It took several minutes for Sarah to recover from her shock. She swallowed, and whispered hoarsely, "W-What? B-But…but can't you…?!"

The nymph shook her head sadly.

"There is little I can do, child. My talent lies in foresight. Casting spells – and breaking them – is beyond my power."

Sarah opened her mouth to protest, but finding no words, closed it again. If his powers weren't returned, Jareth would die? She felt nauseous. It was true, she didn't always have benevolent feelings for him, but she had never, ever wanted him hurt. And now, now that his death was a possibility, Sarah realized that she must care about him a little more than she had thought, because she was terrified.

"What do we do?" She asked bleakly.

The Muse gazed once again into her pool, rearranging the lily pads with her crooked staff.

"Make your way to the center of the Labyrinth, to the castle. Edorin will be there for certain. He will not back down from a challenge. Once he is defeated, a way to return Jareth's powers should present itself."

She gave a sympathetic smile, raising her staff to point behind Sarah.

"Go now, child. Rest here with your friends, until your weariness subsides. Then make haste to the castle. Be wary. And remember that you must not fail…or the Labyrinth is doomed."

As Sarah climbed back through the stone gate, she heard Leija's voice.

"Mi'lady!"

She looked over to see Leija and Hoggle waiting for her.

"Ye okay?" The dwarf asked anxiously, "Ye look like someone died."

Sarah shivered compulsively at the word 'died', but shook her head.

"No…no, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all," She lied.

"Ah!" Hoggle said, apparently believing her, "Well, we is, too. Looks like we might have a bit a' time to sit down, 'till Burnrock…"

"Turnok," Leija reminded him gently.

"Oh, yeah," he said, pretending to be absent-minded, "Until Turnok gets back."

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Where'd he go?"

"Turnok was worried about His Highness," the gnome girl replied, "Milord said he was just tired, too, but…he was acting so strange…"

She sighed.

"I'm worried, Mi'lady. It isn't like His Highness to go off by himself."

Sarah was about to lie, to tell her that she was sure he was just fine, when Turnok reappeared. He had a noticible limp, and was rubbing his jaw.

"Oh dear!" Leija said, putting a hand to her mouth, "What happened?"

"His Majesty the King assured me he is fine," Turnok announced less-than-convincingly, "He has decided that we should rest here a few hours, and then head towards the castle."

"Uh…well, that's fine…" Sarah said slowly, "But what happened to you?"

The goblin winced at her question, but nonetheless answered.

"I…I mistakenly asked why he was wearing that human girl's hideous coat 'round his arm. It was wrong of me. Entirely out of my place. So His Highness gave me an etiquette lesson."

Hoggle snorted.

"Looks more like he introduced yer face to his royal boot. A'course, it's hard to tell with yer face."

Turnok went red as a beet, and made a grab for his dagger. Leija kindly grabbed a hold of him before he could stab the dwarf, and spent the next several minutes persuading him not to murder anyone.

Later that night, Sarah sat by the fire, distractedly staring into the dancing flame. It really was a scrawny little fire; Hoggle had insisted on making it when a certain gnome girl observed a chill in the air. The dwarf himself was sprawled out a little ways away, snoring loudly. Sarah heard soft footsteps beside her and turned to find Leija sitting next to her.

"How's Turnok?" Sarah asked, casting an eye at the sleeping goblin.

"Oh, very good!" Leija said cheerfully, "His jaw didn't break this time, and you can hardly see the bruises!"

Sarah couldn't help but sigh. It looked like the Goblin King was treating his servants as well as ever.

Leija must have surmised the reason for the sigh, because she bit her lip guiltily, somehow feeling that Sarah's unflattering view of Jareth was her fault. After a few moments, she spoke up quietly.

"I pray you don't think ill of His Highness. I know he may come across as a bit…"

"Selfish?" Sarah offered, "Childish? Arrogant?"

"…but he really does have a noble heart." Leija finished. She gazed down at the ground, folding her hands on her lap. "You see, I was an orphan. I was found wandering the Labyrinth as a child, and taken to the castle to be punished for trespassing. But…"

The gnome looked up at Sarah, her green eyes shimmering in the firelight.

"When the King saw me, he became furious. He had the guards who arrested me thrown into the dungeons. His Majesty took me in, and showed me kindness, and commanded everyone else do the same."

Sarah stayed quiet, a little stunned by the gnome's story. Jareth had never come off as the merciful sort. He had always been threatening her, or demanding something, or ordering her around. But Jareth had saved her from Edorin, using some of his precious magic to do so. Maybe…

"Yes, but he turned you into his maid," Sarah said suddenly, turning to the gnome, "It's not like he…"

Leija balked.

"Oh, no, mi'lady! His Highness never forced me to do anything! I…"

She curled her small legs up, resting her chin on her knees.

"…I-I…I just wanted to be useful……to pay him back. I can't fight, but I can clean and cook. And I'm a rather good seamstress, too. He's just been so kind to me. And…well…Milord is the closest thing to family that I have."

Silence followed as both girls watched the crackling, dwindling fire.

That's why she's so protective, Sarah realized, glancing at the blond gnome, That's why she's so devoted to him. Jareth is more than just her King. He's like an older brother to her.

Sarah thought of her own family; her mom, her dad, her stepmother…and most of all, Toby. Even though sometimes her baby brother drove her up the wall, she loved him a lot, even more so in the last few weeks. Maybe Jareth felt that way about Leija, too. Now that the girl thought about it, she couldn't remember him saying a single unkind word to the gnome girl.

"Well…maybe he's not that bad," She murmured.

Leija's eyes filled with hope.

"Don't get me wrong," Sarah hastily clarified, "I still think he's a jerk. But maybe he's not as big a jerk as I originally thought."

"I'm glad," Leija said warmly, "Even though he has trouble showing it, Milord has a very high opinion of you, Mi'lady."

Sarah climbed to her feet, mumbling something about being suddenly very tired, and said goodnight. As she watched the girl walk off into the darkness, Leija beamed in excitement. The swift blush that had leapt onto Sarah's face had not escaped her notice.

Deep within the bowels of the castle, the Troll Lord stood over a stone table, gazing down at the map of the Labyrinth before him. He methodically drew his finger over each and every corridor. It was true that he did not know the great maze as well as the Goblin King, but he would not let that become his downfall. He had had his scholars tear through the library and read everything. Their findings lay before him, listing the many obstacles and creatures the Labyrinth held. All that was left to do was divine which routes Jareth and his companions might take.

Edorin pressed his thumb over the drawing of a staircase, sending green sparks dancing over the paper. A glowing green X appeared over it. The Fae frowned, pausing to put a hand to the shoulder. Just hours ago, it had been torn open by one of Jareth's crystal spears. It had already healed, of course, but the fact that Jareth had managed to wound him had greatly annoyed him. The Goblin King was more of a nuisance than he had anticipated. But he would not make another such mistake.

The Troll Lord's lips curled into a joyless smile as another X spread out under his fingertip. With his magic and the Labyrinth at his disposal, he would obliterate any wisp of a chance they had.

Edorin only hoped that he would have the pleasure of killing Jareth himself.

I'm BAAAAACK! It's a new year, and way past time to start pumping out more chapters! Sorry for taking so long…I spent Christmas with my relatives in a different state, and it took a week and a half to fully recover. (I'm pretty sure I'm still suffering from an overdose of Drama and Guilt-trip poisoning…O_o) Ah well, family, what are you going to do? Thank goodness I can love them from a distance.

I still can't believe how many people are reading this! Thank you all so much for supporting this humble little fanfic! It's thanks to your reviews that Jareth didn't burn down my tree! I know there isn't much action in this chapter…okay, there isn't ANY action in this chapter…but the next one will have enough for both! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND HOLY CONTINUE TO REVIEW! Love you guys !