Sarah gasped at the forceful invasion and instinctively beat her hands on his chest to push him away, but she might as well have tried to move a mountain. His hard lips crushed hers almost painfully and he forced her mouth open and let his tongue flicker into hers, while his long fingers weaved through her hair. Recoiling and pressing herself against the wall, she tried to resist, but he just tightened his grip and ignored her protests, pinning her against the wall with his unnaturally warm body.

Having lived isolated ever since she came back from the Labyrinth, Sarah had never experienced anything like this. Not only was he hurting her and scaring her, she was also crushed at the thought of this being her first kiss ever. There was no passion on her side, no pleasure, and it was definitely not gentle and soft and shared with someone she loved, like she had always imagined. She just wanted to get away. Without much strength left and close to tears, she continued to struggle until a loud crash in the background interrupted them, and he lifted his head and glanced back with an audible sigh.

"I think the goblins are about ready with your lunch," he said in a dark tight voice, but Sarah hardly registered his words – she was just waiting for him to release her. The moment he let go, she flung herself away from him and towards the door the goblins were using, and then ran as if her life depended on it. She heard him shout her name behind her, but she didn't care and just ran on, down the corridors, almost knocking over a goblin that was in the way. She had no idea where she was going and made random turns until she found a flight of stairs that went down, and then she followed those, until she suddenly felt fresh air and found a door to the outside. A garden was beyond, and she stopped there, breathing heavily, before she let herself collapse on ground and started crying her heart out. Not softly or silently, but with ugly hiccupping tears and sobs, that hurt and tore at her throat and eyes. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her body and head as if for protection, and she allowed herself to be lost in her misery, too tired to think or become angry again.

When her tears finally stilled, she stayed motionless on the ground, completely drained of energy. She knew she had a choice to make, but she couldn't will herself to care. The feeling of apathy wasn't foreign to her – she had often had days like that back home, especially when she was lightheaded from hunger. Maybe it would be better to just let go, she thought, and let the Labyrinth do whatever it thought best. Becoming someone else suddenly didn't seem so bad – at least she wouldn't have to worry about Jareth anymore. All her worries of the past years would be gone as well as all the losses - like Toby - she would otherwise have to remember every day and every hour. And not just for a lifetime, but surely much longer if she was also to live for hundreds of years like Jareth. Maybe forgetfulness would be a blessing.

She wondered how much time she had left of the three hours – maybe two, still? Two hours left to be Sarah, and then she could forget and rest.

"I didn't think you'd scare so easily," a familiar velvety voice said behind her. She could hear his boots on the stone tiles as he walked closer, but she felt so spent that she didn't bother to look up. "Where is the spirited Sarah, I remember so well?"

"Leave me alone, Jareth."

"As my Lady commands," he replied gently, "but I just wanted to leave you your lunch, so you can get your strength back before the transformation. Remember, in just 2 hours and 7 minutes, you'll be mine… forever, Sarah."

She clenched her fists, but didn't reply, and after a few moments, she could hear him leave again. She waited until she was sure he was gone, and then slowly sat up and looked around. A plate was on a bench nearby as well as a goblet, and although she didn't want to think about something as mundane as food, her body clearly disagreed as her stomach growled loudly. She sampled a bit of everything on the plate, and despite her resignation, the meal was the best Sarah could remember since… well, since before her first trip to the Labyrinth. After eating mostly cold food, bread and fruit for two years, she couldn't help enjoying every bit of the still warm salmon, chicken and spiced vegetables, as well as the crystal clear and cold water.

The food brought her halfway out of her misery, and she finally looked around to see where she was. The garden appeared to be a small fenced-in patio garden between the high yellow walls of the castle, where a few trees and some bushes had managed to get enough sunlight to thrive. A small fountain with water lilies stood in the middle, partly overgrown by ivy and moss, and four benches surrounded it. The only way in and out was the door she had used before. On one of the other benches, a small silver clock was ticking away the minutes, and Sarah was sure Jareth had just placed it there to remind her of how little time she had left.

He had sounded so smug, she thought, as if he was sure she would beg to be his wife, and again she considered the alternative – not quite as repulsed as before. Maybe she would end up a mermaid, or a unicorn or some kind of nice furry beast like Sir Didymus – how many bag ladies could the Labyrinth need, after all? And she knew now what the alternative would be – a life-time with an arrogant and conceited Goblin King, who would always remind her that she chose her fate herself and who would expect her to welcome his advances. 'Her slave', indeed – not very likely! She wondered if he even knew he had been hurting her with his kiss, or if he possibly thought she had actually liked it?

As the clock ticked away the minutes – 1 hour and 33 minutes left now – she mentally made a list of pros and cons. He had after all given her the choice and she had to make the most of it and be sure of what she wanted. And where she at first had found everything in favour of staying herself, she could now see the benefits of letting the Labyrinth take her. She didn't even really need the list – every time she thought back to his painfully demanding kiss and imagined what would come after, if she became his wife, she felt at ease with that choice, until she realized her mind was made up. And if he wanted a spirited Sarah – then by all means he would get it! A feeling of peace and contentment made her relax, and she settled back against the bench and stared up into the calm blue sky above her.

Time passed swiftly as she stared at the clock, until it was down to 3 minutes… 2 minutes… 1 minute…

The walls around her seemed to collapse and she floated gently down for a moment, until she found herself standing in the familiar Fragment Room, a new clock ticking the last minutes away before her. Jareth was there in his white feathery outfit with the half moon pendant around his neck, smiling softly at her and holding out his hand. A crystal ball appeared in his hand and then turned into a heavy silver necklace.

"It is time, Sarah," he said and lifted it towards her. "The enchantment is ready – let me put this on you, and you will keep your shape and memories – then the Labyrinth will not have you, but only enhance you like it enhanced me."

She smiled back at him, finally feeling free and happy for the first time in all these years.

"You gave me a choice, Jareth. Aren't you even going to ask me what I've chosen?"

His brows furrowed and he took a step towards her. "What do you mean? You don't want to lose your memories, so you're choosing me and longevity – I thought we settled that hours ago?"

"Maybe you did, but I did not." Sarah almost pitied him – but only almost. "Thank you for the choice, Jareth. Have a nice life. Maybe if you treat her a little better, the next girl will choose you. I do not."

And with those words, she stepped off the edge and into the darkness below.