**No Choice**

The Goblin King had made a mistake.

He should never have turned away.

For the second time in one day, the fog had lifted and Sarah could think clearly. "No choice? There is always a choice." She spoke the words as if to convince herself of the truth in them. "I would choose death before becoming some puppet dancing on your strings." She didn't know what game he was playing, but she did know that he had only his best interests at heart and she would not make a move until she knew what those interests were.

The king stared at her in stunned silence. He had been so certain of her course of action that her negative response took a moment to register. The emotions that flitted across his face varied from anger to confusion before his typical self-assuredness returned. He didn't speak; he simply watched her with that cocky expression of his, as if she had been joking and at any moment she would come to her senses.

Sarah dropped her eyes and fought for words she could say to banish him from her presence once more. She could no longer say, 'you have no power over me,' – that only worked if she believed it. No, Sarah knew too well the sway he held over her, in more ways than one. She could only hope that he wouldn't realize the full extent of his power before she was free of him once more.

It is odd the things you notice when you are pointedly not looking at someone who is trying their best to draw you back under their spell. While rereading the Labyrinth book in her mind, searching for clues long forgotten, Sarah noticed her missing slipper peeking out from underneath her dresser. It was red and white, drawing her mind back to those awful pajamas Toby wore that night. And moving the way thoughts often do from one to the next, Sarah suddenly had an idea. She was not trapped in his world this time—he was in hers. The words brought him here; could reversing them send him home?

There was only one way to find out.

"I wish…"

"Stop! Wait!" The words, the sheer panic in his voice, brought it all back to her. She was a teenager again, standing in that vast world of broken dreams, staring down her adversary. It is ironic that, despite her inability to trust him, she no longer thought of him as the villain of her youth. Was he complicated? Dark? Yes. But not a villain—or at least, not only a villain. He was much more complex than that. And the pain in his voice was tangible, calling out to her. She couldn't speak.

"Sarah, think of what you are giving up. If you stay here, you will waste a way to nothing. Come with me and be revered for who and what you are." The lord of the goblins pulled out his crystals, dancing them on his fingers just on the peripherals of Sarah's vision in a last-ditch effort to gain her attention. "I offer you immortality."

It worked.

"But on what terms? Why does it matter to you whether I live or die?" she asked, staring into his mismatched eyes, willing him to speak the truth. Her mind played back her own words in answer to her questions: 'But what no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl.' Sarah grimaced at her ridiculous hopefulness. That was never part of the book. An adolescent dreamer had fancied herself in love with a character in a fairytale and changed the story to fit her fantasy. The Goblin King's real life seduction had been no more than a ploy to play on her weakness and win a game. The king had his reasons for wanting her to come with him, but she knew that was not it.

Releasing his hold on her, the Goblin King began to pace in silence-a tiger trapped in a cage. He would not lie to her outright, of that she was certain, but he would manipulate the truth to such a degree as to be unrecognizable. The orbs in his hand began spinning at such a rate that they began to blur together, though the king did not seem to even notice he was moving them. They were an extension of his arm and he gave them no more thought than blinking or swallowing.

When Sarah's patience had just about run to the breaking point, the Goblin King finally stopped pacing and faced her, the crystals simultaneously disappearing. The sincerity in his gaze burned Sarah to the core as he spoke three simple words: "I need you."

The two former enemies stared into one another's eyes for an endless moment, he gauging her reaction, she trying not to succumb to his raw passion. What he saw in her eyes must have encouraged him. He took a step forward.

"I wish the Goblin King would return to his kingdom, right now!"

The words rushed out of her mouth before she could think them through. All she knew was that if he came any closer she would have lost all choice. She would be in his power. And she couldn't do that without more knowledge.

"Sarah, what have you done?" The ghostly words were spoken as he faded from her presence.

Sarah didn't allow herself a chance to ponder her actions any further at that moment. Thinking quickly, Sarah grabbed a pen and some stationary and began to write.

She only hoped she had enough time.

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A/N: Okay…I know this was exceptionally short. Sorry about that! But it was such a natural place to cut it off. I promise, I already have a good start on the next chapter (and despite the difficulty level Nanenna, I did manage to put fuzzy hugs in that one…you'll have to wait to see how it is used :-D). Unfortunately, I have been suffering from some strange illness that is kind of flu-ish in nature, so we'll see if I'm able to concentrate enough to write in the next couple of days. I actually surprised myself when I proofread this—I had typed up a whole paragraph in my sleep! (That paragraph was removed because, although I wrote coherently, it was not how I had wanted my Jareth to be in this story… and that's all I'm going to say about that—other than, how awesome is it to write in your sleep? :-D) Any and all mistakes in this chapter were made while I was sleeping…yeah…that's it…

Anyway, as always, thank you so much for your reviews, alerts and even a few favorites. It is such an encouragement to me! And LadyCavalier enjoy your camp! I hope you see many beautiful fish :-D.