A/N: Thank you to everyone who takes the time to give my story a read, this is my first Labyrinth fanfiction, and I was nervous as all get out about posting it. There isn't going to a set schedule for me to upload the chapters as I have work and real-life issues to deal with.

Please leave a review if you have time, I would love the feedback. And without further ado…

I do not own anything except any OC characters that I choose to add into the story. Thank you.

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XX.

"As you may have already surmised, magic flows freely here, but it is more concentrated during the festivals on the Wheel of the Year. It was no coincidence that the tournament was invoked this close to Beltane. Since it has already past Ostara or the Spring Equinox, then the next apex of magic has to be Beltane. Ayden confirmed my suspicions and I relayed them to the council of kingdoms. That is what the henchmen were referring to in the cell. The mastermind behind the kidnapping was attempting to keep me hidden or away so that I would not be available to present my- the Labyrinth's Heart to the winner of the King's Tournament." He took a deep breath, and his tone became more serious, "Because you are my champion, since you bested myself and the Labyrinth, you may choose to compete. But I feel that I must be completely honest with you." His gaze dropped back down to his lap as he continued, "The woman who wins the King's Tournament must wed the King and consummate the marriage before midnight on Beltane or else the Labyrinth will fall, and I will be exiled, and my memory wiped…" His voice trailed off. After a moment, he let his gaze meet Sarah's. His eyes held a very solemn look. "There are not many who I would place this burden upon, but I thought you should be the first to know." He strained to finish as he kept direct eye contact with her.

"No pressure." She said, giving him a half-smile.

"No pressure." He repeated back, his face wearing a grave expression.

Sarah stood and began to pace around the room swinging her arms slowly next to sides as she walked, "So expose a traitor, stop a madman, win a dangerous tournament, and save the labyrinth." She paused before she stopped pacing and turned to him a strange grin on her face as her bright emerald gaze met his solemn mismatched one. "It's a piece of cake."

Jareth chuckled weakly as he stood and strode slowly over to Sarah, pulling her into a tight embrace. "That's my champion." He whispered.

Sarah was thinking about how well he smelled and was about to wrap her arms around him when a knock sounded at the door. They sprang apart, Jareth retreating to the chaise lounge and Sarah moving to answer the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled it open, revealing 2 small brownish green goblins in mismatched patched human children's clothes. The goblin on the left was wearing a stained pair of shorts with a collared t-shirt and the goblin on the right was wearing a stained doll-like dress with frills and ruffles. Between the two of them, they held a silver tray with an assortment of food items and a pitcher of what looked like some type of juice. As soon as Sarah opened the door, the goblins stood up a bit straighter. "Brekfest for the Kingy and Kingy's Lady." They said in unison, one voice slightly more masculine than the other. Sarah stepped to the side and the goblins scurried in with the tray, placing it on the bedside closest to Jareth. They immediately turned and beamed toothy grins at Jareth and then scampered out of the room. Sarah took a peek out into the sitting room to check if they had exited out of the main door, but it remained closed. She closed the door and turned back to Jareth, who was already reaching for some fruit on the tray and a flaky-looking pastry. She raised one of her eyebrows.

Jareth noted her look of confusion. "That was Zunk and Zam, two of my goblin crew. Loyal to a fault those creatures are. Their magic is their own special blend also. Even I have not quite figured everything out about them as of yet." He replied, biting into the danish.

Sarah walked back over to the bed and sat next to the tray, sampling some of the fruit. "What was with the Kingy's Lady business?" She asked, her eyebrow still raised.

"Ah. They are simple creatures. I can only assume that the translation between Lady of the Labyrinth and King's Champion became muddled. Do not think of trying to persuade them differently to call you something else, though. They are very set in their ways." He remarked, continuing to eat. He summoned to empty goblets and began to pour the juice from the pitcher into them.

Sarah sighed and shook her head. Of course, she was going to try to change the title, heaven forbid that the goblins call her that in public, she mused while she sampled other foods from the tray. They ate in silence for a few moments until Sarah noticed the plain cotton nightgown she was wearing. She paused from taking a bit of a weirdly purple colored fruit that resembled an apple. "How did I change? Did you change me?" She asked, eyeing him with a furrowed brow.

"With magic of course, do not be upset, Sarah-mine. I did not touch you physically. I only assumed you would be more comfortable in that, than that dress in bed." He stated, taking a drink from his goblet.

"Thank you. It seems I have underestimated your generosity." Sarah remarked, her brow relaxing as she gave him a grin.

Jareth returned her grin, his mismatched eyes twinkling brightly, "Naturally. But you are welcome." He replied, the amusement evident in his voice.

Sarah resumed finishing the strange-looking fruit as she studied Jareth as she watched him take another drink from his goblet. She wasn't sure how much she should trust him. Whatever he had gotten himself into, why did she have to be a part of it? What role did she have to play in all this? There was the bond-thing, but maybe she could talk to the Labyrinth about doing something with that. Unless it was possible that Jareth had some other motive behind all this. Sarah's thoughts whirled as she stared at him, before she spoke, "So…your family…" She began as he met her gaze. "They are a tad overwhelming, but not anymore than most, I would say. Even my family has their moments." Sarah finished.

"They are not worth your compliments but thank you. Even as fae, they still have their flaws." He replied, giving her a gentle half-smile.

Sarah straightened her nightgown on her lap as she shifted position on the bed. She swallowed quietly before she spoke. "So, what happens now?" She asked softly.

Jareth sighed, "Good question. Ayden said he would meet us after breakfast to discuss everything." He replied, noting that Sarah hadn't reached for anything else in a bit on the tray, so with a sweep of his hand, he made the tray disappear.

Sarah stood from the bed and dusted the crumbs off her nightgown. "Well, since he is not here just yet, I think I will go shower and dress." She stated, walking towards the bathroom door.

Jareth stood as well, the throw blanket and chaise lounge disappearing with another wave of his hand. "I will wait for you in the sitting room. Although should you need me?" He paused as he headed for the bedchamber door.

Sarah paused before grasping the bathroom door handle, "I'll call. I should be out shortly." She finished, before stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

So as to respect Sarah's privacy, Jareth closed the bedchamber door and strode across the room to the armchairs by the fire. He summoned a clear crystal and proceeded to mindlessly twirl it around as he stared into the flames. He could still feel Sarah's presence and was tempted to scry on her in the bath, but he knew it would damage any trust he had built with her up til now. Jareth wasn't sure how things were going to proceed from now on, but he didn't want a moment of weakness to be his undoing. He wasn't sure how long he had been staring into the flames while twirling the crystal until a knock sounded at the door, interrupting his musings. Jareth waved his free hand and the door swung open, revealing Ayden. Jareth didn't take his eyes away from the fire, nor did he stop twirling the crystal.

Ayden stepped in, shutting the door behind him. He walked calmly over to armchairs and stood next to Jareth's. He glanced over at Jareth's expression, a smirk forming on his face. "Careful, old friend, or your face shall stay that way." He teased.

Jareth turned his gaze toward Ayden as he raised an eyebrow but chose not to reply. He twirled the crystal around in his fingers as he regarded Ayden's expression.

Ayden's face stayed amused for a moment longer and then became more serious. "Did you speak with her?" He asked quietly, his sudden intense gaze boring into Jareth's.

Jareth sighed and let his gaze return to the flames. "Yes."

"Everything?" Ayden replied back, raising as eyebrow.

Jareth winced at his question. There was one subject that he had not yet brought up to Sarah. Her magic. "No, not everything. I had not quite figured out how to broach that particular subject to her. Although she is very open-minded, I am not certain on how Sarah would react to that information."

"React to what information?" Sarah's questioning voice cut through the tension as Jareth's head whipped in her direction. Sarah had freshly damp hair that hung loosely around her shoulders and chest. Today she had chosen to dress in a plain, peasant-style, bell-sleeved, cream-colored cotton under dress, with a forest green cotton tunic vest coverlet that extended to the floor and tied up the bodice with a simple corset-lace pattern; forest green slippers peeked out from under the bottom of the cream-colored skirt. Sarah had one hand on her hip in a relaxed position and a raised eyebrow.

Jareth groaned as Ayden chuckled softly. "Might as well tell her. She has a right to know. Especially if it will help her later." He replied, clearly amused at the current situation that Jareth had gotten himself into.

Sarah tried to keep her voice calm as she stared at Jareth, "Tell me what? Jareth?" She asked.

Jareth twirled the crystal more quickly, bouncing it from hand to hand as he spoke, "Sarah…do you recall the story from the book?" He asked quietly as he turned to stare into the flames again.

"Of course, I do. I pretty much have it memorized by now." She replied, not quite understanding what he was getting at.

"And do you recall that infamous line that you read to young Tobias all those years ago? Right before you summoned me." He asked, not tearing his gaze away from the dancing fire as he spoke.

"Before I summoned you…? You mean the line about what no one knew?" She asked, her brow furrowed as she tried to remember.

"Yes. That one." He responded quietly.

Sarah took a deep breath before she responded, "But what no one knew, was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl and had given her certain powers." She paused, "Which I can only assume is how I was able to wish away Toby in the first place." She finished, but still felt confused. "What does that have to do with anything?" Sarah asked.

Jareth stilled his hands, stood up slowly, and closed the distance between him and Sarah. "Because Sarah, it is true." He stated, holding out the crystal delicately, at the edges of his fingertips, to her.