A/N: FINALLY. So I've been having computer problems...It's not even a year old, but it's something to do with the registry or whatnot. But I've managed to get it working okay and get up this chapter at last!

Glad you all enjoyed the moment we've all been waiting for ;). LOVED all the ranges of responses from you guys! Haha. I'm excited to get to some action and adventure, but I thought our couple deserved some much needed downtime and ROMANCE after all they've been through. Fiachna can go eat rocks for a while...

Enjoy!

Jill: Hope that twitch hasn't developed into anything serious...:D I didn't post soon at all, but I do apologise! Hopefully it'll work out sooner from now on :)

Avulgarism: Thank you so very much! It's a huge compliment when a reader is willing to sit and read all the chapters at once :). So glad you're along for the journey! And even more encouraged to know the character development has turned out well. Thanks!

Guest: Yikes, I hope those feels haven't done you in, my friend. They can be a powerful thing, those feels...Sorry it took so long! Hopefully my computer will behave from now on...But I'm so thankful you're really enjoying the story!

Elisabeth S: Ah, you melt my heart :). If a girl can't get all silly and excited over a love story, it's just not a good one, so it puts a huge smile on my face to know that long-awaited kiss has done it's work ;). Thank you so very much!

Heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my reviewers who helped me reach 200 reviews: Kaytori, The Queen of Water, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, ButterflyOnTheWall, willowrain, She with the hazel eyez, DaniellaPeirce, BadWolf49, JigglyJelloWithCoconut, PheonixBreaker90, Kinzichi, hisangel18, Elisabeth S, Guest, 3, Alexandria Keating, Avulgarism, Jill, and CompleteBookworm2.

Chapter Twenty-two: I'll Paint You Mornings of Gold

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Jareth drowned in the intoxication of Sarah's essence wrapped all around him. Her silken hair still draped over his fingers, and her fresh and sweet fragrance tickled his senses. At last the restraints holding him from her broke away and he could do what he'd wanted to since a young girl proved his equal when she defeated him and his labyrinth. His kiss was neither light nor severe but softly passionate. He wanted no other. Only Sarah.

It was only for a moment, but it passed as a lifetime of bliss. Jareth pulled back from her full lips and looked down at her, only inches away with eyes still closed and long dark lashes still fanned out on her alabaster skin. Her breath came deeply.

His hand moved from her hair to the softness of her skin at the base of her throat. Her green eyes opened and stared up into his with wonder.

As desperately as he wished to continue to coax affection from that rosy mouth, he knew once might be all he could have this night. A kiss was stolen, but it was a heart he longed to steal most of all.

She leaned heavily against the wall behind her as she stared wordlessly but with so much being said with her eyes. The corner of his mouth turned up at her completely flustered appearance.

Before either could speak a word or move even an inch closer or farther apart, a rather close bolt of lightning tore through the night air and struck the ground somewhere outside the castle grounds. A great noise that sounded suspiciously like thunder crashed at the same instant, but clearly it was something more than a voice of the storm.

Jareth internally battled within for a few moments. He desired to continue whatever was happening between him and Sarah, but with his power he could sense that the lightning had done some sort of damage. He released a resigned breath. Apparently this storm was not just natural but yet another one caused by some wrath of Dracon Forthey who dwelt a hundred miles to the North of the Goblin Kingdom. The man really had to learn to better control himself to avoid the odd weather caused by his extreme moods.

"I have to see to my labyrinth," he said in a quiet voice that he wasn't used to using.

Sarah didn't respond at first. With that soulful gaze she swept his face and searched his mismatched eyes until she finally nodded in acquiescence. With extreme reluctance, he pulled his arm from the wall behind her and straightened. Without turning from her luminous face and bright eyes, he took a few steps back ready to transport himself directly to the place he could feel the disturbance.

"Wait!" she called with an outstretched hand. "Take me with you."

For a moment he considered her request. There would be nothing she could do to help, but practicality drowned in the great waters of his desire to not be parted from her. Without a reply, he took her hand and accepted her plea. If Sarah didn't wish to leave his side, what fool would he be to deny her?

Although she remained with him, the interruption still felt like a thorn burrowed in his side.

His frustration nearly caused him to use great portions of magic to dissipate the black clouds above, but he calmed his vexation and focused on the task at hand. The lightning had struck a portion of the wall surrounding the Goblin City and it was here they found themselves. Some of the goblins ran about in panic for the unnatural bolt had destroyed the wall in an explosion of stone. When the creatures finally noticed their king, their panicked yelling and scrambling ceased. They called out to him or simply watched as he formed crystals in his palm that turned into solid stones built up in place of the ones now crumbled on the ground. The hole spanned about twenty feet.

He did not even need to look to know how intently Sarah watched him in his work. He could feel her mystical eyes on him. Perhaps it was well for the girl to see the importance of his creation and how careful he was in its keeping. He took care of what belonged to him.

The King of the Goblins could have left the work until a better time, but his duty pressed hard upon him for the risk that even a simple gap in one wall could prove with such a vengeful enemy on the loose. The labyrinth and the city had a particular magic of their own after being built by his own hands. He preferred everything well and intact during these days.

Just as he came close to finishing repairing the wall and the goblins had dispersed back into their shanties, another bolt of lightning struck a good distance away with another path of destruction: it had landed somewhere in the forest. He could sense another threat. Sure enough, wisps of smoke rose into the air as a fire ignited in the trees.

Jareth bent to pick up a piece of the old stone that had broken to the ground. Its surface was mostly smooth with a touch of rough texture that he remembered and knew more than felt with his own hands. It crumbled to dust in his palm and floated away on the wind.

"And so you shall be, Fiachna, when I have dealt with you."

He was a majestic vision standing with his head held high as the wind and rain whirled around him and the thunder growled in the roiling clouds above. The rain did not touch the mighty king as if a barrier encased him from getting wet. Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she watched him form building stones with his own hands as the storm rallied against him. But as with any other challenge in his path, he pushed ahead with stubborn perseverance.

The gap filled up stone by stone as he lifted them through the air to place them where they belonged. She found an odd sense of peace standing there even though the rain pattered against her skin and the wind cut through the cloth of her clothes because of the awe of observing the Goblin King performing such magical feats. Guys had tried to impress her without much luck back in her other life, but Jareth continued to impress her on a regular basis.

Just as he began to fully repair the wall, lightning hit in the forest with a loud crack, and a faint stream of smoke rose up. She wiped the wet hair out of her face and watched to see what Jareth would do. He glanced towards the forest then back at the stone in front of him. He bent and lifted one into his hand, but in an instant it turned to dust and floated away. His mouth moved in words she could not hear over the voice of the storm.

And with those words he turned and looked her in the eye over the distance between. Instead of grasping her hand as he usually did, he just took them both with his power to the next place. It was less wet under the cover of the trees, but a small fire burned a red path along a few of their trunks and branches. Jareth lifted his hands into the air as a crystal appeared. It grew larger and rose up above the fire.

A loud crack resounded through the air. Sarah startled since it sounded somewhere over her head. She looked up and screamed as a giant branch burning with hot flame fell straight for her.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist. Her own arms came up to cover her head but instead clutched to the solid figure that had encircled her. They moved instantly.

The burning bough fell with a crash to the ground only a few feet from where they stood. Sarah's eyes flew open, and she looked up at her rescuer. His mismatched eyes moved from the place she'd just occupied back to her face. The corner of his dignified mouth turned up a little, and a flash of mischief appeared in his eye. His arm tightened around her waist so that there was no space between them.

If a fire hadn't been blazing beside them, things certainly would have gone differently, but Jareth still had work to do. Although he had drawn close enough their noses almost brushed, he released her and continued using air and water to put out the flames. With a swish of his hand an entire tree was freed with a whirl of air. The large crystal that had hung in the air released a wave of water.

In a few minutes the fire was gone and only curls of silver smoke were left.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. The forest certainly had a lot of strange and intense memories for her, most of them not so great. And it was then that weariness washed over as her adrenaline settled back to normal. Her eyes felt heavy, and her focus wandered all over.

Until Jareth suddenly was close again. "That is enough. You are tired. I'm going to take you back for there is still more to be done."

"I think I could manage—"

"No protesting, Sarah," he said with a smirk. His hand gently rested at her waist, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "You cannot help me anyway, so it is better one of us gets some rest tonight. I would prefer it was you."

She gave him a smirk of her own in response. "I'll try, but I'm not so sure I'll be able to sleep."

His other hand came to the other side of her waist so that she was encased between his arms. Their surroundings shifted and she recognised her personal quarters around them instead of trees.

"I am not yet sure of the storm's damage," said Jareth. "But it will cause no great harm. No need to worry." His hands slowly dropped from her. "I will see you on the morrow when my work is done. I must return."

She nodded and gave him a faint smile since there wasn't anything she could think to say in a moment like this.

As soon as Jareth disappeared, Sarah slumped against the wall. It took a long while for her heart to calm down and run at a normal pace, but no amount of time would ease the emotions stirring up there.

The press of his lips. The caress of his fingers in her hair. The soft warmth of his breath on her skin.

The kiss had been but a few moments, but so much had been spoken through it than words could have. Jareth had captured her mouth to once again say, "Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."

And with her response she had basically said, "Yes."

With trembling fingertips she touched her mouth. The memory was one stronger than any of the others. She and the Goblin King had shared an intimate kiss. Once, that would've been a wild thought and only part of her active imagination, but now it was real. All of it was real.

And she didn't regret it.

I'm in so much trouble...

Or am I in love?

If she wasn't already, she was well on her way. The more she considered, the more she realised how much she was willing to sacrifice to be with Jareth the King of the Goblins. Although she loved her friends and family, she would give up that life in the Aboveground for one here at the side of her mischievous king in a world that felt like home and a place she would belong.

Maybe it was because he felt like home to a heart that had been searching.

Sarah closed her eyes as the wind swept past her and toyed with strands of her dark hair. Everything was about to change.

The deep breath before the plunge.

The worst of the storm had passed in a little while as it moved on and dissipated far outside the realm of the Goblin Kingdom. The strange lightning had left a few places damaged in its wake, but nothing else happened during the chaos even though Sarah wondered if Fiachna would use the distraction to try to get in. But he didn't, and Jareth tended to all that needed to be done. When she awoke from sleep, she was in her own bed with draperies of purple and gold around her.

What stirred her from fitful slumber was the flapping of wings and a cooing noise. Her eyes fluttered open. She rolled over to see what the source of the sound was.

There in the window perched a tan and white barn owl with the stem of a flower in its beak watching her with dark eyes. She knew it was him. The bird was a familiar one after seeing it in the park sometimes, the night all her adventures began, and later in the vision warning her against Bran.

Sarah smiled and sat up. She ran a hand through her long tresses of shadow and rested her elbows on her knees.

Once she did, the owl flew from the window to the other side of the bed where it landed and dropped the flower on the pillow beside Sarah. With a radiant smile still on her lips, she reached out to pick it up. It was unlike any flower she'd ever seen in her world. Its petals were like velvet gold with pale streaks in the centre and its shape was somewhere a mixture of a lily and a dahlia.

Just as she was about to smell it, she hesitated and looked at the owl—which was Jareth. "It's not going to do something to me like the nightdream is it?"

The barn owl fluttered its wings and made a motion with its head like it was shaking it. She laughed and smelled the fresh fragrance of the golden flower. It refreshed her senses and lingered around her like sweet perfume.

"Thank you," she said and reached out a hand.

The large bird nuzzled her hand as it stepped closer. His feathers were soft to her touch, and she smiled yet again. Jareth was much less intimidating looking like a cute, cuddly owl. Then she realised she could almost feel something in the air, like a soft tingling sensation on her skin and a prick in the back of her mind. She stared at the bird while she held the flower in her hand and thought that there was a faint shift in its appearance.

Then it dawned on her.

"Oh no you don't!" Sarah scolded. She held up a warning finger. "Not while you're here on my bed! This form is fine, but don't you dare change right now or you'll get booted out before you're even done shape-shifting."

The odd feeling in the air disintegrated, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The owl raised its wings, squawked, and walked to the edge of the bed after receiving a satisfied smirk from her. He could be a sneaky fellow, but she could play the game just as well. Before Jareth lifted off and flew away, she made sure he knew that his efforts hadn't been in vain.

"Thank you. The flower is absolutely beautiful," she said with a light in her eyes that spoke more than words.

The dark eyes of the bird regarded her a moment, then with a nod of its head it leaped off and out the window it had entered by. The flap of its broad wings soon faded away. As Sarah lifted the gold flower to her nose again, she guessed that she would be grinning like an idiot the rest of the day.

Can I really be so lucky? she thought as she inhaled the fragrant scent and remembered the softly passionate kiss of the night before. Could I really have this...forever?

Sarah visited Hoggle a little later with food and more light. He was glad of the company as much as the gifts she brought with her after being utterly secluded in the dark all night. A little prick of guilt pierced her heart thinking about what she'd been doing while he suffered down here.

"How long is he gonna' leave me in this black hole?" asked Hoggle.

"You know what? He wasn't as stubborn as you thought, so I got him to give you considerably less time than he planned. It's more than I would've done, of course, but it's a lot better. Seven nights. You'll only be here a week."

"A week?" the dwarf exclaimed. A groan echoed up out of the pit. "Even one or two days would be bad enough."

"Just be thankful it's only that. Or would you rather go into the Bog?" she teased. "This actually might be merciful in some weird way. I'm actually really surprised you're not off alone cursed by that awful smell after being thrown in."

"Yeah, well either way it don't appeal to me. And I'm not thanking him for anything!"

Sarah leaned her head over. "Not me either? I did bargain for a shorter time, you know."

"Eh...uh, thanks Sarah. I owe you one."

She smiled at his pretend gruffness and scratched at the grubby rock beneath her. "So did that dwarf—Gerdol wasn't it?—did he say anything about where he came from? Anything that could be important?"

"Not anything truthful, I'd guess," said Hoggle. "Nothing specific except the name. It might not even be his real one!"

"I guess not." She sighed and stared at the wall in front of her. With all that Jareth had been occupied with, it didn't seem as though there was enough time for him to have talked to the dark dwarf somewhere imprisoned here in one of the oubliettes. She imagined he would be able to pry information out of him if anyone could, but the thought was unsettling all the same. But if it meant finding Fiachna and destroying him before he could attack or do anymore damage, it was worth a try.

"Sarah. Don't mean to pry, but I was wondering...wondering if you're going to leave again. Back to your world, I mean."

"Oh. I don't know yet. Um...I think I do, but I'm still not positive. Hoggle, can you keep a secret?"

"Course I can. What is it?"

She drew a deep breath. It wasn't a good time to tell him about her quickly shifting relationship with the Goblin King whom he feared, but she owed him at least some of the truth. "It's very possible that I'll be staying here. Indefinitely."

Silence met her. A slight shuffling rose up, but that was it.

"Hoggle?" she asked as she leaned down to look in. Below in the oubliette she saw the dwarf sitting on the ground with the lamp she'd let down at his feet, a golden halo of light pooled around him and encroaching upon the shadows that reached out to consume his small frame.

He glanced up. "You'd do that? You'd really stay?"

"Yes, I would," she said softly.

"But why?"

How much to tell him? How to tell him without revealing the centre of it all? "There are people here that I love. This world is beautiful and full of adventure. My world is too, but it feels like...like I was made for this one instead."

The frown on his craggy features was easy to read, and it showed his confusion and suspicion. He sensed the presence of something more that was unsaid.

"Please don't say anything to anyone else yet though," she pleaded. "Not until this has all blown over and the one who's put us all in danger is gone. Everything waits on him. It's just a matter of time."

"Well, we gots lots of that now don't we?"

Sarah turned her head away. "Maybe. I'm not so sure."

After failing to find Jareth in the throne room—only goblins getting into mischief and mayhem—or in the Chamber of the Stars, Sarah gave up and decided to wait for him to make his appearance at whatever moment he chose. He had a talent for materialising at the oddest or most unexpected times.

Lately she'd made a request for variety in her wardrobe, so instead of all dresses, now there was a pile of shirts and breeches not all that dissimilar to the ones the Goblin King wore most of the time. Her pants were not quite as tight, of course, but they were fitted almost like her faithful old jeans that had been forgotten and the green shirt she wore was laced at the waist with black ribbons. At first she felt like a pirate or some buccaneer, but there was a quality to the clothes not fashioned by anyone in the Aboveground that rid them of any tackiness. It was nice to be in pants again as well since she hoped to do some more exploring today to try to get a certain someone off her mind for a while.

Where she found herself in only a few minutes was the outer walls of the castle. Goblins patrolled the gates and the walls doubly since the threat of Fiachna surfaced, but they all knew that Sarah was a guest of their king and not to be harassed. That didn't stop them from staring or whispering as she passed by though. Some even saluted her or stumbled over themselves trying to sweep some sort of bow. She hid her smile as best she could at their thoughtful efforts and gave them all a gracious greeting.

Her black boots thudded on the stone steps as she climbed to the top of the wall not far from the large gates to the castle where her and her friends once battled a giant goblin machine. The goblins on duty eyed her with interest while maintaining their vigil—at least to some degree considering some of them were dicing and placing bets. The creatures weren't ever exactly the most reliable. It was incredible Jareth had them in any semblance of order and command in the first place. However, if nothing more, they never failed to amuse.

The wind whipped at her blouse and her partially-braided hair, a cool caress under the heat of the glaring sun. The only vestiges of the evening storm were the memories and perhaps a few singed treetops somewhere in the dark forest.

Sarah stood atop the wall enjoying the vast expanse laid out before her eager eyes. A curious itch still niggled at the back of her mind to re-enter the ways of the labyrinth for there was so much more to it than even she had seen. What other mysteries and adventures waited in its twists, turns, and traps? After encountering that odd fox-like bird, it became clear that there were more peculiar creatures than she imagined; and it was also likely to have more spectacles to arouse intrigue like the various doors leading either to doom or the destination.

But Jareth still hadn't lifted the ban, and after trying to be eaten by the winged beast then falling unconscious simply by smelling the wrong flower, it didn't seem quite so binding. She decided to ask him if they could explore it together.

The idea sent a tingle down her spine. Yes, she definitely would love to get lost in the labyrinth with its maker. Not a bad idea at all.

"My lady!"

Sarah looked down at where the voice hailed from. The courageous fox who lived on the edges of the Bog of Eternal Stench stood down outside the castle walls with his neck craned back. He waved his hat at her and swept a bow, his loyal dog Ambrosis standing at his side.

"Sir Didymus," she called with a wave of her hand. "How are you?"

"Quite well, my lady. It is a fine morning, is it not?"

Her cheeks turned quite pink as her thoughts wandered back to how she had woken up that morning. The golden flower sat in a silver vase by the bed still. "Uh, yes. It really is. What are you doing out here?"

"There was word of some commotion last night from that wretched storm. Those ones usually do cause a raucous when they pass by."

"Those ones? You get that kind often?"

"On occasion. Word is that some being from another realm nearby has terrible emotional fits that affect the weather. Unfortunately we get it over here at times. Just the storms, I think, since they travel furthest. I hope you are not harmed?"

"Oh no, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," she said with a smile. "I'm pretty protected here at the castle." With more than walls and fortress doors…

The same owl that visited her that morning swept up into the wind from the depths of the labyrinth. Its cream-coloured wings beat the air towards the Goblin City, and Sarah's heart beat in time with them as he grew close. They hadn't spoken or seen each other face to face—as humans anyway—since the night before, and her chest ached with anticipation. He wouldn't regret it would he? She certainly didn't. For the first time, she felt sure about her feelings for him and would not deny that she was falling in love. Now that she had made her choice to risk her heart for him, she wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible in his presence.

Who knew how long they had together? The future was so uncertain…

Sir Didymus noticed how her intent gaze looked to the horizon, so he turned his head to see what had captured her attention. Very few knew the bird-like form their master took, so he grew more confused by her behaviour.

"My lady? What is it?" he called up to her.

"Something wonderful," she said.

"Really? It looks like a bird to me…"

"It was great to see you, friend, but I'm—"

Her words cut off when the pale owl reached the wall and drew up his wings to pull to a stop over her head. She hastily moved out of the way to avoid him landing on her. Her worry was needless since he made sure to aim to the right of her and clicked his claws on the stone surface as he settled. His feathers were a bit ruffled from his hasty flight, and those large dark eyes peered down at the fox with a look that she swore was contempt. Although he was an owl at the moment, his expression managed to sift through.

"Goodbye, Sir Didymus!" she called quickly. "I've got to go now. I'll see you soon?"

"I certainly hope so, my lady." He swept off his hat yet again and threw it back on his head. Even as he did so, his eyes grew wide as the owl transformed into a tall, dark figure with familiar features. Since the Goblin King looked directly at him, he made another hasty bow. "Your Majesty."

With a bewildered glance between the two, he was off at a quick pace. If Sarah had been aware of anything except the magnificent figure beside her, she would have noticed the slow understanding dawning in the fox's warm eyes.

And then a pair of mismatched blue eyes turned to her, and everything else faded away completely.

Neither had words. Sarah waited with bated breath for his reaction while Jareth basked in newfound revelation: as faint as he could sense them, her dreams had aligned with his own and the powerful surge of feeling that rushed through him at that realisation overwhelmed any formation of words.

After an eternity of anticipation, he reached out to touch her face. He stopped, his hand hanging in the air. When he pulled it back, the confusion and hurt in her eyes seared his heart; but it was not to last long. Holding her gaze, he began tugging at the leather encasing his hands, and one after the other his gloves came off. Sarah watched in amazement as he raised a hand simply of flesh and blood to do what he'd originally intended. The pale, elegant fingers brushed her skin along her jaw. It was only the second time he'd let his skin come into direct contact with hers, the first time when she was asleep and unaware, but this time she was highly cognisant of each moment his fingertips lingered on the softness of her face.

She swallowed hard. The meaning was not missed. This was the first time she had seen him without gloves.

With a trembling hand, she reached up and covered his as it stilled at her jawline. His hands were as pale as the rest of his skin, long, thin, and graceful; like the hands of an artist but with many years of experience.

He tore his eyes away to glance from side to side. Goblins rummaged around, some with their eyes staring wide-eyed at the pair who hardly had been in the public eye together. His other hand came to settle firmly at her waist.

"Come. There are too many eyes here…"

NOTE: Hope all of you dear, wonderful readers are enjoying the bloom of love :). I am! I'm so happy to be at this point. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up soon too! Do review and let me know what you're thinking of this new romance!