...Please tell me you still love me? . I'm so sorry every one I haven't updated in so long, I was focusing on my Greek story for so much...

Pleeeeeaaaassee tell me you all still love me and wish I would keep updating *wails* I know I let you all down for so long! But don't give up on me yet, I beg of you!

...Review...please oh please oh pleaseeeee review!

:D And...hereeee wee...go. *jokers voice*

Chapter 15

The thought had been nagging Sarah's subconscious for days, and she hadn't the heart to ask him where he had been. She was back in the garden, sitting by the fountain and playing with the small fish that swam in it. There were still guests left from the ball, and it was Jareth's duty as a royal to entertain them. Rather than suffer through hours of their sneers and unkind remarks, Sarah politely had excused herself and decided to remain unengaged in the planned events over the next few days. Jareth understood but, though wanted to remain by her side, was bound to his duty as King first.

She traced her finger over the surface of the water, giving a small smile as a little blue fish came up and suckled softly on it. Looking past the fish, she watched her reflection on the water. It seemed like it always had been; normal and human, nothing compared to a Fae beauty. It were as though everything around her was trying to reinforce the fact that she wasn't worthy of living as a royal.

Sarah splashed her hand over the image, distorting it entirely, and turned away. Ever since Ceylon's disappearance, everything felt…different. She felt more in touch with everything in the Labyrinth than ever, yet the emotions of everyone she passed seemed intensified. Spite and malice from the Fae guests was overwhelming at times. She sighed and looked back at the fish, who seemed to be sad now. She had yet to tell Jareth about the sword, or the Labyrinth responding to her every move, or the fact she had an unknown power capable of fighting Ceylon too.

Still pondering over what had happened, she almost didn't notice the shadow that overtook hers. Before she could turn, a soft, gloved hand brushed the hair back from the side of her neck, then she felt a soft kiss just below her ear. Leaning towards the sensation, she turned and wrapped her arms around him.

"I was wondering where you'd scurried off to," he said musingly. She gave a small role of her eyes.

"You knew, you always know."

He kept a hand around her shoulders.

"That wasn't the point," he tried to pull her into his arms, but she fumbled away and stood up.

"I thought there were guests to entertain," she said questioningly, giving herself a little space from his Majesty. He gave her a confused look, and moved towards her.

"And I thought you'd be happy to see me," he said back, "Is something bothering you Precious?" he asked, stroking the side of her face tenderly; she moved away again, pretending to find a sudden interest in a nearby flower, one that she'd probably studied numerous times after spending so much time out here either by herself or with Sky. Something was definitely bothering her.

Jareth furrowed his brow as he walked over to her again. Making sure she couldn't get away this time, he wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.

"Sarah, what's bothering you?" he asked again, gripping more tightly to her as she tried to worm away again.

"It's nothing Jareth, let go," she said trying to pull away in a failing attempt.

"Not until you tell me what's got you so upset."

She relaxed a bit, and tried to force herself to ask him. They had already had a fight over trust once before, and they had gone days without really getting along. Sarah wasn't inclined to feel that again, but she also knew she wasn't going to be able to evade talking to him about it anyway.

"…What kind of things are you doing with the Fae this afternoon?" she said finally. Internally she couldn't do it, she didn't want him to think she didn't trust him because of one minor incident. He smiled, thinking it was something that small and went on to answer her. Her heart pounded as though a blacksmith were molding a hard, hot piece of iron into a sword. Guilt weighed heavily inside of her, but she managed to push it deeper inside of herself and ignore it.

He escorted her back into the castle, and into the dinner the goblins had prepared for all of them. Jareth seated her next to him, and the other guests were shown to their spots as well, thankfully this would be the last meal she would have to endure with the scowls.

"So Sarah, I noticed you weren't with us during today's fencing tournament, what possibly pulled you away from us?" Myrey, Queen of Stoneware Isles asked her, that fake smile still there. Sarah knew it was a test. She felt herself sitting up straighter, and replied with a smile,

"Actually I decided to spend some time riding, and studying the botany in the garden. I'm not entirely familiar with the types of plants that exist here in the Underground, and I feel it would be towards my better interest if I spend time coming to know more about them."

Seeming pleased with this answer Myrey turned her attention elsewhere on the table. Jareth grinned wildly as he could Myrey was more put off than she had anticipated. Ryfe, who was sitting next to Sarah on her other side, had the same smile on his face.

"I'm not entirely sure she was anticipating that response," Ryfe explained to Sarah, "It's actually quite a nice feeling when I see her so put off." Sarah smiled towards him.

"Well, the more time I spend around here with them, the easier it becomes to respond to them. And to what it is that impresses them is even better," she whispered back to him, catching Jareth out of the corner of her eye as he talked to one of his goblins of defense softly. There was a sudden flicker of worry inside her, but Ryfe kept her attention as he talked about riding his own Pegasus. And the rest of dinner seemed as though it would go off without a hitch, but then again, when do things ever go as planned? Especially in the Underground.

Sarah paced around her room, embarrassed and angry after dinner. Dangle beckoned her to sit down on the bed so she could take all the pins and flowers out of Sarah's hair.

"Why don't yous sit down and tell me about what happened, maybe then you'll relax some," she offered, and began plucking the sharp pins out of her soft brown locks. Reluctant, but needing to get it out of her, she started the tale.

"It started off simply enough, Ryfe and I were talking…"

I was listening to Ryfe as he was talking about different tricks he could do on his Pegasus, and what he would be willing to teach me how to do, with Jareth's permission, on Sky's back. We were interrupted by Myrey, who was asking questions to me again, this time about the human world.

"Sarah, I've heard it's true that there are people in the human world who actually dedicate their lives to the study of diseases, is that true"

"Yes, Myrey, it's how humans take care of themselves since we aren't immortal like the Fae." I answered, hoping she would let the subject go. Fae don't normally take well to human conversation, so I was a bit concerned she was asking me about this at all.

"And mental diseases? Them too?" Again I told her it was so, and tried to resume talking to Ryfe, who was far less intimidating anyway.

"So what kind of mental disease is it for a human to wish away babies to a foreign land?" she asked very suddenly, and very loudly to be sure everyone at the table could hear her. Jareth had left for defense reasons, so I was alone in this struggle.

"It's not a mental disease Myrey, it was a mistake I made in my adolescence. Lots of teenagers go through it, most, however, don't have them taken away by a Goblin King who falls in love with them," I shot back, not getting a bit irritated with her that she was trying to show all my flaws to the royals around.

"Most? So you're saying that you're just like all the others in the human world? The King of the Underground fell in love with a commoner? Is that what you are implying?" She continued before I had the chance to respond.

"So you're a commoner with a disease of wishing away your siblings, that happens to most girls in your world? How disgraceful…and then to be taken advantage of and have to be saved by the King? Very interesting," and that's when I snapped.

No one was supposed to have known how I got here, let alone know most things about my past. Before I really thought about my actions I was doing…I took my wine glass and threw it all over her, followed by Ryfe's, and then left the room in a hurry.

"And that's why I'm here now, and too ashamed to go back and fix my mistakes," she finished, just as Dangle pulled the last pin from her hair. She knew it wasn't right how she'd left everything, and that she should, as her royal duty, go back and apologize.

"But why should I have to apologize to that creep when she attacked me!?" Sarah asked angrily. She knew things other people weren't supposed to. The thought began racking her mind, how did Myrey figure out how she'd been taken to the Underground? Only Jareth, herself, and Dangle, aside from the medics, knew. Her heart stopped a beat when she came across that same nagging thought.

Where was Jareth when Ceylon had arrived? Could he really have been?...No…he couldn't have, he loves me…he's proven that again and again..but then…how else would Myrey have figured it out? To figure out that I'd almost been raped to get here?...if Jareth were truly distracted…and then questioned…he may not notice what he was answering then…

There were tears beginning in her eyes as she let the thought continue, giving up on exercising mental restraint. The thought of Jareth being with another woman…Sarah knew it had happened before she'd been there, he wasn't perfect on his morals. But he would certainly never cheat on her, right? He had saved her life numerous times, and accepted her back into his kingdom willingly.

Dangle was drawing her bath, and didn't notice the few escapees of salt water trickling down her cheeks. She walked into the bathroom, shrugging her clothes off she sunk low into the tub, and dismissed Dangle in a quiet voice.

"As you wish Miss Sarah," she replied softly, and closed the door gently. Sarah broke down then. Her head was buried tightly into her hands, letting her tears mix with the milky bath water. It made sense in logic; Jareth was preoccupied to notice Ceylon's appearance and in being preoccupied perhaps didn't realize he was answering questions he shouldn't have been.

The more she thought about it, the more the tears flowed, the more she began to believe her own lie. She dipped her face into the water, trying to wash away the redness that was beginning to appear. Letting Jareth see any sign that she had been crying would arouse immediate suspicion. She finished her bath silently, and had just pulled on a small nightgown when there was knock on her door. She frowned slightly, it was after midnight, a bit unusual for guests at this hour. She replied a enter and the door opened slowly, Dangle walking in.

She laughed at herself, "I didn't expect to see you this late." Dangle smiled apologetically.

"I knows you left dinner real early likes, so I figured I'd bring you something to snack on before bed, if that's alright," she said and set the silver platter of warm food on a table by the fireplace, it was always surprisingly cold at night in the Underground. Sarah reached gratefully for the food, her stomach was rather hungry after leaving dinner so early.

"And about what yous ways sayin earlier," Dangle said as she was leaving, "I woulda done the same thing." She smiled and left.

Sarah enjoyed the rest of her food, and climbed into her bed, tired from the day's ending. She felt as though she had barely closed her eyes when she was suddenly awake again, feeling a hard steel at her neck.

Her breathing quickened, and her heart began racing. The person's breath was just able to tickle the standing hairs on her neck, goosebumps all over her skin.

"Who are you?" she said, frightened now and slowly inching her hand towards the pendant round her neck, it was so dark she doubted he could see her movements anyway. She could feel the person leaning forward, still panicked she held her breath.

"I'm still going to get you someday Sarah, don't you forget it," his icy, cruel voice hissed into her ear. Her eyes widened in fear and she tried to turn around to face him, but felt the cold blade slice into her smooth neck like butter. She felt the pain and tried to scream, but more blood merely poured out of her throat and she was left listening to the maniacal laughter echoing in her ears.

She jolted herself awake, covered in a damp sweat and shuddering. She surveyed the room around her. Her fire place was still going, illuminating the room slightly, and there was the faintest hint of dawn on the horizon. It was all a nightmare, though it certainly felt so real she could still feel the blade against her neck.

Sighing, she laid back down against the pillows and glanced out at the balcony again, this time a figure standing in the corner.
"Sarah, I'm worse than a nightmare," he whispered as though talking in her ear, then creeped closer in the darkness, leaving Sarah to scream in fear.

Jareth found himself racing through castle corridors faster than ever, rushing to Sarah. He had been sitting in his study, for most of the evening , discussing the border problems that were growing exponentially, when suddenly a scream so ear piercing had given him a start, but he recognized it instantly.

He didn't bother to knock on the door, he came in to discover Sarah on the floor near the balcony, just now sitting up.

"Sarah, are you alright?" he asked urgently, wrapping his arm around her immediately. She hesitated to tell him, but found herself tripping over her words as she explained it to him.

"In the darkness, h-he-he was there, he was c-c-oming to get me he said," Sarah realized who was holding her then, and pulled away as she remembered her thought from earlier. She pulled herself into the bed more, trembling only slightly now, and feeling more alone than ever. In her world, her family was lost forever, and in this world, the one she loved most felt more distanced now than ever as she continued to listen to her lie.

"Sarah," he whispered quietly as she pulled away, hurt that she hasn't wanted him to touch her for days it seemed. Enough was enough. He narrowed his eyes angrily, and reached out, pulling her towards him roughly.

"Enough, tell me what's wrong. You won't seem to let me near you lately, what's troubling you so much?" he asked brushing the hair out of her crying face, holding on to her face a bit rough. She whimpered and only began to cry more.

"Sarah, talk to me, why are you so upset?"

"Where were…" her voice trailed off again as she tried to speak.

"Sarah?"

"Where were you when Ceylon first appeared!?" she finally managed to yell, and now that she was started, there was no stopping it.

"Why did Myrey know about how I got here!? Why was she missing at the ball for so long?! Were you sleeping with her?! Is that how she knew?!"

He let her continue to yell until she'd gotten everything out, and was willing enough to let him hold her finally.

"Is that what you thought I was doing?" he asked, pain in his voice. He stroked her hair back again.

"Sarah, I could never love anyone but you, you know that," he answered quietly, trying to avoid upsetting her further, though Lord knows he wanted to snap. How could she be so simple minded about this?

"I had to deal with defense issue that suddenly arose, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me dearest, but I would NEVER cheat on you, let alone be with anyone aside from you," he cupped her face more gently.

"Do you understand? Sarah, I love you. No one can compare to you Sarah, and many have tried, believe me. Ceylon will not get his hands on you again, I promise."

She'd calmed down a bit more and was at sniffling now as she buried her face into his shirt. They remained silent for a while, Jareth holding her until he thought she had fallen asleep again. But, when he moved, her hand tightened into his shirt.

"…I threw wine on Myrey at dinner…," she said softly, hoping he would be enraged. He was silent for such a long time, she wondered if he was really that upset. But when she glanced, his face was resisting laughing.

"I know precious, and I would have given everything to have seen that," he answered.