Hello, everyone! I've finally had time to write - so I've been writing like crazy. Anyways, here's a recap of the last few chapters in case you need a refresher:

Sarah snuck out of the Underground before her 13 hours were up and managed to get back to her childhood home without Jareth noticing. Then she had a very interesting conversation with her step-mother about the reality of goblins. She and Gus got into a disagreement and he disappeared only for Sarah to discover, on returning to her home, that he had ransacked her room and took her drawing of her and the Goblin King with him!

Oh no! What's a desperate girl to do?

Onwards!

Sarah was in the center of her bedroom when she felt it.

The scrapbook laid innocently on the floor. Her eyes trained on the spot where the missing page should be. A chill rolled over her. Sarah then noticed that her palms were sweaty.

"You're here," Sarah said, not daring to turn around. She knew Gus had likely shown him the picture she had drawn. There was no talking herself out of this one. Sarah hoped that he would make light of it. Perhaps approach it with indifference.

At the same time, a part of her - the part that she currently resented - wanted the fight. Craved their witty banter. Lived for it. It did not help that the present chaotic state of her bedroom had rosed her temper further.

And another part, that was quickly shushed by her, wanted him to come to her with tenderness...

"You've run away from the game, little Sarah." His cool aloof voice slid over her.

She turned towards the Goblin King. Sarah could hear the pulsing of her heart and worried that he could, too. She looked up at him, hardening her features.

"I'm done playing your games. They're only fun for you."

"Really?"

She spoke before he could continue. "I have a life. A family. I can't be chasing you around your labyrinth. I don't have the time it takes to live two lives. Look at all of this." She motioned angrily towards her room.

Broken trinkets splayed across the floor. Dresser drawers were opened and the contents were dumped on the carpet.

"I don't have the energy for this," she said, her voice tired and eyes wide in genuine exhaustion.

"Sarah." He cocked his head and smirked.

Jareth raised a crystal up in one of his gloved hands. He let it slip through his fingers and fall to the floor. A second later the room began to right itself.

Sarah gasped.

The clothes lifted from the floor - taking the time to methodically fold themselves mid-air - and flew back into the dresser drawers that hung wide open. They slammed shut afterward with a loud thud.

Her childhood trinkets slowly pierced themselves back together. Glass shards whipping up and melting back into the figure that they had been before goblins had entered Sarah's life.

A stuffed animal Sarah had since a young child - chewed apart by Gus - raised itself on its legs. Sarah's eyes widened comically. The stuffed animal nonchalantly walked about the room, pausing to stuff it's missing cotton fluffballs back into a large hole in its stomach. It ended its jaunty stroll by pulling itself up onto her bed and sitting on its bottom next to her pillow.

Then she saw her scrapbook. She dodged in time as the book raced across the room, nearly hitting her head, and landed on her dresser. The loose pages on the floor followed it. It then began to meticulously organize itself. Pieces of colored paper and pictures flying around and joining into the book. When it was finished it slammed shut with a thump.

Then the room was silent.

Sarah looked around. He had fixed her room. Fixed Gus's mess. Her heart beat expectantly in her chest. 'Tell him about the picture before he addresses it himself. No, wait, thank him first! Hug him. Do something!' It said.

"Well?" Jareth prodded. "Do you feel better now?" A hint of condescension in his voice, yet it barely masked a hidden tone of concern.

"I-I'm fine, Jareth," Sarah clarified. Her eyes glanced back to the scrapbook on her dresser. "You haven't righted all the wrongs," she said more to herself.

He chuckled. "Ah, yes. The goblin who was responsible for this… Would you like me to toss him into the bog?"

Sarah blinked, her eyes refocusing on him. "No! I - I need to talk to him. I can handle myself." Sarah paused and then added, "Thank you for cleaning this up." She motioned to her room.

And she was thankful. Also thankful for the fact that he had not brought the picture up yet. Unless… Unless he still did not know about it.

"You're very welcome."

"Why are you here?" She asked after a moment.

He sighed as if explaining himself was physically painful. She tried not to roll her eyes. "You're hours aren't up yet. I came to tell you that despite your leaving my kingdom - which was very rude - the clock is still ticking."

Sarah let out a sigh of relief. "That's all?"

Jareth blinked. "Yes."

Gus must not have told him yet. Which means there is still a chance to get the picture back before Jareth sees it...

Sarah felt a rush of adrenaline overcome her. She set her shoulders. "Will you let me make my decision now? I've made up my mind."

"Sarah, don't be hasty-"

"-I'll go."

Jareth's eyebrows lifted in an unexpected reveal of emotion. He masked it quickly. Sarah tried not to smile in response, but the corners of her mouth turned up just slightly.

"You will?" He drawled as if he wasn't interested in her answer at all.

"I will."

His thin lips suddenly drew up in a haughty smirk. "Then I shall see you in one week from today."

"A week?" Sarah cringed at the volume of her voice. It was outrage - or fear. She needed to be Underground sooner than that. Gus was likely waiting patiently for Jareth to return so that he could show him her drawing. How was she supposed to stop him if she wouldn't see them for a week?

"Oh, come now. What? Would you like me to make it sooner?" Jareth's eyes held a brimming light within. He was practically glowing. She hoped he hadn't mistaken her tone for excitement.

Eager. Too eager. Don't let him see through you, she told herself. "No, a week is a perfectly acceptable amount of time for me to prepare." Sarah squared her shoulders and tried to calm her nerves. At his skeptical look, Sarah began to try to explain herself. "It's, uh, just that I don't have an escort... What if I say something wrong?"

Jareth rolled his eyes. "You're coming with me," he said simply as if she should have known all along.

Sarah blinked. A warm feeling swarmed her chest. "Well, how was I supposed to know? You never asked."

"I suppose a formal invitation wasn't blunt enough?"

Sarah found herself drawing nearer to the Goblin King. She was standing close enough to him that her skin hummed. Magic radiated off of his imposing figure. "I guess so. It was just never explicitly stated." She shrugged.

"Well..." Jareth's voice lingered suggestively. His eyes were staring into hers, never wavering. He leaned closer to her. "Sarah."

"Yes?" She tilted her head up and almost drew back at how shockingly close they were. Almost.

"Will you honor me... and my kingdom, by coming to the ball at my side?" He raised his gloved hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She shivered. There was something so enthralling about his otherworldliness. His enigmatic eyes pulled her in. The uneven pupils and the icy blue surrounding it. Sarah found herself wanting to meet him. To lean in closer than she already was and kiss him.

"Yes, I will," Sarah said.

"Good." He withdrew from her. His hands suddenly at his sides as if they had been there the entire time. The huskiness of his voice vanished. "Then I shall pick you up in the evening. And Sarah," he said flippantly. Sarah straightened herself, trying to shrug off the glazed look on her face. Jareth's eyes shone with amusement and victory as if he had known exactly how he had affected her. She opened her mouth to give him a biting comment when he interrupted her. "Wear something modern. Something human." He gave her another terrible grin and then in the blink of an eye he was gone. A cloud of glitter floated down to her floor.

She was alone.

Sarah rolled her eyes and growled, "Something modern. Something human," she mocked. "Don't tell me what to do." Sarah huffed and hoped he could hear her resentment all the way from the Underground.

Leave it to him to get her all hot and bothered and then just leave. She spent the next few minutes mumbling to herself about annoying King's and their entitlement as she plucked old dresses out of her closet. The Goblin King's attention had thoroughly distracted her from the pressing matter of Gus and his sinister plans.

Next chapter should be out soon!

I've been on a writing spree lately because I know that soon I'm going to be too busy to write again. Sorry about all the long pauses between chapters. I'm planning on writing out lots of them so that I should be able to at least update. ;)

Your reviews, follows and favorites have kept me going! It's always great to hear feedback on my stories. Don't be shy! Come out of your hiding places, lol. I love it when I can draw a few silent observers into conversations! :)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Cannot believe it has been 3 years since David Bowie passed. He's certainly left quite a mark on my life. Gone but not forgotten.

See you next time! Next chapter is already written and should be out soon! It's go-time! Sarah's going to a ball!