Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Labyrinth.

Chapter Twenty-One

His Heart

Sarah was quick to take in her surroundings once she and the two dark elves reached their destination. She recognized where she was instantly. She was in the battle field from her vision, only it was nothing more than that, a field. Behind her, she recognized the forest where she first had the misfortune of meeting the fire gang. She was just outside the grounds of the Labyrinth. The dark elves disappeared, just as the malevolent elf king made his presence known.

"Have you brought what I requested?" Madoc asked. Sarah nodded and pulled the blue orb from her pocket, much like she had in her vision. "Then I shall leave them all alive, and remember, you are to hold up the final stipulation of this agreement. If you fail to become my Queen, I will destroy everyone in this blasted underground that you have ever known or cared about…"

"Before I give this to you, will you tell me what it is?" Sarah asked. She held the orb close to her, not willing to hand it over just yet. It was in a locked room of the castle, and only herself and Jareth knew how to enter. He never told her what it was, but it must have been important. Surely he would forgive her if he knew she was trying to save them all. Madoc started laughing at her.

"Oh, you poor girl. You've simply no idea how rich this is." Sarah bristled.

"Your minions didn't tell me that you wished me to be your Queen," she spat, changing the subject.

"No, but you have the gift of foresight, have you not? You saw…"

"What does that have to do with anything? They could have said something. Those are your stipulations, and unless I want everyone who means anything to me die then I have to do what you ask. I want to know what this weapon is, and I want to know why you needed this orb. I refuse to go anywhere until I know exactly what is going on," Sarah said. The malevolent king smirked at her. He could clearly see how this girl had defeated the labyrinth.

"Sarah, NO!" A searing pain went through Sarah's forehead. It was Asura. It did not go unnoticed by Madoc that her visage was suddenly pained.

"Is she talking to you?" Madoc asked. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Is 'who' talking to me?" Sarah, was flawless in her transition, thankful again that she had inherited some acting talent from her mother.

"Never mind…" Madoc replied. He then went into an explanation about the things she asked of him. Sarah kept her eyes focused on Madoc, as though she were paying the utmost attention to him.

"Sarah," Asura's voice was calm, but she could still pick up on some anxiety. "Just listen. Madoc has tricked you. You need to get out of here and back into Jareth's kingdom. Whatever you do, do not let him have the orb you posses. If you can just reach the forest, the wards around the Labyrinth will not allow Madoc to follow you. The truth is that Madoc does posses a weapon that could destroy everything, but he needs the orb you posses to make it work…"

"Are you listening girl? I will not take no for an answer…" Sarah had not paid attention to one word Madoc had spoken, but her face was convincing enough that he had not suspected Asura's presence again. Sarah sighed, and looked to be in great contemplation over his answer. She was highly confused, but thought it was best to get back to Jareth anyway. She should have just confided in him in the first place regardless of anything the real or fake Asura might have told her. It was too late for that now, she had to find a way out of this. "Well? I'll take you by force if I must…" Sarah held her head up high, the orb still held close to her. She was close enough to the border, maybe if she just turned and ran. Though her transportation had improved, it would take her far too long to build her concentration, there was only one way to do it. If she could just make it the ten feet to the forest, she would be safe.

"Forgive me; this is a rather hefty decision," Sarah said.

"There is no decision. You will either come peacefully of forcibly." Sarah sighed stalling for time. There were a lot of questions that needed answered, like why the wards would block Madoc but not the other dark elves. She didn't know what to believe, but right now she didn't have a choice.

"I… I…" Sarah stuttered taking a step back. Madoc's eyes were narrowed and no sooner had he moved his hand towards her that she turned and fled. She heard him swear loudly and he was upon her in seconds, she was so close. Her eyes widened in terror, as he reached for her. In her haste, she conjured a crystal unlike any she had been able to before. It was dark green. She whipped the crystal into his face causing him to yell out in pain and fall to his knees, but not before grabbing the edge of her dress and ripping the fabric. Sarah paid no mind to this and kept running well into the forest. Hopefully Asura wasn't wrong in her information. Surely Madoc was not stupid enough to try and hunt Sarah down in her own kingdom. He really had not chosen well in their meeting place. She kept running until a root tripped her and brought her crashing down into the dirt. The blue crystal remained tight within her grasp. "Jareth!"

His name had barely left her lips before said Goblin King was kneeling before her.

"Sarah," he sighed her name out in relief. He was looking her over, taking in her appearance. "Are you hurt?" Her cheek had a smudge of dirt smeared across it from when she fell. His eyes narrowed as he saw her torn and dirtied dress. Tears fell from her eyes as she threw her arms around him. He was quick to wrap her up in his arms, smoothing her hair back to soothe her. She felt him relax once she was within his hold and he wasted no more time in taking her back to their rooms.

"Sarah?' Jareth's voice was as gentle as he could make it. She continued to sob into his chest, unwilling to relinquish her hold upon him. She could have quite possibly doomed them all instead of saving them.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah said. Her voice was so pained he almost couldn't bare to listen to it. "He lied… somehow he… lied. I thought it was Asura… I thought…." Jareth hushed her wish a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"It's alright now, it's alright." She was shaking, trying so hard to rein it in. Finally she just completely relaxed in his embrace. "Sarah, what happened, did he hurt you?" Jareth prodded gently.

"No… my dress was the only casualty." She was relieved at the slight smirk he gave. Taking a deep breath, she explained everything from the vision she saw, to hearing Asura in her mind, and then fleeing back into the grounds of the Labyrinth. Jareth was silent for a long time, absent mindedly stroking her hair.

"I knew Madoc had great powers, but to be able to subdue Asura, that is quite a feat." She felt his chest heave a sigh. "To put it simply, you were lied to, and Madoc almost succeeded. Do you know what the blue crystal is?" Jareth asked. Sarah lifted her tear stained face to his before shaking her head no. He smirked, never once did he try to pry the orb away from her. "It is what keeps me bound to the Labyrinth, how I can communicate with it. Why I found you in the first place. It is a life force of great power, It is my heart." He gently rested her head back to his chest, and she listened as the beat of his heart matched the slight pulsing of the blue orb. Her eyes widened slightly as she pulled away to meet his gaze again.

"I don't understand…"

"Should I die before an heir is produced, the Labyrinth would die with me," Jareth explained. "My power is directly connected with it. Should it fall into the wrong hands of someone who would exploit its power, it is a formidable weapon. That is why you're the only other person who knows how to reach that room. It is the safest place in the castle." Sarah's mouth was slightly agape.

"Why… are… you're not furious with me?" Sarah questioned. Jareth chuckled at her horrified expression, and lifted the hand that she held the orb with.

"No, I'm not angry. I knew it'd be safe with you," he whispered in to her ear. It was the first place he had gone when Sarah had gone missing, but while she was still close to the Labyrinth unless she was within its boundaries, he couldn't sense her.

"Why didn't you ever tell me before this?" Sarah lifted her free hand to caress his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

"I had planned on it, but the opportune time never came around," Jareth replied.

"Is it true that the wards around the labyrinth will keep Madoc out?" Sarah asked.

"Yes."

"Then how is it that joker and the thief could get in?"

"It is because though they are traitors they are still apart of Verdant's court… which in itself is not evil. The Labyrinth however will not let any of the un-seelie court in," Jareth explained. It was impossible to keep every single un-wanted being out, but it kept the most dangerous at bay. "I raised the alert," he said off-handedly.

"What?" Sarah asked as she leaned back into his embrace.

"I expect Eve, Feyore, Selina, and Verdant will be here soon."

"I'm sorry, I should have just told you from the start what was happening," Sarah said with a sigh. "I wish that I had."

"It's alright. You were just trying to save us," he soothed. "Promise to confide in me next time?" Sarah smiled and leaned up to meet him in a kiss, her free hand running through his hair.

"I promise."

"May I?" He asked holding his hand out for the blue orb. Sarah nodded and handed it to him. "I'll be back." He gently set her on the bed and disappeared and was back before she could blink. She knew that he went to return the orb to where it belonged.

"What are we going to do… he's not going to give up so easily…" Sarah began. Her brow furrowed in worry. Jareth walked back over to her and took her up into his arms. It was if he were afraid that she was going to disappear again if he wasn't holding her here. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Don't worry yourself about it tonight, my dear Sarah," he said quietly to her, relieved to have her safely in his arms again. "I often times think it may be safer for you above." At this her head shot up.

"No! Don't you dare send me away!" Sarah took his face in her hands. "I'm never leaving you again. I don't care what Asura says." He smirked, pulling her close and kissing her.

"Never?"

"Never ever," she swore. "I never thought I would be here like this, that I would know you like this. I… When you came to my room that night, I never saw this happening." Jareth chuckled.

"Nor did I precious thing, but here we are." She shivered as he ran his fingers up and down her back. Fisting her fingers in the front of his shirt, she pulled him to her, pouring everything she had in the kiss she gave him. His arm held her securely against him as his free hand wound its way into her dark silken locks. He chuckled at her noise of protest when he pulled away. "I'm sorry my love, but the guard has arrived, surely in a frenzy." Sarah sighed and leaned against him. She knew the guard referred to their friends, clearly still unaware of her safe return. With one more fleeting kiss, Jareth helped his Queen to stand. With a flourish of his hand, the damage to her dress was repaired. She smiled in thanks, she didn't want to appear before their guests, albeit close friends, and have them worry more over her ragged state.

"Sarah! Oh my god!" They had barely entered the throne room before Selina had flung her arms around Sarah in a hug. "We thought the worst! Are you okay? What happened?" The dark haired queen chuckled as she returned her friends embrace.

"I'm fine, everything is alright."

"Selina, let the girl breathe so that she may tell us what happened." Feyore's amused voice broke through the young elf's incessant questioning. Jareth came to stand behind Sarah, a supportive hand on the small of her back as she recited everything that happened. An uncomfortable silence followed after her story. It was Eve who broke the silence.

"What are we to do?"

Author's Note:

I am going to finish this damnit! So… yea. Long time no see? I don't know how it's going to end, honestly, but summer is here, and I have more time to write. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but please bare with me. I've missed you all dearly. :) As always, review and let me know what you think, and forgive any errors that slip my eye.