A/N: You guys blow me away with your responses! Truly. You are all so amazing and kind!

Oo, you get a fairly long chapter yet again! I hope it's not too fluffy. I'm a little concerned about it...Eh, oh well! I strayed with a little more creativity again, so I'm curious to see the responses, but do enjoy.

Elisabeth S: Yes, I really don't like the exaggerated 'fluff' or lovey-doveyness as you put it :P. I may have entered that territory with this chapter though, lol. Uh oh...See! I knew all you guys were probably thinking "when is that story going to be updated?" so I got my rear in gear and did it :D. Hope this chapter puts a grin on all our faces too!

Shobgoblin: Ah, thank you! I was really trying to balance the romance, so it's good to hear from you and others that it worked out well :). Such fun to write too! The solution to the immortality issue is hinted at again here, but it certainly will be cleared up in time. Eventually, haha. Thanks!

Random person: Love your anonymous name by the way, lol. Since you reviewed chapter 5, you may not get this for a while or ever, but thank you so much for your review! I am very particular about everything making sense, fitting perfectly with the original story, and that the characters are still the same from canon; so I'm so encouraged to hear from so many of you that I pulled that off. Celebrate!

To all you lovelies who take time to respond to the story (you're a huge blessing): The Queen of Water, Jeni27, PheonixBreaker90, Guest, Jill, She with the hazel eyez, Kinzichi, Silver Rose514, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, Elisabeth S, hisangel18, PoisonIvy533, willowrain, ButterflyOnTheWall, Sunshinekatie1996, Shobgoblin, Kaytori, nortega, Random person, and Chaos Aroura.

Chapter Twenty-Three: I'll Spin You Valentine Evenings

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After removing themselves from watchful eyes, Jareth and Sarah magically shifted to the edge of the forest. Sarah blinked and looked around, still not used to the odd transition, but the hold Jareth still had on her waist kept distractions at minimum. It was a different part of the forest than she recognised in a place far from the unsightly junkyard scattered outside the city walls. Green moss grew in patches all over the rocks and emerald ivy crawled along trees and their branches with small white flowers dotted like stars amidst the leaves. Sunlight fell in soft beams to the ground where odd mushrooms sprouted in blue and orange. The faint outline of a path wove its way deeper into the wood, and this is where Jareth began to lead her.

The forest had no fear for Sarah when the Goblin King was with her. It was always magical and lovely, but today it had no hidden worries.

"You know, I don't think I can handle the silence anymore," she burst out after a few minutes. "I really enjoy your company but, ugh, there's just so much to say and so much I'm feeling and so much—"

"Sarah," he said in a quiet voice as he slowed to a stop. He lifted a finger to her lips. "I know. I haven't waited all these years for just one kiss from your lips." He tilted her chin up with the tip of his finger. "Today I intend to discover if the wait was worth it or in vain. There is a place I will show you here deep in the forest, and while we walk there, I'd like you to consider that thought, not with the mind of a mortal being whose life is brief in our eyes but with the mind of one who has a long life to live."

Sarah's chest tightened. A weight rested heavy on her shoulders. The feelings were so fresh that she hardly considered the long-term consequences except for the question of returning to her own world. As Jareth placed a light hand on her back to continue urging her along the path, her mind raced with a great many notions once shadowed. He was immortal. She was not. If she chose to accept the offer he once had given, what would become of her?

Mary…Mary is growing old just like in our world. Would I be any different? But he made it sound like…like my life would become like his. I think I get it! He wants me to consider the consequences of forever because that's what it would be. Is that possible? Is this really happening?

She became so consumed by her thoughts that she forgot how much time passed as they walked. It could have been an hour, maybe two. She couldn't remember. But Jareth had slowed the pace at last and looked deep into the trees. Sarah squinted to see what it was glistening between the trunks of the trees standing alongside the rarely-used path.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"Come and see."

The closer they came, the more the scene unfolded before their eyes and the mystery cleared like a fog under the sun. What glistened through the wood was water catching the sunlight. The ground rose up before them, and a waterfall tumbled down from the high ground into a pool below where the rocks shone with a soft sheen of glittering specks much like the walls of the first round of the labyrinth, but more silver than bronze. The water was purely crystalline and yet when the sun hit it, rainbows of colour shimmered in its depths and in the air. It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Listen," said Jareth in a whisper. He drew her closer to the bright waters.

The more she listened, the less it sounded like rushing waters tumbling onto rocks but more like music faintly laced beneath the sound. She hurried forward through the green and yellow ferns in hopes that there might be words to the song sung by the moving waters. When it was only ten feet away, her breath even quieted to better listen.

Sure enough, the hauntingly lovely music seemed to have lyrics sung with an unearthly voice low and slow. It was another few minutes before she understood some of them, and this was all she caught:

Live without your sunlight,

Love without your heartbeat.

I can't live within you.

I can't live…within…you.

They were not unknown to her. How could she forget those words? Jareth sang those very lines as she fought to reach Toby in those last moments before the time was up. For so long she didn't pay them any heed because it was just too much, but now she saw the heart that formed the words and desperate pleas for understanding.

Just behind her stood Jareth in a white shirt and grey pants, no gloves covering his hands anymore. As soon as her green eyes met his, he moved to stand beside her and gestured at the waterfall.

"This is no ordinary water. It springs out of the rock not far from here just as it has for thousands of years. Sarah, this is where the labyrinth all began."

Her lips parted a little in astonishment as her eyes grazed over the colours flashing in varied hues in the otherwise clear depths.

"A very long time ago this was barely a kingdom, a land where the goblins dwelt and lived without order beyond their base concepts of living. It was a desert. Just as it is outside the walls of my kingdom." He closed his eyes as if watching the memories play before him. "No one wanted it. The Sidhe are a finicky race at times but also often quite vain. Who would want to rule a place like this with goblins as subjects?" A slow grin showed his pointed teeth as his eyes popped open. "I never was very apt to follow everyone's expectations. Except yours, of course."

Sarah flushed and gently grasped his sleeve as he continued.

"One day I visited this barren land and found it wasn't as barren as told. This is what I stumbled upon: these waters springing up out of the desert. The goblins are cast off creatures, but I found they weren't as terrible as expected. They are rather pitiful really. They needed someone to rule them, to bring some semblance of order here. This place enchanted me seeing as I've ever been a Fay belonging to music. And so I built up the labyrinth and this realm all around it. As I said, these are no ordinary waters, dear Sarah." He swept a hand over them. "Not only do they behave like crystals, but as you have heard, they have a voice unlike any waters you may ever hear for they mimic and resound what is spoken or sung clearly within their hearing."

It only took Sarah a moment to connect it all. "You came here and sang the song that you once sang to me when I was first in the Underground. Before…before I left…"

"Yes. They've echoed that song for years." Jareth turned to face her with mere inches between them. "Sarah, there is a reason I brought you here. Not only is it the heart of my kingdom, but I wish for its waters to echo with something other than loss and sorrow until they dry up and are no more."

Those newly bare hands moved: one settled at her waist and the other pulled a crystal sphere from nothing. Through it Sarah could see the bright waterfall tumbling down the hillside and the gold sunlight streaking through the trees.

"I made you an offer last time you were in my kingdom, an offer you refused. But it was for good because you would not have been my match had you accepted. Selfishly I wished you to take it," he said with a bit of a smirk, "but when you showed yourself more than a child, I knew you would one day be my equal. This is that day." He looked at the crystal in his palm. "I'm offering you your dreams, Sarah, but they are different this time, are they not? You went in search of new dreams. Here you have found them."

This was it. Sarah drew a deep breath. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest. His intent and his words had overwhelmed her emotions and her thoughts to the extent she felt like a puddle melted on the ground. It still amazed her that an otherworldly being like him would feel this way about her, not to mention think of something so heart-warming as the memory of words echoed forever in the beautiful waters beside them. It made her chest feel tight and her breath catch.

No one had ever made her feel this way: like she wanted to give them everything and do anything she possibly could to show how much she cared even if nothing was given back in return. The force of it surprised her, how much she loved the King of the Goblins. It felt as though Fiachna the Raven Mage himself could show up and the strength of the love itself would destroy him. All that time she tried to deny what was right before her eyes: a love undying and whole offered at the expense of his own vulnerability which he held so near with a shadow over her that sheltered from that which would cause her harm. He had waited for her for years. He protected her. He made her feel safe. It was her own feelings that made her uneasy for so long because she was afraid of taking that risk, but how could she hold back when he had risked everything for her?

At last, she knew what she could do for him, this lonely king.

But there was more than one matter to be certain of before she declared her choice.

"Jareth," she said softly, "I'm not like you. I'm going to grow old and die in such a short time in your point of view. Why would you care so much for someone whose life whisks right by you?"

"Did you not understand what I said earlier? There is a way…I would not make you the offer of forever unless I truly meant it. It is a secret jealously guarded by the Fey who know it, and it has not been done in centuries, but your worry is without merit, my love. My Queen would be at my side throughout all the millennia."

"How? How is it possible?"

The corner of his lips lifted slightly. "Just know that it is. The secret is not mine to reveal until it is certain it is needed."

As if her heart couldn't hold anymore feelings, a new one rose up like the rising of the sun on a summer morning: hope. One of her fears had just been stripped away and thrown to the ground. Another lingered.

"And…and what of…my home? The people I love and know back where I live? I can't just abandon them without saying anything! They'd think I was missing and probably murdered or something awful. I can't do that to them! And I…I don't know if I could never see them again. Poor Toby! And Amber!"

Sarah bit her lip and felt the fire of hope die down within her. Jareth tightened his hold at her waist as a quiet laugh escaped from deep in his throat. Her head snapped up to stare at him, laughing at her predicament.

"Dear Sarah! Do you not think that if I can travel between your world and mine whenever I wish that it would be any different now? It is a little thing to take you too."

He barely got the words out of his mouth before her face beamed with great joy and relief that emanated from her brilliant smile like a great, pure light. Her grasp on his arm strengthened, and she had to restrain herself from kissing that aristocratic mouth of his that destroyed her two greatest anxieties with only a few words.

Nothing stood between them. Her decision was final. The choice was no longer between him and her family and friends, and so any hesitation disintegrated underneath the confident gaze he levelled at her.

After reaching out to take the clear sphere he held, its warmth pulsing in her hand, she began to speak her heart in a voice loud and clear for the mimicking waterfall to forever resound.

"A while ago I caught you by yourself looking out a window and for once you actually didn't know I was there. I watched you and realised…I wasn't the only one who felt lonely sometimes. It was then I decided to do something for you after all you'd done for me, even though I didn't know what. I just wanted to help you or do something that would have meaning besides just saying 'thank you' for things that words felt inadequate to repay. For the longest time, it bothered me. Nothing came to mind. But…Midsummer's Eve, I began to realise what it was that I could give: something priceless and more precious than any idea I'd come up with. But was I willing to give it? It was a high price. But finally I knew that it was worth the cost." She reached out to hold his hand with her free one. "Jareth…my heart is yours."

The crystal disappeared with a faint flash of light. She gasped. However, it left something in its absence. A ring wrapped around her finger made of the purest crystal set with a large diamond cut like a star. The working was so fine and intricate that she was certain no human hand could have made it, and she could've stared at it for quite a while.

If her gaping hadn't been interrupted by her space being wholly invaded. Her head jerked up as soon as a white shirt filled all her vision and looked into a pair of pale eyes that regarded her more openly than she had ever seen them before. He still did not display a great deal of emotion etched in his face, but it was the subtle things that told her how rapturous and grateful the king was for the new answer he'd received. Those eyes poured forth a torrent of unreserved elation and warmth that was so unlike him that she stared with amazement, but only for a moment before he slid a hand behind her neck and kissed her.

This kiss was different than their first up in the Chamber of the Stars. Today it was the sun that shone on them, and as the stars' light to the sun's, so that kiss was to this new one. It was brighter, fiercer, and stronger. His other hand wrapped around her waist as he brought her closer as he submersed himself in everything that was Sarah Williams: the tickle of her hair against his cheek, the softness of her lips, the warmth of her creamy skin.

He slowly pulled away so she could breathe. Her eyes fluttered open and took in each minute detail of his face from only inches away. Her small white hands clutched his shirt still, and her cheeks were stained pink. She smiled brightly before meeting his lips again.

When the second kiss ended, she brushed her nose along his jaw. He closed his eyes.

"Come," he whispered into her ear.

Jareth took her hand and began leading her away from the waterfall so that it would only echo the words she bared from her soul. As soon as they were at a fair distance, she glanced over her shoulder one last time to look on the iridescent waters that would forever bear testament to her decision. Then she looked at the ring that magically encased her finger.

Was a ring the same here in this world as in hers? But technically he hadn't asked her to marry him…Or had he? She looked up at him to ask, but as the golden light touched his hair and he turned those penetrating eyes to fall on her with soft caresses upon her face, the peace that emanated from him like never before silenced her tongue and her doubts. Not yet. For now she pressed close enough that their arms brushed together as they walked and enjoyed these special moments of calm before the storm.

For a storm was coming…

After finishing a strange passage through the Goblin City in which they received many a stare and bewildered expression, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She had asked Jareth to just take them instantly to the castle, but he had taken her arm firmly in his and said it was now necessary that his subjects see her for who she really was to him. It was a sweet sentiment, but that didn't help her nerves as bulging, squinting, and large eyes of all colours and shapes watched the unexpected scene with unadulterated curiosity. Not one goblin spoke a word.

That was horribly awkward, she thought to herself once the grand castle doors closed with a rumble behind them with a flick of the king's wrist. Ugh. I can't even imagine how my friends are going to react. That realisation was enough to send a stab of anxiety straight to her stomach since Ludo, Sir Didymus, and especially Hoggle weren't exactly fond of the Goblin King who ruled them. How was she going to tell them? Sir Didymus surely already had suspicions after this morning.

That line of thought was derailed when she felt a hand alight gently on her shoulder and trail softly down her back.

"Sarah, my dear, there is some unfortunate…business…I must attend to at once," he said in the quiet tones she was getting used to. "If you remain in my study, I'll be there in a little while."

She merely nodded. Was she dismissed that easily after all she'd said? After how much of her heart she'd poured out? His eyes had spoken volumes, but he still hadn't said anything in response to her declaration. Her gaze dropped down to the rough-hewn stones made into the floor as her heart dropped with it.

"Oh, and Sarah?" He lifted her chin with his hand. The intensity of his eyes speared through her soul. "Do not mistake my lack of words for a lack of feeling. Sometimes the emotions are stronger than words can interpret."

The corner of his mouth tugged up a little, and he leaned in to lightly press his lips to the corner of her mouth. He lingered for a moment before smirking and turning away, leaving Sarah staring after him with a haze around her mind.

Until she saw the route he took.

"The dwarf," she muttered suddenly. "How could I forget? Oh. Easily I guess…" How was a woman supposed to think properly with Jareth the Goblin King bestowing kisses and lavish attention on her? Exactly.

With a quick glance around to make certain no one observed her, Sarah followed silently in the wake of the king's footsteps. She was positive he was headed for the dungeons where he kept two dwarves in the oubliettes, one a friend and one possibly a great enemy and yet they wouldn't know for sure unless any answers could be gotten from him. Her stomach churned at the thought of torture, but she was uncertain if Jareth would stoop to painful torment to gather information he desired. The uncertainty came from past experience with Fiachna's attacks when a fire burned in Jareth's eyes like cold flame and he did not hesitate to go beyond mere defence to return the assault.

Oddly enough, although he walked on cold stone with hard-soled boots, she couldn't hear his steps even though he glided down the hall and to the stairwell that led to the darkest regions of the castle. Fortunately her shoes were padded so that she also could move without a sound. Her curiosity often got her into trouble, but she considered it worth it this time since the situation involved her quite directly. There would be no rest until the Raven Mage was put off for good. Which then led her to another conclusion that sent a shudder down her spine: the only way to be rid of him without fear of him ever trying again to do harm was to take his life.

She rubbed the back of her neck and pursed her lips. One could so easily slip from sunlight and peace to the dark confines of fear and shadow. One moment basking in warmth and the next with light extinguished around you as a storm rolled in.

The thin line of her lips turned up a little as she thought how fitting it was for her own life where so many unexpected circumstances moved over the sun, and yet the clouds always break. Storms never lasted forever.

Jareth had gone down the dark stairwell a few moments ago, so she slowly followed with a careful eye trained ahead to make sure he didn't make any sudden stops. She paused when she heard his clear voice demand entrance from the stout goblin guarding the door. There was a fumbling of keys and soft muttering as the goblin did as he was told. The key clicked in the lock, and the door creaked open.

How am I going to get past the goblin without him making a fuss?

The stairs weren't without light, so in the dimness she picked out a bit of loose stone crumbled on the floor two steps up. She snatched it and hid herself in one of the indented spaces along the wall clothed in shadow deep enough to conceal her. The rock clattered at the top of the steps. She waited.

Soon enough, the goblin came hobbling up the stairs with the keys jangling on his belt and his breath huffing. Since he looked at his feet, he missed Sarah huddled against the wall as he passed. With practiced swiftness, she hurried down the rest of the way to the door hoping he hadn't locked it behind Jareth. She smiled in triumph when she saw it hung slightly ajar.

Once she slipped into the room, she made her way warily around the edges listening for any sign of Jareth or the dwarf. She also stayed on the peripheral where the torches lit the walls in pools of firelight so as not to accidentally drop into an oubliette, their dark yawning mouths visible only to a certain extent.

There it was. A murmur. She moved to the right until it became clear. Just as she suspected, the Goblin King had come to interrogate their unwelcome guest.

Gerdol the dwarf sat cross-legged in the darkness.

Darkness. It frightened him not.

The utter silence had been the worst part of his prison. Serving Fiachna meant dwelling in a place that wasn't exactly filled with lots of sound, whether of laughter, chatter, or singing; nonetheless, there was at least something there. Not here. Nothing.

His heart clenched, and he shuddered.

A looming figure had appeared from the nothingness around him with a pale globe resting in its hand. He recognised his captor: the Goblin King. The dim light cast sharp shadows over his defined features and tall frame to paint a terrible spectre with furious and menacing lines. The thin line of the unyielding mouth, the icy flame of the pale gaze, and the severe contour of the clenched jaw. The Sidhe were fantastical beings shrouded in mystery, beauty, and an ethereal quality, but this Fay looked even more fanciful within the faint light of his hand.

Gerdol steeled himself against the fear that crept like poison into the back of his mind. He knew this king should not frighten him after being under the hand of the Raven Mage, but he could not quench the dread at the sight of him in his daunting essence. A great cape that matched the shadows around him shifted under the light as he took a step forward.

"You're afraid," came his crisp, low voice. "That is well because you should fear what I may do to you."

It was a simple truth uttered with promise.

Gerdol held his tongue.

Those pale eyes roved the dwarf's face. "But you are more afraid of your master. Yes, I know from whence you came, dark dwarf. I am no fool, no matter what that wretched excuse of a mage says. You can deny it with your lips all you desire yet in your eyes I see the truth of the matter for the truth does not oft escape me." He took another menacing step closer. "You will tell me his plans and why he sent you here. If you do not…I will find a way to get the answers out of you one way…or another."

Gerdol drew in a long breath and remained silent still. But his hands trembled a little crossed under his arms. He hoped this king could not sense everything.

A few moments of tense quiet passed. The dwarf kept his eyes on his enemy, and the Goblin King did likewise. Eventually Gerdol couldn't hold that piercing stare and looked away. Pain. He could handle pain.

The Goblin King leaned forward. "Dwarf, I am asking you one more time: why were you sent here?" When he received no answer yet again, he continued in tones low and smooth. "You expect some sort of torment to get what I want. Perhaps it will be. And I shall tell you. Dreams are something of a specialty of mine, and although yours are a little difficult to discern, I can just enough." A pleased, cold smile cast his face in an even more ominous light. "What you truly desire is freedom: freedom from your cruel master whose word you never fail to obey but whose bondage has grown too suffocating. You're afraid to leave his service, but it is what you want."

Gerdol forced his eyes shut but couldn't avoid the shock of surprise that wriggled through him at the truth he thought he'd hidden so well.

"You see, torment for you isn't so much great pain or suffering of the physical kind, but it would torment you to know the escape that I offer and not to accept it."

His eyes opened.

The king reached out his hand with the pale globe of light and watched the dwarf carefully. "To slay your master would be an escape. All you have to do is give me the information I ask of you and I can offer freedom, but if you do not, you will sit in misery knowing that your greatest dream was offered to you and you didn't take it."

"You plan to kill him anyway," Gerdol finally spoke in his gruff voice. "It does me no good to tell you anything either way."

"Do not be so certain. Just imagine when I do take his life, do you really think I will let his slave live who served so loyally? You would taste a moment of freedom, then have it ripped from you. It's your life. What will you do with it?"

The dwarf hung his head and squeezed his arms over his chest. He had expected threats, taunts, or schemes but this was on a level completely unanticipated and it struck to his core.

And yet he couldn't bring himself to give an answer.

After a long bout of silence, the Goblin King vanished the light in his palm and all fell to darkness again. Out of the shadow, a voice spoke.

"Such a pity. Such a pity…"

Sarah assumed the interrogation was over and sprang to her feet. She rushed to the door, forgetting the goblin on the other side as she flung it open. All she heard was a squeal and a thud as it came into contact with something solid, but she hesitated only a moment before racing past up the steps.

What she didn't expect was for Jareth to already be waiting up at the top with arms crossed and clothes much darker than when they parted. The black mantle fluttered around him as he shifted on his feet once she timidly reached the last few steps.

"I guess sneaking doesn't work around here," she mumbled.

He grunted a response with eyebrows arched. He looked grim, but she glanced up and thought she saw a sparkle to his eye that belied his true humour. "There was a reason I went alone, but I suppose you heard everything anyway."

"Yeah, I did actually." She crossed her arms over her chest in mock similarity to him and lifted her chin. "You don't really plan on killing him do you?"

He sighed through his nose and moved out of her way. "I am tempted to do it now before Fiachna uses his presence here to help in his plan somehow." He glanced around, noticing the goblins shuffling in and out of the halls. "Come. To my study."

He grasped her hand and pulled her along until they made it to the study which wasn't far from the Tower. It had been where she first had an official meeting with him once she arrived back in his kingdom. The fading sun sent dusty shafts of light onto the bare stone floor, and a faint draft passed through that was a bit chilly, sending a shiver down her spine and scattering goose bumps over her skin. Jareth eyed her askance and, with a flick of his wrist, flames licked to life in the hearth in hot shades of yellow and crimson that sent a comfortable warmth across the air.

There was a couch draped with black cloth along its high back in which Jareth motioned her to sit. As soon as she settled on one end, he smoothly perched in the middle and sent her a roguish smirk.

"Do I still frighten you, Sarah?"

"N-no…"

"Then why so far away?"

Because having you so close greatly handicaps my brain… "I think this is going to take some getting used to," she muttered out loud before scooting closer until their shoulders brushed. She swallowed hard and stared into the dancing fire to calm her erratic heartbeat.

Ever the secret gentleman, Jareth didn't take advantage of the nearness, instead placing his arm behind her and simply revelling in the wonder of the day's momentous occasion. Revelling in being able to touch her without her recoiling, to be so near he could hear her breath coming in rhythmic beats like that of her heart.

"Jareth," she said softly, "tell me more about you. I feel like I don't know enough."

"You know enough but perhaps not as much as you want," he said with a half-smile. "Ever curious is Sarah Williams!"

"Well, you can't blame me. I've given my heart to this man, and I suddenly realise there's a lot I don't know about him." She nudged his side with a smirk of her own. "Since he's put up so many walls and kept so many things secret so that no one can get close."

"That didn't stop you, did it?"

"No, although I didn't even realise that's what I was doing for a while, but maybe that's why it worked. I wasn't purposely trying. I'm sure others have attempted to make friends with you—or more than friends if Seraphina is any indication." At the mention of her name, Jareth's body stiffened beside her, the muscles tightening. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring her up," said Sarah. "You know, I still think she was the one involved with the, uh, incident on Midsummer's Eve. She seems sort of obsessive and might let that drive her to help a maniac like Fiachna."

"Let us not mention either of them for a while more," Jareth insisted. "Tomorrow we'll discuss my plans and how to deal with this problem once and for all, but that will come later. You should free yourself from that worry for a time at least. Let me be concerned with it for now."

She nodded and watched the fantastical shadows the firelight cast up along the walls.

"What did you wish to know?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

Her eyes brightened with the open door she'd waited so long to see. "I know you well enough to at least understand that you're not exactly an…open…person—uh, Fay, I guess—so I'm not expecting you to bare your soul or explain all about the details of your life." She grew a little embarrassed. "Especially since that would be, um, a lot of details for a lot of years."

The corner of his lips curled up, and one of his thin eyebrows rose.

"Ask me your questions, and I will give you answers." He chuckled, the vibration she felt from it giving her chills. "Most likely anyway."

For the next two or three hours—she lost track of all time and space—Sarah Williams conversed intimately with the King of the Goblins who still retained a lot of his reserve and barriers when it came to many of her questions. He was not the sort to speak so openly in such little time, whether it was important or trivial, but so far she had discovered a few interesting facts: he had no siblings or any other family to speak of, only two of his kindred would he consider friends, he'd barely actually used the Bog of Eternal Stench, and when he was extremely young—in Sidhe terms of course—he sang upon request at some of their galas. Of course she wouldn't know all of him in a day or even a year with his disposition, but she was excited to finally be able to begin the journey.

As the night grew older and the fire still threw warm light upon them, Jareth enjoyed the quiet that fell over the room. The weight of Sarah's head grew heavier on his shoulder. He glanced down and smiled. She had fallen asleep.

He settled his arm around her comfortably and rested his chin there in the soft shadows of her hair. He breathed in the lovely scent of her and closed his eyes.

Not long ago, the Goblin King would have scoffed at the mere notion of such a simple evening being enjoyable. Now he secretly wished there would be many more like unto it for the rest of his days.

"Goodnight Sarah," he murmured against her head. "I suppose you will have no need of dreams now that the waking life has become greater than any dream."

NOTE: Hope it wasn't too mushy or anything :D. Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Everyone excited for the upcoming epic conclusion to Jareth and Fiachna's fued?

Not very many chapters left folks! I'd say around 4-6 chapters (probably 5) left!