! I will not have a human in my bloodline, I will kill the abomination before its heart can quicken inside its mother!"

Jareth was about to retort, but the advisor beat him to it. "Sire," the man said, "you cannot. It's forbidden to kill a member of the royal family… it's treason against the kingdom."

Tiernus rounded on the guard. "I am the kingdom! My son has broken my laws and created a monster. That monster must be destroyed."

The advisor's eyes widened in fear, but he continued, "But Majesty, our laws are absolute. Perhaps it was against your decree for the Goblin King to bed a human, but the child is now a member of the royal family. As such, it must be protected, as should its mother."

"Then I renounce my son as heir!"

Jareth spoke up. "Ah, but I am still Goblin King. There's no precedent for renouncing an heir, you see, and I'm already crowned. As such, I'm still a royal. As is my unborn child."

Jareth almost laughed at an amusing vision of his father's eyeballs popping out of his head from rage, but managed to control himself. The advisor took a step closer to the king and said, "Your majesty, perhaps we should meet with the council and decide what is to be done. Obviously, circumstances have changed."

Tiernus took two quick steps forward and growled at Jareth, "You've always thought yourself so clever. I will find a way to kill that human and her brat, and this kingdom will burn. You should never have made an enemy of me, Jareth."

"You made yourself an enemy of this realm when you decreed that humans could not cross into it," Jareth said calmly. Tiernus glared at him and finally turned to leave. As he and the others prepared to journey to the fae kingdom, Jareth addressed the advisor with a smile. "Oh, and do make sure you release my mother. She was only protecting my heir, after all." The advisor nodded and Jareth laughed at the defeated fury on his father's face as they disappeared. Still laughing, he turned and sauntered through the entrance of his castle and upstairs to his chambers where Sarah was waiting for him.

I know this chapter was really short, but it's been a while since I updated and I just felt like this was a good place to end it. I love when Jareth is being so sexy and Sarah can't resist, those are my favorite scenes!

Thank you for all the reviews… but I'm greedy and I still want more. Are you guys intrigued? I always end up writing these scenes from Jareth's point of view. Does it feel realistic?