A/N: More Jareth and Sarah interaction for you lovely readers! Enjoy!

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For the second time in two days, Jareth found himself in his owl form, flying over the Elf City. Odysseus had convinced his cousin to fly through the city again to observe elvish lifestyle. He mentioned something about 'knowing thine enemy', but Jareth hadn't really been listening to what Odysseus was saying. Jareth had realized that there was no arguing with his cousin once his mind was made up, and he decided that a little more spying wouldn't be detrimental to any battle plans.

Before he left, Jareth had greeted the ship from King Robert's kingdom and aided in unloading the weapons and provisions it brought. He had also taken the time to meet and brief the newly promoted general who had arrived on the ship. He was a favorite of King Robert's, but Jareth was pleased to find him to be a hard-working young man who was eager to serve.

Now the Goblin King was carrying out his own mission, though he felt as though Odysseus was using it as an excuse to get out of the camps. So far, his espionage had been uneventful. No cats, dishwater, or irritating little boys had attacked him. However, Jareth had not been flying around the Elven city for very long when he thought he heard a familiar voice.

"I'm bringing Tustain."

Surely it couldn't be her!

Swooping down and landing atop the spire of a building, Jareth looked down upon the market below him. Sure enough, the mortal princess Sarah was weaving her way through market place, following someone. The stranger turned, and Jareth could tell right away she was the princess Karen. He had never seen the girl before, but her beauty was so incredible that it was hard to mistake her.

However, as Karen danced from stall to stall, Jareth mentally rolled his eyes. Why would anyone, especially a king, want to pursue someone so air-headed? A king needed a wife who was level-headed and wise, someone who could rule as queen. This silly princess was anything but such. Beauty was nothing if it wasn't accompanied by something more substantial, such as intelligence or cunning. At least, that was Jareth's opinion.

Turning his attention back to Sarah, he watched as she visibly scanned the crowd, as though looking for something or someone. What was she looking for? Her sister called her name again, and she turned to answer. Just then, something buzzed by Jareth's ear, and he turned his head to see what it was. A fly had decided Jareth would be amusing to pester, but with a swift snap of his beak, the nuisance was eliminated. As he turned his head back to the scene below him, Sarah looked up, and their gazes locked.

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Suddenly, Sarah wanted desperately to talk with the Goblin King. He would probably know who was on the ship, and would be able to satisfy her need to know as well. King Jareth had already promised to protect her, so Sarah knew she needn't fear speaking to him. As she was thinking about this, his and her eyes were still locked, though his head was cocked to the side; from amusement or curiosity Sarah could not determine.

"Sarah! Sarah!" Karen's voice caused Sarah to tear her eyes away from the king, and she turned to see her sister approaching her. "Goodness! It's like you fell asleep with your eyes wide open!" she exclaimed, "Wake up, silly. I bought the most beautiful skirt that I simply must try on. I know we haven't spent much time here, but do you mind if we go back to the castle?"

Absently, Sarah shook her head. "You go on," she replied, "I'll ride behind you."

"Stay right behind me!" Karen ordered playfully, "I don't want you to get lost!"

Her voice seemed light, but Sarah had a feeling Karen didn't want to let her out of her sight. Was that what she and Arden were arguing about the previous night? Sarah did not need a babysitter. Playing along for now, Sarah nodded. "Of course!" she replied, her tone just as bright as Karen's, "It would be quite terrible if I got lost."

Karen nodded, and Sarah thought she could see her relax slightly. Odd, but not unexpected, given her behavior that day. Leading Tustain off to the side of the street, Sarah unceremoniously pulled herself astride him. Her skirt rode up past her thighs, and she was grateful she had opted to wear leggings underneath.

"Sarah!" Karen admonished in a loud whisper, "Why couldn't you have ridden sidesaddle? You are nearly indecent!"

"But I'm not indecent," Sarah countered with a smirk, guiding Tustain towards the alleyway they came from, "Only nearly. Now are we leaving or not?"

With a sound of exasperation, Karen followed her sister back to the carriage where she climbed in. Leaning out the window, she called to Sarah "Stay right behind me!"

As the coachman cracked his whip, the carriage took off and Karen leaned back in her seat. Sarah watched her sister depart for a moment before muttering mischievously, "See you at supper, dear sister." With a laugh, she turned back around and hurried to the marketplace, hoping she could catch the Goblin King's eye if he was still there.

But how could she talk to him safely? He couldn't turn back into his Fae form in the city; his features would give him away in a heartbeat and he would surely be caught within minutes. And there was no way Sarah could leave the city without attracting attention.

He was still perched on the bakery's spire, but his attentions were on the crowd below him. Not wanting to look conspicuous, Sarah settled on staring the owl down, hoping he would turn and meet her gaze. Her concentration did not go unrewarded, and soon the Goblin King turned his head and looked her in the eyes.

Intense was the only word she could describe his stare as. It felt like he was trying to bore a hole between her eyes. As strong as his gaze was, however, Sarah refused to tear her eyes away from his. Instead, she dismounted Tustain, still staring the Goblin King down.

This is stupid, she thought, gripping Tustain's reins tightly in her hand. So very very stupid! Why am I doing this? Talking to him is impossible! Someone will get caught, and then hurt. This is not going to end well at all.

Sarah was at a complete loss for what to do. Now that she had his attention, she should at least do something. But what? With a sigh, she finally lowered her eyes away from the king's. Staring him down was getting her nowhere. Tustain clopping behind her, Sarah walked down the market for the second time that day. However, she was paying little attention to the wares being sold there.

Voices shouted out, calling for attention to specific products, but Sarah allowed them to fade into the background. She had to come up with a plan. "I wish I could just talk to him," she breathed, voice barely audible, "Simply and safely." With a sigh, she kicked a pebble on the cobblestone road.

As she passed the opening for an alleyway, Sarah had just enough time to look up and notice that the owl had left, before she was pulled into the shade of the alley. A figure with a long, hooked nose, an eyepatch, and a large floppy hat clapped a gloved hand over her mouth before she had the chance to scream for help.

Kicking her legs and flailing her arms, Sarah struggled to get free from the stranger, but his grip was strong. Furiously, Sarah opened her mouth against her attacker's hand, and gnashed her teeth against it.

With a muffled grunt of pain, her would-be captor pulled his hand from her mouth, but at the same time muttered something in Fae. Suddenly, Sarah was unable to make any noise, and she realized that the stranger had cast a spell on her. Even more incensed, Sarah struggled harder, trying to get free.

"It's me!" the stranger hissed, in a frighteningly familiar voice. He turned Sarah around to face him, pulled his nose down his face and lifted the eyepatch to reveal miss-matched eyes. Sarah's jaw dropped, and she stopped struggling in shock.

"Your highness?" Sarah mouthed incredulously, still unable to make a sound.

"You must keep quiet!" Jareth whispered pressing a finger to his lips as he released her from his hold, "Do you want me to be found out?"

Sarah shook her head, eyes wide in a mix of shock, fear, and -if she was completely honest with herself- excitement. The Goblin King released the spell that kept her silent and grasped his false nose to slide it up covering his nose, asking "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, with even more reason!" Sarah retorted in a whisper, "Why are you back in the city? You are going to get yourself killed!"

"I had planned on staying in my avian form," Jareth snapped, "But something happened. You must have done it!"

With another shake of her head, Sarah opened and then shut her mouth. "What could I have possibly done?" she demanded, temper rising as she tried to keep her voice low, "There is no way I could have done anything!"

"Then why am I here?" the Goblin King demanded in turn, "I was perched on that building, you turned away, and then I found myself in this ridiculous disguise, hiding in an alleyway. None of which was of my own doing!"

Taking a step back, Sarah's back hit the brick wall of the alley. "I couldn't have made any of that happen. You know that, your highness," she answered, trying to sort the situation out, "Maybe you lost control of your magic, or blacked out."

Jareth's expression darkened. "I may be young," he ground out, "But I am not so young as to be completely unable to control magical impulses."

Seeing his dangerous look, Sarah quickly raised both hands in concession. "Fine," she said quickly, still struggling to keep her voice down "I believe you. But you can't blame me for something I had absolutely nothing to do with!"

"There must be an explanation that leads back to you," Jareth pressed agitatedly, leaning closer into Sarah's personal space, "These things don't just happen, Sarah."

An odd, but not unpleasant shiver ran down Sarah's back as the Goblin King whispered her name, but she quickly shrugged the feeling off. "I am certain they don't, Jareth," she snapped back, her irritation shown by her putting emphasis on his name, "But you forget that I am only a mortal. I don't have the capability to do anything of that sort."

The Goblin King opened his mouth to retort, but looked to have thought better of it, and shut his mouth once again. Finally, he whispered in a much more calm voice, "That may be true, but then again, it might not be." Sarah raised a quizzical eyebrow, and he shrugged. "Just because you are mortal doesn't mean you don't have special capabilities." he supplied.

"Special capabilities?" Sarah scoffed, "That's ridiculous."

"Perhaps," Jareth answered quietly, "But it isn't entirely inconceivable either." He tugged at his false nose uncomfortably and continued, "You cannot take anything for granted, you know."

With a roll of her eyes, Sarah dismissed his remark. "Trust me," she assured the Goblin King in a low tone, "There is nothing special about me. Whatever happened was caused entirely by you."

"But it wasn't!" was Jareth's strong, albeit quiet, protest, "Something changed. Did you say anything different at all? Feel anything strange? Why am I here, talking to you?"

Memories of the last few minutes whizzed through her brain, and suddenly, Sarah paled. With a gasp, she clapped both hands over her mouth. "It... it can't be," she whispered, hands sliding down to clasp right below her chin, "It's not possible."

Senses high on alert, Jareth took both of Sarah's shoulders and grasped them tightly. "What did you do?"

Sarah looked to the side, turning away from the Goblin King's gaze and shook her head in disbelief. "That can't be it," she protested weakly, seemingly ignoring his question, "Things don't work like that. They don't."

"What did you do?" Jareth demanded in a harsher tone, giving her shoulders a small shake, "Princess, what did you do?"

"I... I made a wish," Sarah whispered, turning back to look Jareth in the eyes, "I wished I could talk to you in safety."

In shock, Jareth let go of her, and stepped back until he was against the opposite brick wall. "Are you certain?" he asked hesitantly, "You made a wish?"

"I didn't mean it!" Sarah pleaded, more to herself than him, "I just wanted to talk to you. I didn't think anything would actually happen!"

"This is not good," Jareth muttered, so quietly Sarah almost didn't hear him, "This is not good at all."

"What isn't good?" Sarah asked, growing even more concerned, "Why is it bad?"

Raising his hand, the Goblin King pointed a finger at Sarah. "You shouldn't be able to make wishes at all here in the Aboveground, let alone ones of this magnitude."

"I don't understand," Sarah replied in confusion,"What do you mean, 'make wishes'?"

With a sigh, Jareth asked, "How much do you know about the Goblin King's duties, Princess?"

"Only that whoever holds the title is also High Heir," Sarah answered, "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"We need to find a safer place to discuss this," Jareth whispered quickly, glancing around, "I believe your sister has discovered your absence; I hear soldiers approaching."

Looking round as well, Sarah's eyes widened as she heard the unmistakeable footfalls of Elvish soldiers. "I don't know where to go!" she whispered back, "I don't know where we'd be safe!"

A shadow passed into the alley and both Jareth and Sarah's heads whipped to the opening, watching silently as a guard walked by. "This is the princess's horse!" he called, grabbing Tustain's reins, "She must be around here somewhere."

"Check that alley!" another called in response.

Simultaneously, Jareth and Sarah turned back to face each other. "We have to get out of here," Sarah breathed, her expression bordering panicked, "Now. But I don't know how!"

With a final glance towards the alley's opening, Jareth reached out and tugged Sarah till their bodies were pressed tightly against each other. "Not a sound." he breathed into her ear, his false nose bumping awkwardly against her head, "And you'd best close your eyes."

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