"Why now…?" Jareth hesitated a moment. "It was either that, or giving up and making a new king. I simply couldn't take this… emptiness anymore." He turned to look at her. "I have researched the lives of the previous kings and I am the oldest king to ever rule the Labyrinth. The others lasted 50 years, 100 years, a few even past the 200 years, before they gave up the throne to the next one and left the Labyrinth. I have lasted almost twice as long and it's wearing me down."

"But why then not do as all the others did? Make a new king and go… somewhere else?"

He shook his head and made a crystal, playing absentmindedly with it in his hand for a moment, rolling it back and forth across his palm. "I have not dared," he confessed at last. "My research showed that every other King of the Goblins have been more like a Despot or Tyrant of the Goblins. There are signs and records of casual beatings, of maiming the goblins for fun, of all kind of horrible things befalling them with the Kings either participating or giving intruders free reign to do whatever they wanted. I couldn't leave my goblins to such a fate, just because I'm bored!"

The last two words were said in a contemptuous tone, and he looked away again, frowning. "Maybe I should show you. I took up recording the events very early in my reign by speaking to the older guardians and reviewing notes and drawings made by the previous kings and I've collected rather a large journey with various types of entries. Mostly about Cederick, the king before me, but also snippets of information about the ones before him."

He looked at the crystal in his hand, and immediately it turned into a large hand bound book with a red leather cover. He gestured to her, and she went across the room to take it, surprised by the heavy weight. Carefully placing it on the broad window sill by the light, she opened it gently and leafed through a few of the pages. The writing was spindly, with narrow letters, but after a moment of adjustment, she realized she could read it – if not effortlessly – then at least when she concentrated. There were pictures in it as well, sketches of goblins, of strange creatures and of various constructions and buildings.

"See here," Jareth said right next to her ear, and Sarah started in surprise at his closeness. He had moved over to stand right behind her, almost but not quite touching her, leaning over her and then stretching out an arm to point at something in the book. She wasn't really intimidated by him anymore, but his presence was strong and the magic inside her seemed to react to his magic, so there was a kind of an electric current between them, when he was this close. It was rather fascinating, actually, and she wondered if she would feel it any differently if they were to physically touch each other now that she was transformed and a creature of the Labyrinth. This close and with her heightened senses, she could see the magic in the fairy dust streaks on his face – it wasn't make-up as it had looked like, when she ran the Labyrinth the first time – she suspected it was some kind of visual representation of the power of his magic. She moved a hand and almost lifted it to touch the markings, but then he turned his head and caught her stare with his eyes, and the amused smile on his face quickly brought her back to reality. She rolled her eyes and looked down to where he was pointing in the book.

"This is some of the drawings I've made of shapes that the guardians and goblins have told me they have seen previous kings use," Jareth said slowly, but in a strange hoarse voice. "It's been very… inspirational."

He turned away suddenly and left her by the window, while he went across the room to the bed and put some distance between them. Sarah turned a few more pages, but had trouble concentrating on a book right now.

"So you do talk to the guardians?" she asked to break the silence. "It's not just the two of us alone here?"

Jareth cringed. "Well, they don't come here much anymore… I might have used the threat of the Bog a bit too casually in the past…"

"Hoggle said many of them were afraid of you." Sarah slowly sat down on the window sill and tried to grasp what he was saying. Him and her, the two of them only and no one else.

"Can't you just leave and let the goblins take care of themselves?" she asked hesitatingly, but he shook his head.

"Even if I wanted to, I cannot leave this Labyrinth – I think I mentioned this before. I have the entire Labyrinth's power at my disposal as king, but that also means I have to stay within its boundaries, except for when I go Above to collect a child. But I wouldn't leave the goblins anyway – they are in many respects like the children they once were and I have to take care of them."

"But… I could leave, then?" Sarah blurted out, before she realized how rude it sounded, and Jareth scowled at her.

"Yes, my dear, you could," he growled. "Not for the Above – you can never go back to your old life, but you could go beyond the Labyrinth's borders to the unknown beyond."

He narrowed his eyes and looked at her with an unreadable gaze, before his lips curled into a sly smile. He pushed away from the bed and advanced upon her, his black cape curling behind him and with every move as smooth and graceful as a predator. She frowned and stood, not wanting to give him the advantage of towering above her.

"But we have a truce now, so you wouldn't leave, would you, my dear?" he said and stopped right before her, almost too close. His eyes were flashing and his smile broadened.

"You had better remember the truce," she countered and poked him sternly in the chest, and he threw back his head and laughed.

"The truce says only I won't force you to do anything, remember? Maybe I should work on how to make you want to stay…" He lifted a gloved hand and stroked back a strand of her dark hair, tucking it behind her ear in an oddly caressing gesture. The touch made the magic in them react and spark even more than before, as she had suspected, even if it was probably dampened by his covered hands. Her smile faltered, as she tried to analyse the feelings, and so did his.

"Shall I make you fall in love with me, Sarah?" he asked in a deep mesmerizing voice and his mismatched eyes held hers in a burning gaze that sent chills down her spine and made her speechless for a moment. His hand moved down and traced her chin, until it came to rest lightly on her shoulder, sending further magic sparks through her, so she almost thought she could see them.

"Jareth..., please don't," she whispered. She wasn't afraid of him or angry anymore, but she had no desire to reject him again or start another fight, and she felt uneasy with this weird magic connection between them. He nodded lightly and as he let go, he conjured up another crystal ball and held it out to her.

"Take this," he said, and when she eyed him sceptically, he shook his head in exasperation. "It's not a trap – it's a guiding crystal. Put it on the floor and ask to be taken anywhere or to anyone in the Labyrinth, and it will roll before you and show you the fastest way. It should help you find your way around in the beginning."

"Thank you," she smiled, relieved that the tension had disappeared, and took the crystal which felt warm and almost alive under her touch. He nodded slightly and then went quickly to the door.

"I'll let you get settled – when you're ready to start training for real, just come and find me." And then he was gone.