"Sarah...finally."
Sarah gasped and froze. She turned slowly, hardly daring to hope that he could have returned after all that time. He was leaning languidly against the frame of the open bedroom door, watching her. Sarah jumped to her feet and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his shoulder. Jareth froze for a second, taken aback by her response to his appearance, before uncertainly placing his arms round her and patting her on the back. She was freezing. Jareth placed his gloved hands on her shoulders, pushing her back so he could look into her face, searching her eyes.
"Sarah...what has happened to you?"
"You came back."
"You're freezing."
Jareth crossed to her open bedroom window, shutting it against the winter night. He gazed through the glass into the dark street outside. Without turning, he spoke.
"You asked me to save you Sarah."
Sarah blushed, shuffled her feet and looked at the ground. "Yes. Yes I did."
"It's only fair to warn you, there will be consequences. You beat me, you beat my Labyrinth. I am angry. And ancient lore decrees that I must demonstrate my power over you. You will not find it pleasant, but the Labyrinth must be appeased. However, this will pass. If you are to be my queen..."
"Your Queen?"
"Yes Sarah. From the moment you entered my Labyrinth it was only a matter of time. But that is in the past. If you are to be my queen you must undergo certain test, to prove yourself worthy before the council. Again these are not pleasant. But you must remember this. However bitter, however angry, I may seem whatever pain is caused I love you. At this moment however, demonstrating my power and authority, and appeasing the Labyrinth is more important. But when we are through this, I promise I will take you as my queen until forever, never to be parted from. Do you understand? I can be tyrannical, but the truth lies in that which I have just told you."
"I understand." Sarah swallowed, feeling more than a little apprehensive, but took comfort from the thought that nothing, no pain could be worse than that which she had endured since she was last in the underground. "May enquire as to the nature of that which I must endure?"
"Lore decrees that I cannot outline it too you lest it give you a chance to prepare yourself in some way, thus undermining the purpose of the exercise. However, I can say that my power over you must be demonstrated in every way, and that the Labyrinth would, in this world, be considered somewhat perverse in her tastes." He smiled thinly, his gaze flickering down her body, apparently noticing for the first time her state of near undress. His eyes snapped back to her face. "Now shall we go? I must present my trophy"
A pair of gold handcuffs appeared in his hands, and his smile grew wider.