A/N: Yesss, I understand that this is a super duper short chapter, buuuut I really didn't want to add anything else to it. *insert guilty smile*

Sarah was thrilled, and slightly dazed at the night's turn of events. What had started out as a simple swim in the fountain had turned into an animal rescue. Her mission now was to get this strange owl inside the castle without anyone seeing it. Ever since she had brought a baby raccoon into the kitchens several years ago, she had been banned from any form of pet. Looking up and down her person, Sarah tried to find a good way to hide the owl.

"Hmm." she muttered, thinking hard, "Where can I put you?" Tugging at her outer tunic, she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Of all the days I chose not to wear those long sleeves!" Glancing around to see if anyone was watching, she peeled her soaked clothing away from her skin and separated her tunic from shift. "This will have to do." she said with a grimace.

Stuffing the owl down between the materials, Sarah made another face. "Just... don't think about it." she muttered, though not sure if she was talking to herself or the owl. Hugging the bird close to her chest, she took a deep breath and took off in a run towards the castle, dearly hoping she wouldn't get caught.

Jareth meanwhile, was very, very uncomfortable. The girl was running, and he was jostled back and forth with every step she took. It was becoming increasingly humid with the combined heat of her exercise, his breath and the dampness of her clothes and Jareth was certain he was suffocating. I am going to slaughter Odysseus, he swore, fighting the urge to break free of the girl's grip as they entered the castle.

Sarah decided that going through the kitchens would be the best way to enter the castle. With all the cooks and servants hustling and bustling in preparation for dinner, she would be able to slip through with little to no notice. And even if someone did see her, they would hardly recognize her in her dripping-wet state.

Ducking behind a large cart holding dishes, Sarah wheeled it alongside her with one hand. Once she reached the door to the main corridor, she forcefully sent the cart rattling back into the kitchens, where it hit a counter with a crash. Without looking back, she hurried down the hall towards the main staircase. However, the sound of footsteps made her halt.

Sarah hastily side-stepped into an alcove, just as Karen came around the corner to enter the dining hall. Too close. She was going to get into so much trouble if her sister caught her running around the castle, soaked to the bone and carrying a mysterious bundle in her dress that just happened to be a living creature. Peeking out and finding the coast clear, Sarah tip-toed out of her hiding place and hurried to the stairs.

"Princess Sarah!" someone called out. It was Nissa. Sarah quickly shifted the ow from her chest to her side and turned slightly, hoping she didn't look too guilty. "Nissa!" Sarah gasped, "I though you would be at dinner."

Nissa shook her head upon seeing Sarah's soaked clothes and smiled. "I was just on my way. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah." she admonished gently, "I should have known you weren't ill. What did you do this time?"

Forcing herself to smile, Sarah shuffled her feet. "It was warm out in the gardens." she supplied, "And I may have... possibly swam in one of the..." she trailed off.

With a knowing roll of her eyes, Nissa replied, "Oh Sarah. What if someone had seen you?" Sarah wanted to make a face. Please please don't turn this into a lecture about decorum. she pleaded internally.

"I wasn't thinking at the time." Sarah answered, hoping she sounded convincing enough, "Had I not come to such a conclusion as you, I would be outside still. The water was glorious."

Nissa studied her carefully, as if she didn't quite believe her story, and Sarah held her breath. Finally, Nissa waved her hand and smiled. "Well, go on then," she laughed, "You'll surely catch your death of cold if you stay in those clothes for much longer. I will see you at dinner." She turned and walked towards the dining room, still chuckling at what she thought were just Sarah's mortal antics.

Once Nissa was out of sight, Sarah breathed a deep sigh of relief. She needed to move faster if she didn't want to risk getting caught by someone else. Using one hand, she bunched her skirts up to avoid tripping and held the owl close with her other hand and mounted the stairs, taking two at a time. This method seemed to be working, until the owl shifted and startled Sarah.

Dropping her dress, she stopped and clutched at the owl with both hands, shushing him. "We're almost there," she whispered, "Hang on." Taking another step, her bare foot caught her wet skirt and with a small cry, Sarah slipped and tumbled down to the bottom of the staircase. She lay in a crumpled heap for a moment, and the owl flapped its escape from the confines of her tunic. Shakily, she pushed herself to a sitting position, spitting blood from her split lip. Her jaw hurt like the devil, and she was pretty sure her cheek was scraped and bleeding.

Wincing, Sarah carefully checked her elbows and knees for bruising or broken bones. Everything seemed to be in order, and she picked up the owl off the floor with a pained sigh. "Let's go." she mumbled, lip swelling rapidly. As she shifted her weight to her other foot, however, her ankle screamed in protest. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sarah limped up the steps, and painfully hurried to her room doing her best to ignore the pain for the time being. She still needed to get out of sight.

Finally, her quarters came in sight, and Sarah gratefully pushed open the door, taking a moment after shutting it to lean against it and catch her breath. Once her heart rate slowed back to normal speed, she limped across the room. Setting the owl on her writing desk, Sarah turned to find a handkerchief for her bloody lip.

"I think I'm going to need some ice." she moaned, voice muffled by the cloth pressed to her mouth as she sat down in her desk chair, rubbing her surely sprained ankle. Checking her lip with her fingertips and satisfied that it was at least not bleeding, she turned her attention to the owl on her desk. He eyed her skeptically and Sarah took a deep breath.

"Can I see your wing?" she asked slowly, hoping he would understand and respond. When he lifted his wing, her eyes lit up, though a jolt of fear shot through her. This owl could understand her. That was definitely not normal, and Sarah wasn't sure if it was a good thing. Pushing those thoughts into the back of her mind, she gently took hold of his wing and examined it. The damage didn't look too terrible and she looked the owl in his eyes.

"There isn't much wrong with it," she informed it, certain he was listening, "You just need to rest your wing a little." After a moment's hesitation, she added, "You can stay in here for the night if you keep quiet." She attempted to smile, but the action opened the cut on her lip and it began bleeding again. Raising her fingers to her lip, Sarah winced as she tenderly pressed the wound. "You'd better not do anything to make me regret bringing you in here." she groaned, turning to fix a look at the owl.

"I need to change," Sarah announced, "But my ankle is killing me. Ugh. What a mess." Sucking in a deep breath, she raised her foot and placed it on her desk. "I'll bet you didn't know that elevating injuries reduces swelling." she proudly informed the owl. Placing both hands on her ankle, she winced as she felt around. "Oh gods," she gasped in pain, "I think it might be broken." Brilliant.

Letting go of her ankle and leaning back in her chair, Sarah pointed a finger at the owl. "I need someone to look at this," she said sternly, "And that means you have to find somewhere in here to hide." The owl regarded her motionlessly and she rolled her eyes. "Come on then," she sighed impatiently, "I know you understand what I'm saying. Go under the bed or something." She shifted and inhaled sharply as the movement jostled her ankle. The pain was getting worse and involuntary tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

Jareth meanwhile, was having a huge internal battle with himself. He felt incredibly guilty that the girl had broken her ankle helping him, and he knew for a fact that he would be able to heal the bone with ease. However, that would mean switching forms and blowing his cover, therefore risking his life. But the girl was obviously in pain. Pain indirectly caused by him, and the guilt was persistently tugging at his conscience. Besides, he could always wipe the memory into nothing but a dream...

A small, poorly-hidden whimper from the girl dragged Jareth's attention back to the desk. She hesitantly lowered her foot and stood up, gingerly putting her weight on the other. "I'm calling for a servant," she informed Jareth, "So hurry up and hide, you dumb bird." The girl took two small steps, before sitting on her desk with a pained grunt. As she leaned her head back, Jareth could hear her whisper, "damn." His resolve broke.

Hopping off the desk with a weak flap, Jareth landed awkwardly on the floor. "Thank you." the girl breathed gratefully, "Under the bed is clean, if you want to hide there." Ignoring her, Jareth focused on switching forms. Switching from Fae to owl was easy, but going from owl to Fae required a little more concentration due to the fact that he was still slightly owl-minded. Closing his eyes, he pictured his bones and muscles stretching and shifting back to arm and leg shape and willed them to do so.

At the same time, Sarah had her eyes sealed shut and was counting backwards from ten in an attempt to clear her mind of the pain. So far this approach wasn't working, and she breathed deeply. Opening her eyes, Sarah glanced around to see if the owl had taken her advice. It hadn't. Instead it was sitting on the stone floor, eyes shut. He looked like he was in pain, and Sarah opened her mouth to ask if he was all right. Before she could get the words out, however the bird exploded in a cloud of glitter-dust.

With a cry, Sarah dropped to her knees and scrambled towards the cloud, though she could not see anything through it. "Are you all right?" she gasped, groping around and choking on the dust. Her hand finally grasped something firm and she yanked on it, hoping the owl was unharmed. Whatever she had a grip on didn't budge, and instead something made a sound that sounded almost... human.

Releasing her hold, Sarah frantically scooted backwards until her back hit the desk. She watched in horror as the glitter cleared and a figure rose from a crouching position. It stretched, and flexed its left arm with a groan.

"Oh gods." Sarah breathed. The figure turned its head and the dust cleared completely, revealing slightly pointed teeth, triangular brows and tapered ears.

A Fae.

"I'm quite all right, thank you. Now let me see your ankle."

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