Disclaimer: Labyrinth is not mine.

A/N: My reviewers are the best. Seriously, much love to: Barranca, randomfan17, Nyakai, UndergroundDaydreams, CharcoalFeathers, Seridano, lonely 27, rosegoddess9, J Luc Pitard, hazlgrnlizzy, bloodfairy9788, LadyGrey69, daughterofthe1king, and ZapZapYotsuba.

Here's your early present!

Chapter 16: Royal Dilemmas

He didn't wait for the attendant to announce his name, rushing instead past the startled guard and into the throne room.

"Sire! I have the information you requested." Eran bowed as he spoke, breathing heavy. He'd raced up nearly ten flights in mere minutes.

The High King had been resting his head on one bent arm, but at Eran's entrance, righted his position and manner. He didn't even scorn the boy's abruptness; his curiosity for news far outweighed propriety. He shooed the guard out with a flick, and he stared down at his messenger, now aware of his labored breathing and ruffled appearance.

"Excellent, Eran! I knew I could count on you. Come, sit, sit. Yes there you go."

He did, falling into the low chair that materialized behind him. A huff of relief followed, and Eran turned his blue eyes to the High King whom was leaning so far forward in his throne that his crown was sliding off his head. The King didn't bother adjusting it, staring at him with anxious eyes. Eran took this as his cue, and launched into his tale.

"I happened across an interesting dwarf by the name of Hoggle soon after your contact," he inclined his head respectfully, "and he was struck by word of the past champion. He knew Sarah Williams before I could say her name, and I immediately questioned him for any information he had regarding her past visit."

"A dwarf? I thought I ordered you to find the library. What could a dwarf possibly know?"

"My thoughts exactly, Your Majesty, but he seemed rather distraught by her mention. I took a chance and encouraged him to speak. I assure you, his information proved worthwhile, and perhaps better than any record of the Goblin King's."

The High King held his tongue, and Eran elaborated. "He proceeded to tell me he had helped Sarah Williams through the Labyrinth."

At this, the King leaned forward once more, and his crown toppled off completely. "Really?" he pushed, "and he could prove this?"

Eran nodded. "He described the girl exactly, and knew her name before I mentioned it. And the story he told me was too detailed to have been a lie. Furthermore, he was…agitated by some parts. Your Majesty, I am certain his account is reliable. I would swear on it."

"Then by all means, my boy, continue, continue…" Cael waved him on, a curious twinkle in his eyes.

And Eran did, beginning with the interruption at the gates, and the girl's quick frustration with the maze. He moved easily to the dwarf's entrance in the oubliette, and the pair's route past the false alarms before stopping before not a beggar, but the King himself. Eran took great care to recount this exactly as the dwarf had; he understood the moment to be the first of many revealing encounters.

"The Goblin King came to check on the girl, something Hoggle seemed concerned by. His Majesty wanted to know if Sarah was enjoying his Labyrinth. This, the dwarf claimed, was peculiar enough but apparently, the King ignored her right of personal space in doing so."

"Oh?" The interest in his face was obvious. "He kept close to her? How interesting…yes, Eran go ahead." The High King saw his attendant open his mouth as if to interrupt, and again waved him on.

"Thank you, sire. Not only did he keep close, but his words were almost flirtatious in manner. The dwarf didn't comment on this when I suggested so, but the king took her stubborn reply and turned it back in equal measure. He then proceeded to shorten her time limit, all the while in obvious amusement of the situation. Hoggle never mentioned His Majesty becoming angered by her reply. Annoyed by her defiance, perhaps, but not angered. And forgive me sire, but I have never known him to pass at a chance to demonstrate his authority."

"Yes, Jareth is usually rather proud of his position. That does sound odd."

Eran continued. "He did, however, make one other move besides the clock. The dwarf called it 'the cleaners', but I understood it as a metal dilapidation on wheels. More bark than bite, as it were, and the dwarf and girl found a ladder out of the tunnels seconds later." He paused. "It is not my place to comment, but I was struck by the closeness of that escape when the previous hour in the caves offered nothing. Hoggle said it was luck; I assume otherwise."

The High King kept still an inquisitive eye on his attendant, but his mind was elsewhere, processing the habits of the Goblin King in haste. Why, he thought, would Jareth put up such a weak defense? Why let her continue so easily? For compared to the tests of the Game—the same Labyrinth in essence—her first run sounded like child's play. It was almost as if he wanted her to win. He frowned, knowing something was wrong.

"Sire?" He waited for another silent signal, and proceeded, telling the High King of the Wise Man, and the hedge maze where the dwarf had left the girl while she chased the roar of a rock-caller. He acknowledged the break in the story, when the dwarf had wandered off alone for some time, until he was visited by the Goblin King again.

"Hoggle said that the king seemed…agitated that the dwarf had befriended the girl. He caused him some embarrassment by claiming Hoggle was undeserved, actually. The king is, of course, free to speak to his subjects, but I found this unnecessarily rude. Almost as if he were jealous of the dwarf. And then came the strangest part of the story. The King gave the dwarf a peach."

Cael shot up in his seat. "A peach? For the dwarf?"

"For the girl."

"Impossible. The dwarf must be lying."

"I would have thought so, had the specific fruit not been a slip of the tongue."

"And the dwarf delivered this peach to the girl?" Cael's eyes narrowed.

"After the threats and persistence the king employed, the dwarf felt he had no choice. The king…ah, appeared once more as the dwarf attempted to toss the fruit. Scared him into compliance."

A cold silence fell across the room, leaving Eran unsure what to say. The High King wasn't moving, face steady and straight as the tower itself, but his eyes burned into Eran as if all the heat in the room had settled there. Eran was torn between running and falling to his knees, but managed to keep still. He'd never seen the High King so angry; he was usually in good-spirits no matter the dilemma. This, he realized, was more serious a matter than first assumed.

"And did she eat the peach?"

"Yes." It was all Eran could force out, his composure melting under the King's stare. He had thought the Goblin King to be intimidating but this, this was enough to send a demon to tears. He had to finish this story now, and get out of here before that ire was taken out on him instead of the Goblin King.

He swallowed. "The dwarf said he met back with her at the Goblin City, and the group—"

"Is there any issue more illuminating than the peach, boy?"

"No, sire."

"Then you are excused. Now."

Eran found that he could indeed run faster than that morning, but not fast enough to block out the murderous yell from the throne room.

"JARETH!"

Sarah stopped abruptly, swearing she'd heard a voice in the air. A glance back to her companions showed no sign that they'd heard a thing; both were whispering quickly, one palm shielding her from reading their lips. They were, Sarah groaned, of course speaking about her. As if she wouldn't notice.

"Am I really that interesting?"

The pair stopped, dropping their hands to their sides and trying to pull innocent expressions. At Sarah's knowing look, Rosalyn at least had the decency to blush.

"You could say that…" she trailed off.

"Hmph. I'm guessing runners aren't groped by kings every time this Game takes place?"

Rosalyn's blush deepened, and Flynn, even standing still, stumbled a bit.

"That's a no then?"

"Sarah, how well acquainted are you with the Goblin King?" Flynn cut it, saving Rosalyn from answering.

Sarah had been expecting this question. She was actually astonished it wasn't the first thing out of their mouths. It would have been her first question had she been in their position. How well could she possibly know Jareth to have him kiss her like that in the middle of a crowd? She was a one-time runner; a foolish girl who wished away her younger brother. She didn't live in the Underground and wasn't even a member of the same species. Honestly, the more she thought about it, the crazier it sounded. And yet, here she was, acknowledging the impossible.

"We spent thirteen, well, ten really, hours together. Not together together, but I ran the Labyrinth, he tried to distract me, and I beat him and I thought that was it. That's all, really. Ten hours. Well, ten hours and then this. That's it." She knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop herself. She was still confused as to why Jareth seemed to care; they barely knew each other and their first encounter hadn't been on great terms.

"Did the king give you a peach?"

Now that she had not been expecting. She stumbled over her words, refusing to look at Flynn's curious face. "Ah, Hoggle did actually, but yeah, he said it came from him—"

"I told you so," whispered Rosalyn. In response, Flynn drew back, brow creased. He appeared unsettled.

"Hmm. Rosalyn, we'd better keep moving." He stole a glance at his partitioned watch. "Darius can't be far ahead. Sarah, best of luck. Not that you'll need it."

"Hey, wait! What the hell does that mean?" Sarah moved to catch his arm, shoulder flaring in warning.

"It's not your fault, Sarah, we don't blame you," Rosalyn finally spoke up, "but we obviously want to live, and we don't stand a chance running with you. Not if you are involved with the keeper of the Game."

"We are not involved!" Sarah was scandalized. "I was hungry! I would have eaten anything! And he kissed me—"

"Yet you didn't seem terribly upset by it."

"I was in shock! Jareth surprised me!"

Flynn gave Rosalyn a nervous glance.

"And why do you keep twitching when I say his name? Jareth, Jareth, JARETH!" Sarah knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn't stand the looks her companions were giving. It wasn't like she was laughing during a funeral.

"He's a king," spoke Rosalyn, as if that answered everything.

"He's not my king."

"So you claim."

Sarah opened her mouth to protest again, but closed it without a sound. Who was she kidding? They seemed too stubborn to change their minds, and she was running out of excuses. It was hard to deny the fact that he had given her a peach, and shamelessly made out with her the day before. Sarah felt her cheeks warm. No, she conceded, arguing was a lost cause.

She couldn't help but sigh; it appeared she'd be alone for the rest of the way. She'd thought them on her side back at the wrath task, but clearly, it was just the side opposing Melina. She'd just been the lesser of two evils. Sarah gave Eran and Rosalyn a half-hearted wave and watched them turn off into a long, moss covered corridor without another thought. They made no effort to hide their return to whispering. And within moments, Sarah was alone. Again.

"Just two stages," she muttered, "two stages and then I deal with Jareth."

Jareth was quite aware that his name had been called incessantly for the past hour, but he didn't dare respond. The first enchanting culprit he hoped could manage without his presence; nervous as he was, she'd proved herself thus far. The second bothersome voice was the real reason he'd restrained from answering the first. If Cael wanted to see him back so soon, it meant nothing but bad news. He cursed. And as he could not afford to arouse more suspicion, Sarah would have to finish the Game on her own.

The king felt a familiar vibration against his chest, and pulled his amulet off in frustration. Cael was growing impatient. For the umpteenth time in his reign, Jareth was grateful to have an unsolvable maze as a defense.

He straightened. Just how had Cael found out? Certainly through that brat of an errand boy, but how? His Labyrinth was all but impenetrable to outsiders, and none of his subjects would have dared seek out the High King, especially not to spill secrets. The goblins were too spineless for that. And nobody but him knew the full extent of his history with Sarah.

Unless…he shot up from his throne, concerned. He couldn't have…

Quick as a fox, the King of the Goblins ran out the door and into the hallway, boots clicking against stone as he raced up two flights of stairs to the highest room in the castle, and unlocked the door with the toss of a crystal. He noted the standing enchantment; if anyone had entered, they had done a flawless job in replacing the protections.

He moved to the records, thumbing through page after page of pathetic attempts until he found it. Her file. He pulled it from the shelf and onto his desk, throwing it open in the process.

Sarah Williams, Champion

Answered call from fifteen-year old girl who wished away her younger brother...

He fell into his desk chair, sighing in relief. At least nobody had taken the record. The only other option would have been to duplicate it. Jareth furrowed his brow, considering the likelihood of such a foolish move, before replacing Sarah's file and the room's enchantment, and hurrying back down the staircase. He needed to find Sir Didymus; the knight had been on guard during his absence.

"Didymus!"

He waited only a moment before a high growl echoed through the hallway.

"Your Majesty! I hadn't noticed your return. How is the fair maiden?"

"Resilient, as expected. Didymus, have any foreigners entered the castle during my leave? A boy, perhaps?"

The small fox shook his head. "Certainly not, sire. Nothing has torn me from my watch of the castle gates!"

"And the Labyrinth, who is on duty by the outer gates?"

"Only the best, sire. Sir Aramis in the East, Sir Regis in the West, Wren in the North, and Lars in the South. No disturbances reported."

Jareth's lip curled at hearing the last name. "Lars is hardly my best."

"Be that as it may, Hoggle would have reported—"

Jareth's eyes narrowed. "Hoggle is on duty? Near Lars?" His voice was edging lower with each word.

At Sir Didymus' nod of affirmation, Jareth cursed under his breath. He had been mistaken about solely possessing knowledge of his time with Sarah; that dwarf had practically seen and heard everything. He'd even given Sarah the peach. Jareth ground his teeth, growling. If that little scab had spilled his story…

He had to be located.

"I will find him myself. Return to your post, Didymus."

Sir Didymus eyed his king nervously, noting the predatory gleam in his mismatched eyes and the sneer of his lips. And in a swirl of glitter, Didymus found himself standing alone in the hallway wondering what his noble friend could have done to anger the king. Whatever it was, he decided, meant serious trouble.

Every five minutes or so, Sarah would glance at her watch, only to see the same three colors remaining; the blue, pink, and orange set off the ugly black sections like jewels in the rock.

It had barely been half an hour, Sarah reasoned, so the next stage couldn't have begun. She glanced down again. No change. But the castle was looming closer and closer with every step; she could see the edge of the Goblin City over the hill. With two stages still to go, she was running out of room. There were supposed to be two sins left.

She couldn't help but wonder how sloth and lust would fit in. Sloth, she decided, shouldn't be an issue; she wasn't one to slack off.

It was lust she was concerned about.

Had it been the first stage of the Game, she would have barely spared it a second thought. She was career-driven, damn it. Romance and boys and sex were forced deep in the recesses of her mind. Distractions, she'd deemed them. Nothing more than a waste of time.

She wasn't a prude, obviously. She was a college student. Of course she'd dated, even fooled around a bit. She'd flirted with guys, allowed them to take her to dinner, the movies, to the park, but never allowed it to escalate past some shameless moves in a car. It just never felt right.

She played it off as loving acting more than any man. And that was that. She didn't regret her choices. She didn't pine for a physical relationship—even though Kate tried to convince her otherwise.

This was before the dreams began, of course.

But even then, her twisted dreams had not been sexual in nature, just beautifully disturbing. Ballrooms and shadows and shattered glass. Voices she could hear, but never locate. And the hint of a man, shining eyes and silken hair. Nothing more than a glimpse of a fantasy.

Then she'd been kidnapped, and the dreams had escalated. Become clearer; less shadow, more substance. She'd known then that something was wrong. She'd never given in to heady desires in a dream. Ever.

If she'd been honest, and hadn't tried to stuff the images into the familiar recess of her mind, perhaps she would have been better prepared. Willing to face her feelings. But she wasn't; she hadn't known how she felt. She hadn't wanted to know. It didn't matter anymore.

She'd had plenty of time to think about it now. Her realization about Jareth made certain of that.

Two stages to go, two stages to go, Sarah chanted the mantra over and over. Lust was going to be a bitch.

She stumbled down a hill, throwing her arms back to catch her balance, and turned her attention to her surroundings. Now was not the time to lose focus. Her shoulder gave a twinge of pain as she steadied and stifled a sudden yawn.

For some reason, she'd assumed the path here would look just as it was five years before, but not a trace of the junkyard remained. The land was green, flourishing as if tended to by Mother Nature herself. Flowers in a dizzying array of shades and smells grew in clumps all around her feet and she took care not to flatten any, but the sheer number made it more than challenging. Thick thorny vines and rolls of ivy draped stones like emerald cloaks and spindly trees took the place of stone walls in guiding her forwards. The comparison to the outer walls was shocking; not a trace of a crumbling wall or speck of dust could be seen through the part-forest, part-stone maze.

She couldn't stop the urge to yawn again, and she shook her head to keep awake. The calm, fruity smell of the forest was clearly doing more harm than good.

The gates of the Goblin City inched closer and closer. Still, there was no trace of a stage. She glanced down a third time in as many minutes at her watch but nothing had changed. Rosalyn, Flynn, and Darius were still running around somewhere. She grimaced, she had to finish the Game first. She yawned again.

There was a low lying sign some feet ahead, mere steps from the gates, and she moved to it. It was barely legible, but she made out the crooked letters and poor spelling as 'The Goblin City: Visitors Unwelcome'. She cracked a smile; she was here. Perhaps the final two stages were inside the city? She was just about to push open the gates when she heard a rumble behind her.

A flash of orange was rushing down the hill from a second, tree-lined path. Sarah put a name to the figure instantly, and grimaced; Darius. He raced past her, panting like he'd run a marathon, and rammed into the gates.

"Open up! Open up, damn it!" he shook the metal like a madman. He looked utterly exhausted.

"What's going on?"

"Vines—the others—barely got away."

He wasn't making any sense. "What?"

"Flynn and the girl, Rosalyn, trapped by vines. I barely escaped."

"Where?"

Darius jutted his hand back in the direction he'd come from, yawned loudly, and resumed his battering. The gates clanged angrily under his weight, but didn't budge.

Sarah's stomach turned. Rosalyn. Flynn. They had seemed so capable, and they'd wanted to win so badly. The brutality of the Game caught up to Sarah in a moment and she clenched her lips tight.

It wasn't fair.

Darius cursed louder beside her, throwing his body into steel.

It just wasn't fair. Why did they have to die? Why could only one runner emerge?

Darius sank to the ground, back against the gates, completely out of breath. He'd given up on his attempt. He let loose a third wide yawn, obviously exhausted.

Sarah made a split second decision. She had gone crazy, she was sure of it, but she couldn't just sit on her lazy ass and wait for them to be strangled to death. It wasn't right. She turned to where Darius had pointed, and ran.

"Hey," Darius yawned, "where are you going?"

"To help!"

"You're insane, mortal. Just wait here…" he moaned, voice thick with fatigue.

Sarah was already too far away to respond, racing into the new path and towards certain peril. Bramble fell into her face, her neck, her arms, biting the sensitive skin. She brushed it away like the tears in her eyes and moved faster. She couldn't just let them die. They'd become important without even trying.

A large part of her feared that she'd never get there in time. Not that she'd find them too late, but that she'd never make it down this path, and past the vines, alive. The route was dripping with a dark magic; she could feel it hiss and crack in the fading light. She wasn't sure why her initial path hadn't hinted of danger, but besides the sweet smells, none of the vines had as much swayed in the wind.

Sarah picked up her pace. The vines were growing thicker the deeper in she went, wrapping around the trees like monstrous snakes. Sarah half-expected one to uncoil and lunge at her throat, but not a leaf trembled in the warm air.

Something like lightning flashed across the sky, and all hell broke loose.

She heard them first, a garbled mix of soprano and baritone which pierced through the otherwise silent dusk.

Rosalyn. Flynn. They were still alive.

And then she saw it, and every fiber in her being urged her to flee, to turn around and forget she'd ever known the steely girl and cautious boy. To let them stay there, clenched by darkness, and wait patiently with Darius. To rest against the gates until they opened…to slumber…

She made a choice, and ran.

Evil cliffhanger? Perhaps :) Reviews are love, and keep me writing! Next update in a week.