A/N: Special thanks to TheWordMasterofFiction and Kaytori! You guys are the best!

An update!

Warning for some cliché type pieces of this chapter like sharing a meal together (but it's breakfast, not dinner: ha!) and introducing another female character around the castle like many others have done (but not quite what you'd expect, I think). As usual, I hope it's done in a way that isn't boring or makes you say "not this again."

And more delving into their interesting relationship. I mean, as great as we think Jareth is, it'd still take time to figure out who he was and how he thought. A mystery that fellow is ;). People don't fall in love overnight, but trust me, there will be romance my dear readers. Oh yes indeed…patience…

Chapter Eight: Though We're Strangers Till Now

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The Goblin King's crystal floated all the way to the sculpted door of Sarah's room. When it contacted the smooth, marble-like surface it dissipated like mist and caused the door to swing open. Sarah came around the corner just in time to see what happened. Cautiously she approached and peered into the room before entering just in case the king decided to play a joke after all. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Although...a door that she didn't remember from earlier stood on the far wall. When she stepped down into the room and went to it, the details along the wooden surface edges became clear. Nymphs danced with waves of water and swirling vines wrapped around their willowy figures and flowing hair. She studied it with awe a long while and even ran her fingertips over the skilled work. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her. She pushed open the door.

The room she walked into wasn't very large, but it was laid with a tiled floor marked with Celtic patterns in gold on a tan surface. The walls were a similar colour. The room's purpose was pretty obvious considering the cream bath sitting in the middle brimming with steaming water and the changing screen set up to the side. A few fluffy towels sat on a side table also filled with oils, soaps, and creams in bottles of blue, green, and yellow.

Her suspicions got tossed out the window. After the incident in the field, a long night's sleep, and walking around barefoot all day, a nice hot bath sounded amazing. With a start she realised other clothes would be a good idea before she hopped into the water, so she decided to examine the armoire back in the room first.

"Why didn't I check before?" she mumbled to herself.

When the doors swung open, her lips parted in amazement. Expecting to find it empty or sparse, it was a shock to discover an entire wardrobe of clothes. It turned out to be mostly dresses, though, which was exactly what she didn't feel like wearing at the moment, so she scoured the shelves and drawers for something to wear to bed. When she opened the bottom drawer, she gasped.

There sat a pair of jeans neatly folded. She rocked back on her heels and gaped at them. Then she snatched up a pale green nightgown and hurried back to the bath.

In no time at all she sat in the hot water letting the warmth soak through her skin all the way to her bones. She rested her head against the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.

Where had the jeans come from? Had the Goblin King actually provided her with all this knowingly? The thought that all these gifts—the clothes, the bath, everything in her room—came specifically for her pierced to the depths of her heart like the warmth of the water. Tears pricked her eyes. No one had ever done anything like this for her before.

There were people in her life that loved her, but she'd been abandoned and hurt just as much and by some of the same. The anguish and pain from her mother's desertion when she was little, the subtle negligence of her father while he tried to put back together a new family, some of her classmates treating her harshly for her early odd behaviour, and the betrayal of Christopher who she'd given so much of her heart to. Her father still loved her in his own way, and she had friends like Amber who were of the best sort, but her heart had taken a lot of suffering along the way.

The warmth suddenly turned cold. She opened her eyes and leaned forward.

He's showering me with gifts, but there's no possible way it's without expecting something in return, she thought. He's trying to buy me with things! So what is it that he wants from me this time? I can't believe I fell right into his trap. It's just like the labyrinth all over again but so much worse.

Another internal battle, another struggle with confusion. Until she really understood him and knew his true intentions, there was no way to accept his offerings without suspicion. It was more than enough dealing with an evil mage who wanted her blood, but needing this mysterious mischievous king to do it played upon her doubts and misgivings like fingers on piano keys. How far could she trust him?

Always against her doubt warred the very words he uttered that she remembered within her dreams. It all came down to whether or not he'd lied to keep her from winning Toby back and leaving the labyrinth, or if he meant every word. When she closed her eyes again she could see the intensity and sincerity set in the defined sculptures of his ageless face as he confronted her in that thirteenth hour, an astounding offer in his outstretched hands and eyes never wavering.

"I don't know!" she sighed and splashed the water when her hand dropped from her hair. "I wish I did...I'll just have to find out."

But right then she didn't care anymore and planned on relishing the comforts, no matter the intent behind them.

While Sarah dried her hair with one of the white towels after getting dressed and putting on a warm robe, someone knocked. She assumed it was a goblin and told them to enter. Sure enough, one of the strange creatures shuffled in balancing a tray. He was so absorbed in keeping it steady and not dropping anything while walking without tripping, he didn't even acknowledge her at all. With his eyes widely fixated on the food on the tray he finally set it on a table and released a heavy sigh.

When he saw her watching, he straightened and stood at attention. "His Majesty said to bring you food, so I did."

And then he slipped back out the door.

Sarah laughed quietly and looked at the dinner the king sent. Yet again it looked very appetising. But there to the side lay a note. She picked it up. On the folded parchment read only one line: "I hope you enjoyed this surprise."

Sarah smiled before she could stop herself.

"No!" she scolded. "Don't be so girlish and giving in at the smallest act of charity, or whatever this is. Just wait and he'll be asking for something in return and you'll wish you didn't.

What she didn't know was that the Goblin King watched her for her reaction to the note and heard what she said.

The next morning, in the jeans and a lovely blue shirt she found, Sarah decided to find something to do besides wander around and waste time. Surely there was something to help find this Raven Mage or maybe even lure him into a trap of some kind so the problem would be dealt with as soon as possible. What she didn't expect was to find the King of the Goblins waiting outside in the hallway.

He leaned in one of the windows with arms and legs crossed casually, his tall frame svelte and draped all in black with that strange medallion always hanging against his chest. His strong jaw, high cheekbones, and vaulted brows were all a part of his otherworldly features leaving no question whether he was human or not. The cast of his skin and his unique style of hair also added to the elfin quality that radiated from him like a sheen of magic glistening upon the surface. And yet he did not look strange. He looked almost...beautiful. The man truly was alluring.

He turned his head under her scrutiny, his pale eyes aglow in the sunlight as they regarded her. A faint blush rose in her cheeks at being caught staring at him like that.

"Sarah," he spoke in his deep, rich tones. "Where might you be off to this morning?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I can't just sit around all day and some breakfast would be nice. Are you really so interested in what I do?"

"Of course," he said with his customary smirk. "How would you like to take breakfast with me this morning?"

"I...wait, what? Oh." She considered the request a little while and decided that she did have questions she wanted to ask, and maybe he'd be in a good mood while eating. It was getting wearisome trying to keep her distance and be on high guard around him when all she wanted to do was relax. Some risks were worth taking. "Yes."

He nodded once and pushed away from the wall. He then offered her his arm like a lord to a lady, and her blush deepened. The king could certainly be quite the charmer when he so desired.

"I told you, Sarah," he said when she hesitated, "you needn't be afraid. You are my guest here in my castle and that's how I intend to treat you. Or haven't you noticed?"

"But..."

"Ah." He held up a hand to stop her. "Not until we're sitting down. Of course you have many questions and wonder many things, but not yet."

"You mean you'll answer all my questions?" she asked sceptically. If he did it would be a miracle.

"You will have to find out now won't you?"

She sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, lead on your Majesty."

His arm had fallen back to his side, but he didn't look deterred as he bent in a partial bow and began walking with confident strides down the hall. A few corridors and turns later they walked into a grand room. A long table of stone stretched out in the middle, so it seemed to be some sort of feasting hall or dining space from what she could see. The king pulled out a chair at the end of the table and beckoned her to sit. Of course, as soon as she did he settled to her left in the chair at the head.

As a sense of awkwardness washed over her at the implication of sitting at his right hand, she received the greatest shock of her second arrival in the Underground. Out walked, not a goblin, but someone who looked rather human. It was a woman who appeared to be somewhere in her sixties with a wiry frame and long braided, silver hair that swung to her waist. Her eyes were fairly large and deep dark brown: pretty and captivating even in her old age. When she caught sight of Sarah, those eyes grew impossibly wider and stared. Her hands almost dropped the trays she carried. Once she recovered from her shock she quickly set the dishes of food on the table and hurried back out, bringing a few more until breakfast was served in full.

Before Sarah could speak to her, she vanished out of the hall. She looked at Jareth with a face she knew must be frozen with amazement.

"Well, are you really that surprised?" he said. "You weren't the only one who wished away a child from your world in this age or the ones before. They remain mortal and so they pass their lives quickly in comparison to many in the Underground, but all must stay here since no one..." He paused.

"Since no one beats the labyrinth to free them," Sarah finished in a soft voice. She fingered the hem of her long shirt and wondered if she really had been the only one to do it.

"They have the choice to stay here in my realm or go as they please, and she decided to stay. I'd say it was a wise decision on her part. She is the only one left these days, especially now that the people of your world hardly believe in ours anymore. A lot less children are being wished away to the goblins."

He seemed to find that thought amusing.

"What's her name?"

"Mary, I believe. Eat, Sarah. I'm sure you'll find time later to search her out as you're so talented at doing."

That comment surprised her. The Goblin King certainly noticed a lot of things. It also struck her as peculiar how they seemed to be doing normal things like eating and chatting like old acquaintances. They both took food to their plates even though Sarah didn't exactly have a large appetite that morning with so much on her mind and her heart. The king sensed it but waited for her to speak first.

It didn't take long.

After chewing a few grapes, she said, "Since you don't know how long I'll have to be here, I'd like to ask something. I want to see my friends."

He lifted his head, and one of his slanted brows arched even higher.

"I want to see Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus if you'll tell me where I can find them. Today if they're...if they're here still."

What she hadn't considered was that something happened to them. What if that was the real reason they hadn't come to her when she called the last couple times? Her heart tightened as she waited for an answer.

"They are. You are sure you wish to see them?"

"Of course!"

"I have no reason to say 'no' so you may see them. They'll be told you're here in the castle."

"Thank you!"

She didn't care that he sounded condescending or bored; a beaming smile illuminated her face more than the sunlight and she thanked him graciously. The acceptance of her request came as a complete surprise; however, in her mind it was another notch for another favour he'd done for her that she'd likely have to repay.

"And so there is something I would ask of you."

Her breath caught. Oh no. Here it goes.

The king cradled a chalice of some golden liquid in his hands, the hands she'd never actually seen since they never were without the black gloves. Sometimes she wondered if they were disfigured or discoloured for him to wear the leather all the time. The chalice moved as he leaned back and snapped her out of her reverie.

"The castle grounds you may roam freely. The Goblin City you also can go about as you wish, although the goblins can be...unpredictable," he said. "But that is where you must stop because I forbid you to enter the labyrinth."

"I've been through it before and made it out perfectly all right," she stated, but she wasn't sure why she subtly protested the point. Did she even want to go back into that maze? She readjusted her attitude, realising she was fortunate that was all he asked.

"That's not the point. I forbid it. That's the end of it."

Sarah grew quiet.

A long silence extended out between them while both nibbled at the food with little appetite and great distraction. The king studied her every now and again with his mismatched eyes, and Sarah refused to look anywhere but down at her plate even if she desperately wanted to assail him with questions of so many kinds. How long had Mary been here? Did he have any plans for the mage? Would her friends see her today or be delayed? And greatest of all: was everything you said seven years ago true?

At last the Goblin King rose from his chair and walked out of the hall without a single word or acknowledgement. Sarah frowned and got to her feet as well. Things would be so much simpler if he was a simpler man, but no, he always managed to confuse her each and every day whether he was even present or not.

To clear her mind and give herself something to do, she found her way out of the castle—getting lost only once—and headed for the Goblin City. Her friends might not come till later, if at all, and loneliness had begun to drift about her like a chill air seeping its way to her heart. Even being able to watch the ridiculous creatures that never ceased their mischievous antics would be enough to ease the isolation that threatened to consume her, one that the presence of the king couldn't lessen since he remained aloof and enigmatic. It puzzled her still. One moment he acted so...intimately...then the next he set himself at a distance like some people she'd known in her life who put walls up around their hearts to avoid any vulnerability, not always succeeding of course.

As she trotted down the path through the gates into the city that was familiar to her, that new thought gave her pause. It made sense. Perhaps the Goblin King had just learned long ago to guard himself against intruders of his heart just like he'd built the labyrinth to keep intruders out of his castle.

She gasped, and her steps faltered. She had overcome the labyrinth. Then he asked for her love.

Sarah pushed her hair out of her face and picked up the pace. Soon she was running. Goblins of all different sorts stared and shouted as she flew past. Some even pointed and jumped up and down. Last time she'd been here she'd been running too, but this time she was running away from something completely different: not cannons and a goblin army yet a man who threatened to ensnare her in his gossamer threads without any weapon but his otherworldly allure.

Through the mess of goblin homes and buildings she dashed. On and on.

The junkyard was much smaller than she remembered. Piles of rubbish lay strewn all over, but she struggled through without pausing. This place had no good memories, and that junk lady had creeped her out a quite a bit the first time around.

Ahead of the junkyard loomed the forest.

The forest was vast and spread a broad perimeter around the kingdom like another layer of the labyrinth before reaching the Goblin City. The dark green trees reached high and spread their arms out wide, casting deep shadows laced throughout its vast expanse yet also parting in some areas to allow a bit of golden sunshine to pool on the forest floor. It was a thing of both beauty and danger. Sarah hadn't forgotten the fireys.

But at the moment she didn't care. She hurried into the cover of the ancient trees even though she knew there was no place she could hide from the seeking eye of the Goblin King. He'd just forbidden her to enter the labyrinth, yet here she was rushing towards it with abandon.

Well, I'm in the forest which technically isn't really the labyrinth, she convinced herself. It's not like I'm trying to escape.

But you are running away, said another part of her. The more reasonable part of course.

It wasn't long before her thoughts were rather occupied with the strange surroundings. There was a bit of a path like she had followed last time going the other direction, so on her feet plodded against the packed dirt with wild undergrowth brushing against her shoes every so often. Sometimes she pushed aside hanging vines or outstretched branches.

For a long while she walked. Now and again odd bird calls echoed through the thick forest air. It did unnerve her some of the time since she was alone and the forest was rather dark in some areas. Who knew what dwelt there other than the fireys or other creatures she'd already met?

She picked up her pace.

Then she heard it.

The terrifyingly familiar beat of drums and raucous cries heading in her direction.

NOTE: Dun dun duunn...Set up for some action and whatnot for the next chapter :). Oh and the fireys aren't exactly the only thing in the forest to be worried about...Hint, hint.

P.S. My updates won't be as weekly during the summer because my life is soon going to be taken over by summer camps and weddings. Lots of them. Crazy amount of weddings. It's kinda ridiculous because I have at least 7 to attend so far. But don't fret, I will still be updating every couple weeks or so!

Please review. It would be wonderful if you did. I'd love you forever...